Essential hygiene practices for your salon

July 30 2022 - It is crucial to maintain impeccable hygiene standards at your salon to protect yourself and your clients. With so much close physical contact, it’s important to avoid cross-contamination, bacteria and viruses, which will in turn build trust between you and your clients.

Why salon hygiene practices are so important

When it comes to hygiene practices, it’s good to have a routine and a few areas of focus. Salon equipment can be a hotbed for bacteria and viruses and the most common way that cross-contamination occurs. By keeping tools clean and dry when they are not in use, hot-washing towels and regularly sanitising treatment areas and worksurfaces, the risk is significantly minimised.

Personal hygiene is also of the utmost importance, especially considering the nature of salon work. Remember to frequently wash your hands in between treatments, as well as before and after, clean your uniform regularly and use any PPE equipment you deem necessary, be it a surgical mask or medical gloves.

Wiping down in between clients

A crucial practice to enforce within your salon is ensuring that furniture and other points of contact are regularly and sanitised and wiped down, particularly in between clients. Not only does this include typical salon furniture like pedicure chairs and hair-dressing tables but also seats in waiting areas, the reception desk, and bathroom facilities.

The best method for cleaning furniture is to use specialised products with a soft brush or towel to avoid damaging the fabrics - damaged fabrics such as cracked leathers can harbour more germs as well as look unsightly.

Wearing PPE where necessary

We might associate PPE with Covid 19, but it still plays a key role in keeping salons safe and healthy. The beauty industry is often recommended to wear surgical masks, medical gloves, disposable aprons and eye protection. If you want to go one step further, consider installing a countertop screen protector to create a barrier between you and your clients.

PPE can range in price depending on the amount and quality. In order to cover the extra costs, some salons might consider raising their treatment prices slightly.

Waste disposal

Waste is also a big contributor to the number of infections within salons. Salon waste should be separated into 2 categories: contaminated (wax strips, cotton wool buds, products used for treatments) and general (used tissues, hair, non-salon related waste). Each category should have its own bin with the category clearly marked.

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