The Importance of Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Salon
Aside from making your clients look and feel beautiful, your major concern as a hairdresser is their safety and well-being. And, because many clients are still taking extra measures while spending long periods of time outside their homes, now is the ideal moment to brush up on basic salon hygiene standards. Are you adhering to the following guidelines? Continue reading to discover out.
How to Clean and Disinfect Your Beauty Supplies
First and foremost, here’s a refresher on the differences between cleaning and disinfecting: (Remember, you must use both to properly clean your salon and barber tools!)
Cleaning: dirt, bacteria, and pollutants are removed. Cleaning is the process of physically removing germs from an object’s surface using soap, water, and mechanical force.
Disinfecting: actually kills germs. Disinfectants should be used AFTER cleaning and drying an object.
How to Clean Hair Brushes and Combs
Why is it so vital to clean and disinfect your combs and brushes between clients? Hair, product, dead skin cells, dust mites, and natural hair oils build up on your combs and brushes, and this buildup can convert your brushes into a breeding ground for bacteria. Cleaning and disinfecting your tools properly can keep your clients safe and extend the life of your tools!
How should your brushes and combs be cleaned? First, use the Ship-Shape Comb & Brush Cleaner. Ship-Shape cleans combs and brushes of lotions, oils, hair colour, gels, sprays, and dirt, and meets state and EPA criteria for pre-cleaning tools before immersing them in disinfection. Clean sink basins, head and neck rests, vinyl upholstery, chrome, chairs, and tables with it.
“Before I discovered Ship-Shape, I was using shampoo to clear product buildup from my combs, which never really worked,” explains stylist Josh Demarco. “Using a gunk-covered comb to refine a line on dry hair is not easy or suggested.” Fortunately, I discovered Ship-Shape, which instantly revives my combs. Simply immerse them in the solution, allow them to soak, and then use Barbicide to clean and disinfect the combs.”
My combs come back to life in minutes with Ship-Shape. Simply immerse them in the solution, allow them to soak, and then disinfect them with Barbicide.
After cleaning, disinfection is required, which necessitates the use of Barbicide. Mix 32 oz of water with 2 oz of Barbicide for a quick and easy way to ensure you’re mixing it correctly. For comprehensive disinfection, soak your instruments in Barbicide for at least 10 minutes. After that, either sponge, mop, or spray. Remember, the EPA requires you to change your barbicide every day!
Barbicide Wipes can also help you save time while keeping your space clean. These simple, cost-effective wipes have a 2-minute contact duration and meet the EPA’s COVID-19 requirements, ensuring that your salon, spa, or barbershop meets disinfection guidelines in only a few minutes.
How to Make Barbicide Spray
Have an empty spray bottle lying around? Use it! For easy cleanup, make your own Barbicide Spray! It’s incredibly simple and quick to make. To make things even easier, fill a spray container with 16 oz of water and 1 oz of Barbicide Concentrate.
How to Use Clippercide Spray
Don’t forget your shears and clippers! As you know, shears and clippers are expensive, so you want to treat them well. To ensure they stay sharp, make sure to clean and disinfect them after each use. Here’s how:
- Wipe off any excess hair.
- Spray with Clippercide.
- Let them sit for at least 10 minutes.
- Wipe off any excess product, and voila! Clean and sanitized shears.
Cleaning Tips for Nail Salons
All non-porous nail supplies (including nail tools, clippers and nail drill bits) should be cleaned and disinfected the same as combs and brushes – this means cleaning with Ship-Shape first, followed by 10 minutes in Barbicide solution.
You can also use a sanitizer box like the Fanta Sea UV Sterilization Box. This ultraviolet sterilizer can be used to sterilize brushes, combs, manicure implements and other salon tools – just place your tools inside, set your timer and remove them once the time is up.
Cleaning Tips for Makeup Artists
Quick reminder about cleaning makeup: you can only disinfect non-porous objects (think stainless steel, plastics, rubbers, ceramics). Makeup, however, is porous, meaning it can’t be disinfected. So as a makeup artist, your goal isn’t to decontaminate makeup, it’s to AVOID contaminating it in the first place.
So before you arrive at a job, outside of makeup brushes, try to remove all porous, reusable items, including cosmetic bags, canisters, brush rolls and fabric chairs. Remove all non-porous packaging that is difficult to clean and disinfect, such as pencil sharpeners or complicated packaging. Repackage items in non-porous packaging that is easy to clean and disinfect. For example – a fabric kit bag can be replaced by plastic bins with lids. Then, separate makeup brushes – one brush set per person – in individual bags that can be sealed.
Also read: Common Hair Headaches & How To Solve Them