Health, Safety and Sanitisation in Hair Salons

[oey]

Thanks to a few threads on here and the training we receive we all know now what the health and safety and sanitisation rules for Nail and Beauty Salons are but what are the Health and Safety and Sanitisation issues that we should be seeing when we go to have our hair done at Hairdressing salons?

Is this not such an issue in Hairdressers because it doesnt seem to get discussed as much as the other areas of our industry?

Are hairdressers just better than the rest of us at these Health and Safty issues. If so well done.

 

[becki x]

All equpiments should be washed and placed in barbicide

A swill in barbicide between clients

Cross infrection is a massive issue in salon,especially for head lice

Hairdresser are not better it's just a client wouldn't "see" it iykwim it would be done before hand

Does this help any ? :lol:

 

[oey]

Thanks Becki - it helps a great deal.

So should things like scissors, brushes, combs etc be cleaned in between each client.

How often should the same equipment be put in barbicide or equivalent.

 

[Sals]

This has reminded me of something a friend of mine told me. The HSE are doing some kind of study or something in to contact dermatitis in hair salons. I think it's called "Bad Hand Day", or something equally ludicrous. It's all to do with new regs being brought in (I think).

Sorry to be so vague; I'll find out more and start another thread. Apologies for hijacking this one!

 

[becki x]

combs and brushes should have a swil between clients

you can't submerge scissors,and tbh i'm not 100% on the leglislation,but i think there is a method of sterilising them but most salons don't have it again iykwim

i know i'm vauge but i don't do hairdressing any more and it's easy to forget when your not in salon

hth's x

Edited to add > this doesn't always work in the salon environment and often get done only on a daily basis unless a client has had a contraindication (a sore on the head or similar)

 

[oey]

This has reminded me of something a friend of mine told me. The HSE are doing some kind of study or something in to contact dermatitis in hair salons. I think it's called "Bad Hand Day", or something equally ludicrous. It's all to do with new regs being brought in (I think).

Sorry to be so vague; I'll find out more and start another thread. Apologies for hijacking this one!

Sals - dont apologise as perhaps this is relevant too.

I did find this info on the Habia web site for this same subject but it doesnt mention an awful lot more about health and safety and sanitisation in hair salons.

 

[Sals]

Have found this.

Hairdressing health and safety in the workplace

 

[becki x]

Contact dermatitis is caused from pronglong use of "products" not rinsing and drying hands properly

i have exzema and so i'm more prone,but when i worked in salon,at the backwash (yyaawwnn) i never got it

it's all about taking responsibility for yourself IMO

 

[minky]

Howdy , Oey , health and safety within the hair salon is more or less the same as beauty and nails ect , the sme procedures are applied in hairdesssing too , and in barbering with mens hair and shaving ,

eg contaminated sharps boxes are needed for sharps to be disposed of safey,
any contra indications to be dealt with accordingly ,

To spray any bushes and combs between use with a spray , I use steriline a broad spectum disenfectant ,

The same goes for all eqiupment for use in mens hairdressing ,

I am red hot on the santizing process ,
any nits and the brushes and combs are thrown away , all areas and gowns towels ect would be washed with bleach and or barbicide ,

I would even leave on a mosquito killer plugged in at night , as these are very effective at eliminating any trace of such things,

All other contra indications are much like your own and you would deal with them using very much the same guidelines set out by your own local authority and what you have learned in college ,

You are then issued with a certficate from your local health and saftey , which passes you on the standards of your health and safety,

This should be framed and displayed ,

As within any beauty industry we will always have these NSS salons ,beauty bars and Hairdressing salons too which are not up to scratch ,
These type of salons should be reported to health and safety for a spot check,


Most of us Hairdressing geeks on here are just like all of you nail geeks
we are committed to the hairdressing industry and are very hot on sanitizing too ,
hope this helps :hug: x minky

.

 

[oey]

Thanks Minky - that info is fantastic!

How often should the towels be washed that have ben used to towel dry a clients hair?

 

[rachiebaby]

Towels should be washed after every client, same with gowns.
All equipment to be cleaned and steralised between each client, and if dropped on floor.
Also scissors and combs are cleaned between evey client, scissors are less damaged by disinfection if put into a uv steraliser.

And dont forget telephones and computer keypad and doorhandles should be cleaned at end of day.

If a client has nits, chair and position should also be cleaned and wiped with a disinfectant spray.

Hope this helps
Rach

 

[minky]

Towels should be washed after every client, same with gowns.
All equipment to be cleaned and steralised between each client, and if dropped on floor.
Also scissors and combs are cleaned between evey client, scissors are less damaged by disinfection if put into a uv steraliser.

And dont forget telephones and computer keypad and doorhandles should be cleaned at end of day.

If a client has nits, chair and position should also be cleaned and wiped with a disinfectant spray.

Hope this helps
Rach

Hiya , just what I was gonna say ,:hug: lol x

.

 

[Jeni Giles]

My students just thought I was a neat freak....they have "duties" to be done every night before going out the door-
Doorknobs, telephones, tables, their stations/chairs, community use areas all have to be sanitised and disinfected.

We provide a disinfecting station that gets cleaned and changed every night.

Students have to separate dirty from clean and cannot have anything in their station that is not disinfectable.

The same company that makes barbacide makes a spray disinfectant (broad spectrum) that is safe for use on metal implements such as clippers and shears Clippercide spray, it contains a light lubricant that helps prevent rust.

I'm glad to know the same stuff has to be done world wide....I think I'll be printing this thread!!

 

[oey]

Thanks Jeni

The sad thing is I dont think that your standards (which I feel should be the norm) are carried out world wide. I would be delighted if these standards were carried out in all salons accross the world, but i have seen very little evidence of this in the salons I have been in.

It is such a shame because I often wonder if salons lose clients because of it.

 

[*JOANNE*]

I have no experience working in a hair salon as i am only a hair student at college,
but at college health and safety and sanitation issues are uppermost.
Like jeni is with her students our tutor is with us and our training salon duties.
Cross contamination is a big thing that is instilled in us all the time so it becomes totally second nature with reguards to sanitising and disinfecting etc.

 

[Cathie!]

A salon where I once worked used to tumble dry the towels when they were too wet to use again.....the towels were washed once a week.....how rank is that! In fact it's disgusting.

 

[VHunter]

A salon where I once worked used to tumble dry the towels when they were too wet to use again.....the towels were washed once a week.....how rank is that! In fact it's disgusting.

THAT is just plain NASTY.

MY OWN towel, that I use for my OWN hair at HOME goes into the laundry immediately after use. We do not share towels or cloths in this house. That's just plain disgusting.

And one of the reasons I don't like going to salons anymore to get my hair done and will do it myself is because of all the nastiness.
Take a look, how often do you actually see barbacide at a 'salon' these days?
I'm sorry, if I don't see it personally, I doubt it's being used.
I often see brushes and combs tossed willy-nilly in a drawer at the hairdresser's station... and right back in immediately after use on someone's head.
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

I'm glad to hear that some regulations are being implemented. That's good news. I hope they do something like that here soon!

 

[marketing-geek]

Our research suggests that levels of hygiene in many hair salons is poor - with many not even disinfecting implements in between clients.

Salon hygiene is not difficult or time consuming - or expensive - regardless of what treatments you are performing.

My advice to anybody would be to keep standards of hygiene high as it will attract clients and also give you nothing to worry about when the area health inspector calls.

It will also protect YOUR health as well as your clients'.

 

[oey]

Our research suggests that levels of hygiene in many hair salons is poor - with many not even disinfecting implements in between clients.

Salon hygiene is not difficult or time consuming - or expensive - regardless of what treatments you are performing.

My advice to anybody would be to keep standards of hygiene high as it will attract clients and also give you nothing to worry about when the area health inspector calls.

It will also protect YOUR health as well as your clients'.

Thanks for your imput on this Nigel.

I have been searching the web for codes of practice and health and safety for hair salons and I am alarmed as to how little information there is in this area!

Does this mean there are very little issues that arise from maintaining the implements that are used in hair salons? You say Nigel that research shows that hygiene levels are poor and I see very little evidence that salons and regulating bodies do much about it or give much advice to salons as to what they should be doing to maintain these standards.

There are loads of pieces of advice on the web that are to protect the stylists from dermatitis but i have yet to find a clear document that give general advice to protect the clients as well. All the searches provide loads of information for beauty and nails salons so why not the same for hair. If very little info is available to salons then you cant blame them for not knowing exactly what they should be doing to maintain these standards.

Apologies if this seams harsh to hair salons and stylists as I am not a hair geek but I am just trying to get to the bottom of the standards that should be followed across the whole of our industry and not just beauty and nails. So many salons these days cover all 3 areas and it seems that we all have different regulations.

A few people mention about the Habia Health and Safety Pack for Hairdressing. Does anybody know what this pack specifies for sanitisation/disinfaction of tools, towel and other equipment that may be used?

 

[rachiebaby]

There is also a good salon guide and it grades on stars, so a five star salon down to a one star, and I know hygene and steralisation was one of the main implements towards tha ratings, so if anyone is scared to have thier hair done in a salon because of hygene, you should be going to a five star salon, as this is implemented at all times across the board.
There is standardisation as i said earlier in the posting and it is implemented in training enviroments so it will become second nature, and not all salons have to use barbicides, their are also steam and UV steralisers around, maybe that is why you have not seen it in certain salons.
All salons will have at least one form of steralisation.
As for Habia, it is standardised that all gowns and towels are washed after every client use, combs and brushes, cleaned and steralised between clients, and every time dropped, scissors and tools streralised between every client etc, if salons dont do this then it is shameful, and salon owners should make sure assistants learn this proceedure and have it drummed into them so it spreads nationwide, but training enviroments implement this and hopefully it is kept up!