GUIDE FOR SALONS TO REOPEN SAFELY DURING A PANDEMIC

After many  under stay-at-home orders, states are gradually easing their COVID-19 lock-down restrictions, meaning people can widen their social bubbles, spend more time outdoors and in public while still practicing social distancing and wearing masks. As lock-downs ease around the world, salon owners and stylists are returning to work in environments that were redesigned with new protection plans in place to meet COVID-19 threats safely. In this article, we’ll be telling you everything you can do as a leader of your salon to secure your business among pandemics now and into the future.

Salons can reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 by carefully planning the comfort and experience of clients at every touch-point of their service. Take a moment in deep reflection to imagine that you are the client, you are nervous, and your nerves could be settled by seeing simple things, like hand sanitizer, distancing, washing hands, face-shields, etc. Cleanup and disinfecting a salon will require careful planning, budget for cleaning products, and new mindset of what superior service means during times like this. Your state may have specific recommendations as a guide, others can use this as a general guide.

Client Experience:

1. Provide adequate hand hygienic facilities, such as 70-80% alcohol-based hand rub at the reception counter. Provide mask if needed.
2. Staff should wear a face mask and check the temperature at reception and deny entry of those with fever.
3. Staff is advised to note down the salon safety policies and commit to memory
4. If a client cannot wear a mask during the procedure, staff should put on eye protection (goggles, or face-shield).
5. Arrange client to designated room or area directly. Prevent physical liaison with other guests as far as feasible.
6. If a room is not available, keep the client at least 1.5 meters from each other or hardening up the partition to serve as a roadblock between clients. The barrier should be frequently cleaned and disinfected.
7. Handwashing facilities should be available for staff during and after the procedure.
8. Instruments need to be cleaned and disinfected properly after use. Safety of our staff and clients is our “highest antecedence “. Every client would be given a disposable mask and gown and stylists would also wear masks. The staff has been advised to have two visors, so one can be sterilized between each client.

Temperature Check:

Salons should consider the use of a touchless infrared thermometer to check the temperature of employee each day and of each client who enters the salon/shop. Any employee or client who has a temperature above 99°F should be sent home immediately and not allowed to return to the salon/shop until they have no fever and no evidence of COVID-19 symptoms.

Ask each client entering the shop the following query:

• Have you had a cough?
• Have you had a febricity?
• Have you been around anyone exhibiting this symptom within the past fourteen days?
• Are you living with anyone who is sick or quarantined?

Limit mass in the beauty parlour. Beauty parlour should consider seeing a client by engagement only. Salons should consider telephonic or online scheduling. Limit the telephone number of somebody waiting area in the salon. It is recommended that clients wait outside the salon in their vehicle until the cosmetologist or barber is ready to serve them. It is recommended that persons not being serviced in the salon wait outside the salon. Salons are not be used for social gathering situation.

Maintain social distancing at all times, a spatial arrangement between persons in the beauty salon should be at least six feet, except when staff are servicing node. Salons should consider additional spacing between booths, divider shields, or alternate workplace docket to accomplish this.

Maintain Environment Hygiene and good ventilation

1. Keep the wall fan or exhaust fan running to enhance air travel movement and circulation.
2. Windowpane should be kept open where possible.
3. The ventilation system should function properly and be regularly maintained.

 Disinfecting

Regularly clean and disinfect frequently touched surface such as a piece of furniture, commonly shared detail and floor with the ace in 99 diluted home bleaching agent (mixing 1 share of ménage bleach containing 5.25% sodium hypochlorite with 99 regions of wee-wee), farewell for 15 – 30 minutes, and then rinsing with H₂O supply and rub dry. For metallic surface, disinfect with LXX % alcohol.

If places are contaminated by respiratory secretions, vomitus or excreta, use absorbent disposable towels to rub them away. Then disinfect the surface and neighbouring areas with diluted bleach (mixing 1 part of house bleach containing 5.25% sodium) leave for 15-30 minutes and then rinse with water and wipe dry. For metallic surface, disinfect with 70% alcohol.

Rubbish should be properly wrapped up and discarded into refuse ABA transit number with a hat. Empty garbage bins at least once twenty-four hours.

Special attention to the following areas

1. Areas with frequent admission by clients (e.g. entry, waiting areas, corridors and reception counter): Clean and wipe at least twice daily.
2. Frequently touched surfaces (e.g. buttons, balusters, handle chairs): Clean and wipe at least twice daily and when visibly soiled.
3. Garbage room: Properly clean up rubbish and waste stored in the garbage room every day. Clean and wipe related facilities at least twice daily.

Advice to Clients:

1. Clients should check their temperature before the appointment. Those with fever or respiratory symptom should postpone their booking.
2. All customers should perform hand hygiene to enter the premises, keep vigilant and maintain good personal hygiene.
3. All clients need to put on masks as far as feasible.
4. Take a shower or bath when you return home from a salon and wash your clothes properly.

Restrooms:

Upon re-opening, thoroughly clean and disinfect all exterior and replace paper goods; removing any excess products. The bathroom should continue to be cleaned and disinfected twice a day upon opening and closing. Additional consideration includes: –

• Adding hand sanitizer
• Upgrading to touchless valve and dispenser.
• Place dumpster by the room so that customers can dispose of paper towels.

Laundry

Earlier to re-opening, all cloth ought to be appropriately cleaned taking after your state directions. Grimy cloth paper such as towel, ness, etc. ought to be washed day by day, being beyond any doubt to dry all materials completely, with no dampness or clamminess remaining. Once towels are clean and dried, stock the materials in secured support. Each client ought to get a new, clean wrap. Treatment rooms ought to too have new materials and hanging for each client. Expendable, single-use things are moreover a choice

Shampoo Bowls:

Clean and purify all bowls, hoses, shower spouts, foist handles, cleanser chairs and armrests. Wipe down all back-bar items and racks. Dispose of and supplant any items that have not been put away in a closed holder. In case accessible, wrap cleanser bowls in plastic are disposed of between each client. Consider inquiring clients to wash their possess hair sometime recently entering the salon/shop. Restrain as much as conceivable face-to-face contact with clients, and consider utilizing face-shields by those workers giving cleanser administrations.

Pedicure Bowls:

Remove all parts that can remove. Clean all expelled parts with cleanser and water, wash in clear water and after that submerge into appropriately weakened disinfectant for full prescribed contact time. Scrub the bowl with cleanser and water and supplant evacuated parts to bowl. Rinse with a bowl of clean water. Fill a bowl with once more with clean water and an appropriate sum of disinfectant and let stand for an appropriate time (at slightest 10 minutes). If your bowl has planes, permit the planes to run for a full 10 minutes with disinfectant.

Treatment rooms:

Clean and purify all surfaces such as chairs, tables, electrical machines (don’t disregard the cords). Clean and clean all materials and store in a closed cabinet. Clean all hampers that hold ruined materials and beyond any doubt, utilize one that can be lined and closed. Remove and dispose of any items that might have been sullied by disgraceful unsanitary utilize. Supplant with the modern product. Empty all wax pots and clean them after some time refill them with unused wax. Buy unused single utilize implements that can be removed of in a sealed canister container. The canister should have a top and ought to be lined with an expendable plastic sack.

Administrative Controls

Employees who are wiped out will be anticipated to remain home. Salons are ought to give preparing, instructive materials, and fortification on legitimate sanitation, hand-washing, hack and sniffle behaviour, utilizing PPE, and other defensive behaviours. Ensure break-rooms are completely cleaned and sanitized and not utilized for congregating by employees. Ensure that all sinks within the work environment have antibacterial cleanser accessible and paper towels. Post handwashing signs within the restrooms. Provide liquor wipes for utilizing at phone stations. Be adaptable with work schedules/salon hours to diminish the numbers of individuals (representatives and clients) in salons, at all times practice social distancing. Provide EPA disinfectant wipes, fluid disinfectant holders, and EPA endorsed disinfectant for cleaning specialized execute and work areas. Consider suspending hand alleviation medications.

Keep in mind that these guidelines will be in effect during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic and may be adjusted as necessary, and they will be reduced when safe to do so. Upon inspection, if any salon or shop is found in violation of these guidelines, they may be closed immediately by public health officials or the board. For safe working conditions follow these guidelines and be safe from the pandemic.