October 16th, 2018 by Chris Chapman

If you run a hair, nail, and beauty salon, hygiene should be as important to you as it is to your clients. All businesses need to apply by strict health and safety laws to make sure they’re hygienic, but as a beauty salon is always full of chemicals, sharp objects, and bits of hair, and other bits and pieces, there are a few extra steps you need to take to keep your salon safe and clean. As you want your customers to feel relaxed and pampered, though, you don’t just want to do the bare minimum, you want to go above and beyond to make your salon feel clean and welcoming. This guide will tell you everything you need to know in order to run a salon that’ll satisfy both the health inspectors and your clients!

Sanitary Bins for Beauty Salons

It’s not the most glamorous topic, but proper waste disposal is arguably the most important thing for beauty salon hygiene. Depending on what services your salon offers, you may produce many different types of waste which will need to be kept separately in clearly-marked bins. It’s wise to make sure your bins are differently-coloured so you can tell them apart at a glance. Here’s a quick rundown of the different types of waste to look out for.

Clinical Waste

Clinical waste includes things like wax strips, cotton pads, nappy bags, epilator pads, and cotton wool. A common mistake salon owners make is getting clinical and hazardous waste mixed up – you should keep them in separate bins.

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste is anything that could be considered dangerous such as needles, razors, and aerosol cans.

General Waste

General waste is any non-recyclable waste that isn’t considered clinical or hazardous. Paper towels, napkins, used food and drink containers, and make-up wipes are common forms of general waste.

Disinfectant for Your Salon Chair

It’s always a good idea to give your salon chair a quick wipe down after you finish with each client. Your salon chair is where your customers will spend the majority of their time, so you want it looking, feeling, and smelling fresh at all times. It’s a good idea to get a robust disinfectant wipe dispenser for your worktop so you always have a steady supply of anti-bacterial wipes. Make sure you pick up one that’s tough enough to cope with constant use to keep your work area and salon chairs clean.

Steam Mops and Anti-Bacterial Detergent for Your Salon Floor

Whatever services your salon offers, chances are you’ll end up with a lot of debris all over your floor! Bacteria from hair and nail clippings and more will build up on your salon floor through the day, spreading bacteria across your whole salon. Most of these bacteria aren’t dangerous unless you let it build up, but it can cause some odours in your beauty salon. If you want your customers to feel comfortable and pampered, letting foul smells build up isn’t the best way to go about it! Use a steam mop with some anti-bacterial steam detergent to quickly clean up your floor, breaking down potentially smelly bacteria and replacing it with a fresh, clean scent.

Air Fresheners for Beauty Salons

Nice fragrances are a big part of what makes people feel at ease. However, many people spend so much time on making their salon look great that they forget the little details that help to make customers comfortable, such as an air freshener dispenser. An air freshener dispenser will mask the smells of cleaning chemicals, hair dyes, nail polish, and so on with a regular spritz of a sweet fragrance of your choice – it’s simply essential for any beauty salon that wants to look out for its clients.

Paper Towel Dispensers for Salons

Paper towels are an all-purpose tool for any salon. Mop up spills, dab off misapplied make-up, brush down hair clippings – the usefulness of paper towels in your beauty salon shouldn’t be overlooked! More so than any other dispenser in your salon, your paper towel dispenser needs to be well put together and robust as you’ll be using it a lot. It’s also wise to get a paper towel dispenser that can carry a lot of different folds of paper towel – nobody enjoys buying paper towels, so the last thing you want is to be trawling through the internet looking for a specific fold and size of paper towel. A multi-fold paper towel dispenser makes shopping for everyday items like paper towels much easier and less frustrating!

Baby Changing Facilities

If you know you have customers with young children, some baby changing facilities might help you appeal to them. A sturdy baby changing table and a nappy bin are inexpensive additions to your salon’s washroom that will make your business much more welcoming to mothers and families. It’ll also help your bathroom stay hygienic by giving them somewhere to dispose of waste. Most baby changing units fit to the wall and fold away to save space, so even if you don’t have a dedicated baby changing room you can easily fit one in your washroom. Don’t forget to get a nappy bin and a supply of nappy bags to go along with your baby changing facilities and remember that nappy bags are considered clinical waste, so you need to dispose of them separately.