As you know, safety and hygiene in aesthetics, beauty, manicure and pedicure centres are essential for their proper functioning. It's always been this way, but with the current situation caused by COVID-19 it's become even more necessary.
It's important to keep in mind that there are many diseases, such as the aforementioned COVID-19, Hepatitis B and C, fungi, etc. that can affect a significant part of the population and that, in many cases, aren't diagnosed. Contagion is very easy, so taking extra precautions, investing in good equipment and in proper training for your staff is the best investment you can make for your business.
Today we give you the keys to making your salon safe for your clients and your staff.
Basic concepts
As we mentioned, it's not enough to perform each service correctly; it's also necessary to do so safely, and for this you must know and implement all the necessary safety, disinfection and sterilisation protocols.
All surfaces, tools, utensils and any object that will be in contact with the client must be properly cleaned and disinfected before use.
But first let's look at the basic concepts:
- Cleaning: this is the method that allows us to remove dirt, dust and impurities, using physical or chemical processes.
- Sanitising: This goes a step beyond cleaning since it reduces the amount of germs but doesn't eliminate them completely.
- Disinfection: this is the process by which we eliminate all pathogenic microorganisms, except spores, which are inactive forms of bacteria that can survive for a long time.
- Sterilisation: this is the only process that allows us to eliminate any living organism, including spores.
Keys to a safe salon
Below, we give you all the keys to act depending on the type of item:
- Soft or hard surfaces that come into direct contact with the client's skin, such as the table where the manicure service is performed or the pad the arms rest on. These surfaces must be carefully cleaned and disinfected with a suitable product before each client. For example, in the case of the pad where arms or feet rest during pedicures, one option is to cover it with a different towel for each client. Ideally the towel should be disposable.
- Multi-use tools or utensils. Within this category we must distinguish 3 different types:
- Plastic or metal tools such as nail clippers, cuticle pushers, etc., must be cleaned, disinfected and sterilised. There are various options for sterilisation, but the one we recommend is using a UV steriliser, which is also useful for files that can't be sterilised using other methods such as chemical ones.
- Porous items such as those made of wood or fabric (towels). These items must be cleaned and disinfected with a suitable product. In the case of fabric towels, they must be washed at 60 degrees to eliminate any microorganism.
- Items that don't need disinfection since, due to their nature, they don't allow the growth of bacteria or viruses, such as acrylic application brushes. In this case, they only need to be cleaned well and the manufacturer's care instructions followed.
- Single-use tools or utensils such as cotton pads, wipes, cotton buds, toe separators for pedicures, pedicure paddles, etc. These are items the manufacturer already defines as “disposable” and therefore, after each use, must be thrown away or given to the client, such as toe separators. What should never be done is reuse them, as this is considered an unhygienic and unprofessional practice.
In addition to what we've already mentioned, the correct application of products is also very important, since some can become contaminated. For example, if we apply a cuticle oil with the same brush included with the product, touch the client's skin and then put it back in the bottle, we can contaminate the entire contents of the bottle. The correct approach in this case would be to use a disposable dropper or applicator for each client.
Finally, storage. It's pointless to carry out all the steps outlined in the previous points if we then don't properly store the already sterilised utensils. It's necessary for the cabinets and surfaces where we store towels and other products to also be properly cleaned and sanitised. In the case, for example, of nail clippers, cuticle pushers and other metal items, a highly recommended option is to bag them individually after sterilisation.
Special COVID-19 safety and hygiene
In addition to everything we've indicated in the previous points, we must currently also include the safety and hygiene measures recommended by health authorities to prevent the spread of this disease. You're likely already familiar with these measures, but we detail them below:
- Mandatory use of face masks at all times, both for clients and your staff.
- Hydroalcoholic gel available for clients at the salon entrance.
- Use of gloves by staff.
- Respect the safety distance.
Remember that at Seena Owell you have everything you need to keep your beauty salon safe. We recommend checking out our sections:
https://seenaowell.com/en/73-herramientas-y-accesorios-para-unas
https://seenaowell.com/en/83-material-de-proteccion
Don't hesitate to contact us if you need additional information about any product.
