i have had a visit this morning from enviromental health so that i can obtain a skin piercing licence.

one of the things that came up and needs to be provided is
having data saftey sheets, i have never in my 9 years trained heard of them. Apparently we as therapists/salon owners should keep copies of in salon.

These sheets SHOULD be provided to us by our companies/suppliers of all products we use. They should contain information of all ingredients etc and any possible reactions allergies etc.

So for example if a client needs to attend hospital for a reaction etc the ingredients could be passed on the medical professionals.

Sp why are companies not issuing these when selling products.

i am now going to individually contact all my suppliers to ask for copies

Has anyone else come across this before??

No I have never heard of this either! It doesn't sound like a bad idea though. Just bad on the companies that should be sending them! I have NEVER even received one and I have ordered from a lot of companies!
Let us know what they say xxx

Sounds like MSDS (materials safety data sheets) - is that what you are referring to?
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Yes I have. the companies supplied me with reams and reams of paper with all this info. The whole thing was a pain in the neck, and the inspector chap never even looked at it. (I could have put a ream of blank paper in a folder for all he knew). Lets face it, if a client passed out, would you flick through a thousand ingredient sheets before you let her go hospital? These H&S people don't live in the same world as us.
My best advice is stock up on printer ink before you print them off!

Yep I have all of mine......

H&S was my previous vocation......Hmmm dont live in the same world lol lol (yeah Ive been a hate figure in my time)....

They also have all the first aid/fire info on them so you know what to do in the event of an emerg......

No you wouldnt do this after the client has passed out....you would read through when you purchase the product so you are aware of what you are using & what precautions need to be taken before use !

I like to have them as they contain all the info I need for each product im using....

Every supplier should issue these on request, they can also be found online...

They are also a H&S requirement....

yes think so
he advised me to get them, said he would not need to return for a check up
thanks ruth

thanks i'll email them all thankyou all

Lets say a client gets some product in their eye this info will be invaluable to the doctor trying to save their eye.

Your suppliers should provide you with MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) upon request.

You need to have a MSDS for every substance and product in your salon. This means everything and not just the stuff you work with e.g. washing up liquid, toilet beach... even printer ink, if you have a printer.

That's the easy part! Now you have to decide, by reading the MSDS, if that product is hazardous to health. If it is then you have to write out a COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) to prove that you and your staff know about the potential hazards, know how to use the product correctly and how the product should be stored etc, etc.



It's basic health and safety and a legal requirement, but it's often overlooked during training

jes

Risk Assessments & various other documentation is only necessary when you have a number of employed people working in the salon...

That is not applicable for all xx

Ps: Wasnt being funny, just didnt want all the lone workers/mobiles worrying x

Hi Champagne,

I think your only partially right. Everybody has to do basic risk assessment but you only have to put it into writing if you employ more than 5.

However everybody must have MSDS sheets and do COSHH (where necessary)

Here's a leaflet from HSE: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/sr13.pdf

jes

I did all mine when i first opened my salon.
I phoned the HSE and they sent me shed loads of stuff!
I'd already been to the library to get books out about health and safety to give me a head start.
You can get data sheets from Ellisons. I got my risk assessment ones from Ellisons too and when the health and safety came to my salon they were very impressed with the Ellison ones.
I just filled them all in myself but it was very time consuming.
I did ask one company to send me their own MSDS sheets and they were so badly printed i could barely read them.
This thread has actually reminded me that i need to do some more for the new products i've had in since i last filled mine out

I just did a COSHH course two weeks ago and it was a huge eye-opener. I really think that educators need to bring this subject more to light as there's so much misinformation out there. I'm currently on mat leave, but by the time I get back, I will be making sure I'm up to date with these.

By the way - about the mobile issue - I was told that even though I'm mobile and have no employees, I am still legally required to be up to date with my COSHH forms as I'm working with the public. This was from the COSHH educator from the NHS.

The course I took involved people from all different industries - I was the only nail tech. The funny/bizarre/scary thing was that we did a practice COSHH assessment on acetone... here, everyone is writing out what to do in case of skin contact, and in our industry, we actually apply this stuff on purpose! When I described acetone soaking for product removal, several people winced.

Take care of yourselves, and take care of your clients!

I also just had an inspection in my new salon...and provided them with my COSHH and MSDS's sheets. She was very impressed and said she hasn't seen a personally completed COSHH sheet in a hair/beauty salon in a while, while doing inspections?!?!?!?! Baffling!

Yes COSH is required by all......I was referring to written risk assesments & safe systems....Sorry, im not always too clear with my post writing lol