How to wear sunbed goggles: seal, strap and timing
Updated: October 2026
The lamps are about to start and the cups are still in your hand, or they are already on and you can see a bright line at the side of your nose. How to wear sunbed goggles is the seal, the strap, and the moment you can still see the controls. The Products Compared editorial team used the amazon.co.uk reviews and HSE poster MISC869, checked on 20 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and the eight rows are on the [solarium glasses comparison](/hub/steam-baths/solarium-glasses).
The lamps are about to start and the cups are still in your hand, or they are already on and you can see a bright line at the side of your nose.
The lamps are about to start and the cups are still in your hand, or they are already on and you can see a bright line at the side of your nose. How to wear sunbed goggles is the seal, the strap, and the moment you can still see the controls. The Products Compared editorial team used the amazon.co.uk reviews and HSE poster MISC869, checked on 20 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and the eight rows are on the solarium glasses comparison.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Form | Strap | Light leak | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Winwill Winwill patient cups | Patient eyewear | Toggle in UK reviews | Light if the strap is loose | 8.5 | about £5.98 | View offer |
| Best value |  Mebamce Mebamce MPU777-MBEB | Full-rim cup | Elastic, arrives attached | Rigid nose gap | 8.5 | about £5.99 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Power Tan Power Tan iGoggles | Slimline shields | Elastic you knot | Some LED or infrared light | 6.4 | about £3.45 | View offer |
On this page
Seat the cups before you touch the strap
Put the cups on your face and look for light before you pull anything tight. A gap at the nose or at the side lets the lamps in, which is the failure HSE is warning you about when it says not to use UV tanning equipment without eye protection. UK reviews name that gap on Mebamce's nose bridge, on the side of FREEMASCOT's £15.99 wrap, and on Hemlosk.
If you can see a strip of light, reseat the cup. Pushing the strap harder does not close a bridge that is the wrong shape for your nose. If the gap is still there after you reseat them, that pair is the wrong shape for your face. Winwill's UK reviews often praise a nose bridge, and they still mention a little light at the bottom if the strap is loose.
If the pair arrives in pieces
Power Tan iGoggles arrive, in the UK review sample, as two slimline shields and a separate cord. Fit them at home, not on the bed. Some buyers clip the cord into side slits in about a minute and then leave the pair assembled. Others find no holes, only closed slits. The elastic pings off, and there is often no toggle, so the length becomes a knot. Two reviews in the first 50 say a lens or the connector arrived broken.
Do that assembly before you need to see a timer. If you cannot find a hole after a calm attempt at the table, stop. Forcing a closed slit is how buyers in that sample gave up.
Tighten only until the gap closes
The strap should be tight enough that the cups stay when you lie back, and no tighter. Thin elastic that marks the skin or snaps is a repeated complaint on Mebamce, Winwill, and Power Tan. One Mebamce strap snapped after about five uses. A knot in a Power Tan cord that has no toggle is easy to overdo.
If the strap prints a deep mark, loosen it until the seal just holds. If it still hurts, the cup is too small or too hard for that session. On a stand-up bed the College of Optometrists says the eyewear should be strapped on, because a lie-down pose is not holding it in place.
Lie down while you can still see
Blackout cups, which is what UK reviews say about Mebamce and Winwill, mean you set the session before they go on. Find the timer and the way you will get off the bed while you can still see. Then seat the cups, check the nose and the side, and only then start the lamps. Stepping onto a sunbed in a complete blackout is the complaint Mebamce buyers make.
Take them off after the lamps are off. If you are using an LED mask at home, place the mask hardware, then the cups, then switch on. One Mebamce buyer found the cups too bulky to sit under their mask. A sore, gritty feeling as soon as the light hits is a reason to stop the session.
When to stop
Stop if light still shows after you have reseated the cups, if the strap will not hold without pain, or if an eye is sore after the session. HSE names irritation or conjunctivitis in the short term and cataracts in the long term. Those lines are not a measurement of any cup in this set. Sunkissed says to replace a pair that is scratched or damaged.
NHS inform says to contact a GP for severe burning, blisters, or a changing mole. If you wear prescription glasses, the listings that ask about glasses do not answer, which is the subject of tanning goggles over glasses.
Common questions
What do I do if the shields and the cord arrive separate?
Assemble Power Tan's shields and cord at a table, before the session. If there are no holes, do not pierce closed slits on the bed. A pair you cannot assemble is a return, not a knot you invent under the lamps.
How tight should the strap be?
Tight enough that the cups stay when you lie back or stand up, and loose enough that they do not dig in or mark the eyelids. A Power Tan cord with no toggle is adjusted by a knot, which is easy to pull too far.
Can I use cotton wool or just close my eyes?
No. HSE poster MISC869 says not to rely on closing your eyes or on cotton wool. Eyelids are not the eye protection the poster requires. Padding a strap mark with a cotton pad is a comfort attempt. It does not replace the cups.
What are panda eyes, and is avoiding them a reason to skip the goggles?
Panda eyes are the pale patches left where the cups blocked the lamps. People skip goggles to avoid those patches. The College of Optometrists has flagged that habit. Avoiding a white ring is not a reason to use the bed with bare eyes.
What do I do if the eye stays sore?
Stop. Do not finish the session by squinting. If the skin blisters, the burn is severe, or a mole changes, NHS inform says to contact a GP. If the soreness is a pressure mark and the eye itself is calm, the next session needs a looser strap or a different shape.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for the age rules and the eye-protection warnings. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures saved for these eight ASINs on 20 October 2026.
- NHS, Sunscreen and sun safety (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Wales, regulation 8, eye protection (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Scotland, sunbed warning schedule (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- HSE poster MISC869 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- UKHSA, Sunbeds: safety advice (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- GOV.UK consultation on sunbeds in England (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Bentham Instruments, goggles and IEC 60335-2-27 (retrieved 20 October 2026)