Hygiene advice - skin conditions

SalonGeek

Help Support SalonGeek:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

F&LLondon

Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2019
Messages
17
Reaction score
8
Location
London
Dear all,

Please be kind - I am not fully trained yet.

I was reading with interest the nail hygiene/ sterilisation thread which was talking about protecting clients and yourself which makes perfect sense. My question is if you as the therapist have a skin condition do you still work with gloves and proper hygiene measures in place or are you unable to?

Reason I ask is that with two small children the potential for them passing grot from nursery/ school to me is high - and I am very strict with hygiene. But for example they already gave me nits - and I noticed my daughters friend had some warts on her hand the other day. I’m all about hand washing/ hygiene etc but even with this it’s not impossible I won’t catch something spreadable. Do you just not work if this happens - obviously not with nits - but what about longer term skin conditions? Can you work with gloves etc or would it be very poor practice / affect insurance. For example, if a beautician gets coldsores etc which I don’t have but I think are common- do they continue with care or take time out?

As I said if this is glaringly obvious to you all and I’m being thick pls be kind in your responses.
 
I’ve amended your thread title slightly as it might attract more views from geeks who have an interest/knowledge in these matters.

As a hairdresser, we can obviously wear gloves (and should do) for colouring hair but it’s unusual to wear gloves when cutting, but not completely impractical though.

Good luck with your training. :)
 
Thanks AcidPerm
 
Any advance on this? Thinking it must be a really obvious / silly question. If anyone can point me in the direction of guidance on websites I’d be grateful. All I can find is around clients. X
 
Washing your hands before and after each client makes a massive difference to transferring germs between clients. You don't need an antibacterial soap, a nice, natural soap bar will be great for your skin and sanitise as well.

Get into the habit of not touching your face, hair or any other body part during treatments. If you need to excuse yourself to blow your nose, wash your hands before returning to your client.

When I finish in a treatment room, I use a tissue to open the door handles on my way to the loo to wash my hands, and I use a tissue to cover my hands when I reposition my over couch light - saves constant sanitising.

If you are bleeding, you need to cover with a plaster. Contact dermatitis, excema and psoriasis are not transmissible but skin can crack and bleed. Warts are not normally transmissible, if they are very unsightly you can cover them with tape. You don't need to worry about cold sores or anything else but you shouldn't go to work if you have D&V or have a nasty cold etc. Clients may have vulnerable immune systems.

That's all you need to do to keep your clients safe - just wash your hands before you touch them and before you touch anything else after you've touched them.
 
Last edited:
Thank so much for your reply, makes a lot of sense. Think I’m just a bit paranoid as my two youngsters are walking germ factories!

Btw, I’ve been reading some of your other posts with interest as I think you have a similar background to me - previously worked in a totally different industry/had a career change. You have inspired me to keep going and to believe that i can make a proper income from this so thank you. I have so many doubters / people not taking me seriously!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top