Infection prevention and control precautions must be followed at hair salons and barber shops to protect the operators and clients from blood borne infections such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C. Hepatitis B vaccination is strongly recommended for personal service workers.
Infection prevention and control precautions must be followed to protect both personal service workers and clients. You do not have to see blood or bodily fluids on the instruments for an infection to occur.
The following is in addition to general operational requirements according to Ontario Regulation 136/18 Personal Service Settings.
Infection Prevention and Control Requirements
Hand hygiene includes physical removal of soil using soap and warm water and/or the use of 70% - 90% alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Hand hygiene must be done:
- Before and after each client
- Before and after wearing gloves
- After exposure to blood or body fluids
- Before and after cleaning and disinfecting equipment
- In between breaks in service
- After washroom use
Personal service workers must have suitable personal hygiene, including wearing clean outer garments, and refrain from eating and/or smoking during service delivery to clients.
Equipment can be single use or re-usable equipment. Items must be stored in a sanitary manner, and used according to manufacturers and instruction from a Public Health Inspector (PHI) instruction. Single-use equipment must be discarded immediately after use, and cannot be re-used. Single use sharps must be discarded into an approved sharps container located close to the work area. Towels must be laundered after each client.
Single-use disposable items:
- Straight razors
- Single use shaving blades/razors
- Neck strips
- Single-use disposable covers (paper or plastic)
Re-usable equipment must be cleaned with soap and warm water, air dried and disinfected using either low, intermediate, or high level disinfectant.
Low level disinfection is required for:
- Combs
- Brushes
- Commonly touched surfaces (chairs, tables, sinks, etc.)
Intermediate to high level disinfection is required for:
- Scissors
- Clippers
- Trimmers
- Straight razor handles
- Crochet hooks
Styptic pencils must not be used on clients. Use styptic in powder or liquid form with a disposable applicator.
General maintenance of premises includes routine cleaning of commonly touched areas such as the waiting area, barber chairs, handwashing station, hair washing station, bathroom, etc. Operator must clean and disinfect all floors, walls, ceilings and other fixtures on a routine basis to ensure sanitary operation of the hair salon or barber shop.
Record Keeping
Operators that only provide hairdressing and barbering services are not required to collect the name and contact information of their clients. However, in the event of an accidental exposure to blood or body fluids, operators are required to collect a client’s name and contact information, date and description of the exposure. Record forms can be found here.
For more information, please contact the Environmental Health Department at 519-258-2146 ext. 4475 to speak with a Public Health Inspector.