Hello Beautiful!

 

To clean, or to clean and clean and clean and clean...

 

 

Sterilization: a safety precaution, or a costly waste of time?

 

It's a common myth that salon implements and tools should be sterilized.  The word sterilize is misunderstood, and used incorrectly on a regular basis. 

Did you know that it's impossible to sterilize the nail plate OR the skin?  Sterilizing the skin would quickly kill it and damage the nail plate.

In all technicality, sterilization uses very high temperatures and pressurized steam or highly toxic chemicals that are far too dangerous for salon use to kill pathogens.  To achieve the extreme condition of high temperature and steam, hospitals use what is called an autoclave- a very expensive and difficult peice of equipment to use, and also completely unneccessary in nail salons.

Sterilization is IDENTICAL to disinfection except in one area: Sterilization kills spores, a highly resistant form of bacteria.  Luckily for those that frequent a salon, spores in a salon are not dangerous, so there is no need to worry about them.  They are dangerous in a hospital setting -in surgical wards and operating rooms, where a large amount of spores ending up inside a body during surgery can cause a serious infection to develop. That is why surgical intruments, that come in direct contact with the patient, must be sterilized.

Salon implements are not used for such invasive procedures (when used PROPERLY mind you),  so disinfection is more than enough to protect clients and ensure the salon is providing safe services. 

If disinfection is good enough for a hospital, don't you think it's good enough for a salon?

 

Disinfection- peace of mind for everyone...

 

Disinfection is obviously important in the salon: implements, tabletops, foot spas, and other such items should be properly sanitized for your own safety, and even the safety of the nail tech. 

But what is it exactly that we are all being protected from?

A quick fact: from 1983-2004 over 6 billion salon services were performed in professional nail salons without a single transmission of either HIV or tuberculosis.  These are not illnesses spread by salon services, and the chances of it ever happening are 1 in 5 billion!  HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, etc., cannot be spread by manicures, pedicures, or other nail services, and these diseases are not the real reason behind disinfection.  Disinfection is not to save lives, it's to protect you and your tech from colds, flu, and the like.  You are more likely to be struck by lightening, die from a bee sting, or be killed in an accident on your way to the salon, than you are to catch a deadly disease from a salon service.

 

The best disinfectant to use in a salon? Quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) are the most commonly used disenfectant in a salon.  They are generally safe, fast acting, and very effective.  But just soaking in this solution is not enough for your implements- they should be washed with soap and warm water, all traces of soap rinsed away, dried on a clean or disposable towel, then immersed in an EPA registered, hospital level disinfectant for the required time stated on the chemicals MSDS.

 

When the rules change:

Cutting a clients skin with an abrasive file creates a different situation.  Once blood is drawn, the general rules of sanitation are amended.  Abrasive files are designed for use on healthy nail plates surrounded by intact skin, and are made with absorbant materials that are more difficult to properly clean once they have come into contact with blood.  The abrasive in contact must be bagged, thrown away, and the bag thrown away should be tied in some manner as an extra precaution.