Guidelines and Procedures to Ensure the Safest Possible Salon Environment for Salon Personnel and its Customers. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is vital salons of all types and descriptions adopt and adhere to the following guidelines to ensure the safest possible working environment for all who enter the salon. These guidelines are to be strictly followed until notification from the Professional Beauty Association or your local government officials announce they can be modified or lifted.

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There are (4) easy-to-follow steps to create and maintain a Safe Salon environment for hair, nail, or skin care salons of all types and sizes:
1 - Reconfigure the physical salon environment if necessary
2 - Adopt and adhere to special salon environment sanitation procedures
3 - Adopt and adhere to special personal salon staff sanitation procedures
4 - Adopt and adhere to special procedures pertaining to the interaction between salon staff and the interaction of salon customers with other customers
Spray Bottle (Filled with properly salon disinfectant)*
Disinfectant/Antibacterial wipes
hand sanitizer
appliance and glass cleaner
clean towels / paper towels
gloves
laundry detergent
trash bags
Disinfection Reminders
  • Disinfectants must be EPA-registered and labeled as bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal. While products won’t be labeled for COVID-19, many will have human coronavirus efficacy either on their label or available on their website. At this time the EPA has not approved any product that has tested as effective against human coronavirus or be able to make a claim for COVID-19 at this time.
  • Disinfection only works on a clean item. Methods for cleaning include soap/water, chemical cleaners and wipes.
  • Contact time listed on the label must be observed for disinfectants to work. The contact time refers to how long the surface must stay visibly wet with the disinfectant to inactivate or destroy all of the pathogens listed on the label. Typical contact time for immersion/sprays is 10 minutes and wipes are 2-4 minutes.
  • Disinfection is for hard, non-porous surfaces, typically made of glass, metal and plastic or referred to as synthetic materials.
  • Cleaning is for porous and soft surfaces that cannot be disinfected. This includes items such as towels, chairs covered in a porous material, unsealed surfaces (ie stone, concrete).
Reception & Retail Area
  • Wipe down all soft surfaces (couches, chairs) with clean water and a clean towel.
  • Discard old magazines and other non-essential items in the waiting area that cannot be disinfected.
  • Clean and disinfect all hard, non-porous surfaces such as reception counter, computer keyboard, phones, door handles, light switches and point of sale equipment.
  • Implement online scheduling in place of written appointment cards.
  • Place markers on salon floor as directed by state or federal guidelines to indicate 6 feet of distance.
Signage
  • Please print and put state and/or federal mandated signage on front door, workstations and wherever required in salon.†
  • To download required printable signage visit www.stylistsareessential.com
Work Stations
  • Clean and disinfect station, rolling carts, drawers and any containers used for storage.
  • Clean and disinfect all non-porous implements used in your services, as required by all states (immersion, spray or wipe).
  • Store properly disinfected implements in closed, containers that have also been disinfected (wipe or spray).
  • Clean and disinfect all electrical implements used in your services as required by your state board.
  • Clean and disinfect chairs and headrests.
  • Prior to opening, disinfect your chairs and continue to clean chairs at least once a day - consider barrier method on chairs such as disposable paper drapes or towels that can be discarded or laundered after each client.
Color Bar
  • Clean and disinfect all color bowls, brushes and clips.
Restroom
  • Clean and disinfect all surfaces (faucet, soap dispensers, toilet handles, countertops).
  • Replace any soft goods (toilet paper, paper towels).
  • Provide hand sanitizer.
  • Place a trash container near the door.
Laundry
  • Any linens that may have been left in the salon (clean or dirty) prior to closure, should be washed per your state board rules. If no rules have been set, wash on hot with detergent and dry until items are completely dry/hot to touch.
  • Launder (porous) or disinfect (non-porous) all capes and aprons.
  • All linens should be stored in closed, covered cabinets until used.
Shampoo Bowls
  • Clean all bowls, handles, hoses, spray nozzles and shampoo chairs.
  • Disinfect all bowls, handles, hoses, spray nozzles and shampoo chairs using a properly concentrated disinfectant or wipes.
ALL states have health and public safety requirements that must be followed at all times. The steps suggested below are in addition to state requirements.
Reconfiguring the Salon Environment
  • Workstations must be at least 6 feet from each other. Consider removing stations if necessary.
  • Restrict the number of clients in the salon at one time to no more than 1 per each 144 sq. feet. This will allow for the requisite 6 ft. of personal social distancing. For example, if your salon is 1000 sq. ft., you should have no more than 7 clients in the salon at one time.
Salon Staff and client Interaction Procedures
  • Each salon staff member must have their body temperature taken before starting their work shift and again at the end of their work shift.
  • If any staff member is feeling ill or has a temperature greater than 99.7 degrees Fahrenheit, they must leave work immediately and not return until they are feeling healthy and their temperature has returned to a normal range.
  • Clients must have their body temperature taken prior to entering the salon. Clients with a temperature greater than 99.7 degrees Fahrenheit must not enter the salon.
  • Any salon client that exhibits signs of illness must be denied salon services and must be asked to leave the salon.
  • Do not shake hands with clients or salon personnel - whenever possible maintain the requisite 6ft social distancing.
PPE
  • Any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) used should be treated as single use and should be disposed of or sanitized where applicable.
  • Whenever working with a client in close proximity, it is vital that a facial mask, preferably the ASTM Level 2 type, be worn.
  • Hands must be washed and/or sanitized after removing gloves.
Practical Improvements
  • Consider staggering appointments so that waiting areas have minimal congestion and that you allow time for stylists to properly clean and disinfect stations and tools between clients.
  • If you choose to take in walk-in customers, be aware of how many people are in your waiting room.
  • If you haven’t used an appointment system before, now is a good time to implement one.
Measures to make your POS terminal safer
  • iPad/Smart Tablet - ask the client to read you their card number so that you are the only one touching the screen.
  • Apps (ie Apple Pay, Venmo) - do not require any interaction between your client and surfaces.
  • If your POS is a touch pad, disinfect it frequently.
  • Disinfect reception counter, door handles, phones and writing implement at the beginning of the day and every 1-2 hours on average during business hours.
  • In the short term, do not provide magazines, self-serve coffee/beverages or candy jars.
Hygiene
  • Wash hands with soap/water for a minimum of 30 seconds before/after eating, smoking and using the restroom.
  • Wash or sanitize hands immediately before and after providing client services.
  • Provide hand sanitizer at reception desk and on all stations for client use.
Cleaning & Disinfection Best Practices
  • Cleaning prepares the item or surface so that disinfectant can make full contact with the material and be effective against all pathogens listed on the label.
  • Cleaning may be done with soap/water, chemical cleaner or wipe.
  • Once clean, rinse and dry implement or surface.
  • Disinfect using a properly concentrated disinfectant made for immersion, spray or a wipe.
  • All disinfectants must be EPA-registered as bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal to be effective.
  • Observe full contact time on manufacturer label- this means that implement or surface must stay visibly wet for full contact time listed.
  • Immersed items should be removed at the end of contact time then rinsed and dried with either a paper towel or clean, freshly laundered towel.
  • Disinfect stations, chairs, rolling carts and any other storage containers daily.
Dear Valued Client,
As we prepare to reopen our doors, we want to assure you that the health and well being of our staff and clients is our number one priority. As such, we want to make you aware that we have implemented the following measures to ensure the safest and cleanest environment for your safety:
  • Thoroughly cleaned and/or disinfected all salon surfaces and implements.
  • Laundered and/or disinfected all capes, towels and linens.
  • Initiated contactless methods for scheduling and payment.
  • Removed any non-essential items throughout our business.
  • Acquired PPE (personal protective equipment) to be used when necessary or requested.
  • Re-trained our entire staff on essential infection control and required cleaning, disinfecting and hygienic practices as required by our state board.
Rest assured we are committed to providing you the best-in-class services you expect while meeting and/or exceeding measures to maintain a safe and comfortable environment that provides peace-of-mind while enjoying your services.
Should you have any additional questions about our new safety standards, please feel free to contact us at anytime.
We look forward to welcoming you soon!