Our work means that there’s a risk of infections being passed between you and your clients. Treatments such as acupuncture, aromatherapy and reflexology may lead to infection through, for example, broken skin or contaminated equipment. As a result, you – or your clients – may come into contact with infectious materials and viruses such as HIV or Hepatitis B or C.
It’s critical that you take steps to avoid these risks:
• Keep nails short and long hair tied back
• Take off any jewellery (including your watch) before treating a client as it can harbour germs and could catch or
cut your client’s skin
• Protect yourself and your clothes by wearing a uniform or apron and think about wearing gloves if you have any
cuts or sores on your hands, or you’re doing abrasive work such as exfoliations wash your hands before and after
the start of any treatment – use anti-bacterial soap
• Keep your treatment area and equipment clean – for example, clean and disinfect anything your clients have direct
contact with at least once a day, and replace used towels and paper covers on your treatment table after each
client
• Look out for signs of athlete’s foot or verrucas before you start treating a client – if you do see any evidence
of these highly contagious viruses and fungal infections, you may not want to carry out the treatment until the
client’s GP confirms that there’s no longer a risk of crossinfection. Remember that it’s not just you who could
get infected, but your other clients too
• Cover any open boils, cuts, sores and wounds using a waterproof dressing
• Use disposable surgical gloves if you have a skin condition like eczema, and the skin is damaged
• Never eat or drink in working areas.
• If your work involves handling ‘sharps’ (including needles, scissors, blades or tweezers) for day-today
activities like skin piercing and acupuncture, it may be worth getting immunised to protect against diseases like
Hepatitis B.
• Find out more about blood-borne viruses at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg342.pdf
• Find out about controlling infection risks at www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/infection.pdf
• Find out more about hygiene in beauty therapy at www.habia.org/healthandsafety/index.php?page=746
• The Melanoma Taskforce and British Association of Dermatologists have developed guidelines aimed at hairdressers, masseurs, therapists and other wellbeing professionals to help them pick up on signs of skin cancer when they’re dealing with clients – find out more at www.babtac.com/melanomataskforce