New health and safety regulations for salon cleanliness will keep your clients safe and your salon running smoothly.
With many cities implementing public health regulations for spas and salons, having a clean and safe salon for your clients and staff is becoming more important than ever. Toronto began rolling out its BodySafe program last year, and by 2015 a mandatory pass will be a requirement for all Toronto-based salons and spas. While the regulations and inspection process are still fairly new to the city, Leeanne Colley, founder of Tips Nail Bar, and nail professional Jennifer Mather have already mastered best practices for health and safety, both working in-salon with clients or behind the scenes at photo shoots.
Keep it clean
Tips Nail Bar was one of the first Toronto-based salons to receive the BodySafe pass, which is proudly displayed in the front window, but Colley says she’d been following the guidelines long before Toronto Public Health got involved. “We haven’t had to make any changes since the BodySafe program came into effect,” she says, “but it will definitely be a wake-up call for salons that have never abided by these rules.” She further explains that clients often don’t know the risks “when corners are cut to save costs and time,” but the BodySafe program allows them to search the Toronto Public Health website to see if a salon was given a pass or not.
Take responsibility
It’s up to salon owners to take the initiative and ensure that safe and clean practices are being followed by all staff members. Each municipality has its own guidelines and programs, but even if there is no designated public health program, cleanliness and sanitation should not be compromised. “Maintaining continuing education for staff is important,” says Mather. “Actions speak louder than words, so make sure that all staff follow proper guidelines—no exceptions.” Giving staff a checklist to follow and ensuring that they’re brought up to speed on new rules and regulations is also an important safety guideline.
Practise safety on the road
Working behind the scenes at a photo shoot or backstage at a runway show, doesn’t mean you can cut corners. Both Colley and Mather come prepared so they’re practising the same standards, even when they’re not in the salon. Mather brings with her an arsenal of products, including labelled containers for clean and used tools, fresh towels and high-level disinfectant. Colley advises to “be sure to have new files and a disinfected set of tools for each person you work on,” and carry hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available. Leaving a clean workspace is important, too, so ensure that everything is
wiped down and sanitized
before leaving.
Hands-On Cleaning Checklist
Sure, you want to squeeze in as many clients in as you can, but by following these steps you’ll keep clients and staff clean and healthy.
1) Workers must have access to warm running water and/or 70 per cent alcohol-based hand sanitizer and must perform proper hand hygiene before and after each client.
2) Service to clients that have possible infections, rashes or open wounds should not be performed.
3) Stainless steel tools and footbaths should be washed with warm, soapy water and disinfected between clients.
4) New and disinfected tools are stored in a sanitary and organized way.
5) Nail files and buffers that can’t be disinfected should be discarded in between clients.
6) A new batch of disinfectant should be mixed daily.
7) Clean towels should be used for each service.
8) The workspace should be sanitized after each service and is kept clean and dust-free.
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