With the lockdown restrictions set to end for barber shops and salons across England on the 12th April, you’re likely thinking hard about all the things you’ll need to do to have a successful re-opening. Many of your clients will be seeking assurances that you’ve done everything you can to make your salon ‘COVID secure’. One of the best ways you can demonstrate how safe your salon is, is to properly disinfect your tools.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about disinfecting your hairdressing and barbering tool against COVID.
How do disinfectants work?
There are a wide range of disinfectants available to hairdressers and barbers today, however one of the best is Disicide, which is proven effective against both bacterias and viruses (including Coronavirus). Disicide stands apart from other salon disinfectants on the market as it is environmentally friendly with no harmful ingredients to the planet or to humans as well being vegan certified. It contains no animal ingredients and is never tested on animals.
Disinfectants such as Disicide work by either destroying the cell wall of microbes or interfering with their metabolism.
Disinfectants act as a form of decontamination – wiping out pathogenic microorganisms on a surface.
Is disinfection the same as sanitation and sterilisation?
No. Each of these three terms mean different things. Think of them as being different grades – sanitation being the most basic form of cleaning, sterilisation being the strongest form of cleaning.
Sanitation
Sanitation refers to general cleaning. In the case of a salon or barber shop, sanitation means keeping your general environment clean; sweeping away hair and nail clippings, frequent hand washing, wiping down chairs, tables and other salon furniture.
Sanitation gets to the level of using soap and water to wash tools. You should think of sanitation as a ‘first step’ before you move on to disinfection. Clean your tools using soap and water and then disinfect them using a product such as Disicide Concentrate.
Sterilisation
If you were to characterise sterilisation as a characteristic, you would say it’s the most hardcore form of cleaning. Sterilisation is primarily used in settings where the skin barrier has been, or will be, broken – like surgery.
Sterilisation removes literally all forms of bacteria, viruses and fungi from tools. In a salon or barber shop sterilisation is not required on a day-to-day basis. But, with that said, if for some reason your tools come into contact with blood or other bodily fluids you should sterilise them straight away.
How to disinfect your hairdressing and barbering tools against COVID
Now that you know what disinfection actually is and how it compares to sanitation and sterilisation, let’s take a look at the best practice in disinfecting hairdressing and barbering tools.
Stay on top of dirt and grime
One of the most important things you can do, is to not let your hairdressing or barbering tools get dirty in the first place.
One of the best ways of doing this is to stay on top of dirt and grime by cleaning as you go. If a spillage occurs, clean it up straight away. This will not only stop you having to apply more elbow grease later on, but will leave a good impression with your clients.
Another top tip to keeping your tools free of dirt and grime is to have allocated places for your tools when you’re not using them. If you have a dedicated place to store your barbering or hairdressing tools, you’ll find it easier to keep them clean.
Get the right disinfectant
As we mentioned earlier, there are hundreds of different disinfectants on the market. Not all of these are suitable for use with hairdressing and barbering tools.
Our recommendation is Disicide, which has been designed specifically for use in salon and barbershop environments.
Clean, disinfect, dry
To properly disinfect your tools it’s best to follow a three step process – clean, disinfect, dry:
- Clean – use warm soapy water and a microfibre cloth to clean away any dirt or grime on your tools.
- Disinfect – place your tools in a jar of Disicide Concentrate. When you do this, it’s important to consider something called ‘contact time’. This means the amount of time that the tools are immersed in the Disicide Concentrate. You should place your tools in the Disicide Concentrate for at least 15 minutes and at the most for 30 minutes.
- Dry – once your tools have been immersed in the Disicide Concentrate for the appropriate contact time, you should remove them, rinse them in cold water and then dry them thoroughly.
Follow this three step process and you’ll have hairdressing and barbering tools that are not only COVID free, but you’ll make it clear to your customers that you are committed to providing a COVID secure environment.
A note on concentrates
Most salon and barber shop disinfectants are provided in the form of a concentrate.
This means that you need to ‘water down’ the concentrate so that it forms a solution that isn’t too strong, yet strong enough to kill any viruses or bacteria present on your tools.
For our disinfectant of choice – the Disicide Concentrate – the ideal mixing ratio is 1:32, or in other words 30ml of Disicide Concentrate to 1000ml of water. Use this ratio to achieve perfect results when cleaning your tools everytime.
Get ready to re-open with Disicide disinfectants
With the re-opening of salons and barbers only weeks away, now is the time to stock up on those all important disinfectants. As this article illustrates, clients will be keen to see that you’re doing everything you can to keep your salon or barbers clean and COVID secure.
Below, you’ll find a selection of our most popular Disicide products, which have been flying off the shelves in recent weeks.
What is Disicide?
Before we detail the various products that are available, let’s take a closer look at Disicide.
Established in 1972 in Sweden, Disicide has grown to be one of the world’s leading salon and barber shop hygiene and cleaning brands.
Disicide sells itself on six key points:
- Hospital grade disinfectant – if you want the highest grade disinfection, then Disicide is the brand for you. Disicide has spent years honing its products to ensure they meet the highest possible standards of hygiene.
- Vegan and cruelty free – Disicide wants to create products that protect people, but not at the expense of animals. So, all Disicide products are free from animal ingredients and are never tested on animals.
- Environmentally friendly – Disicide is an environmentally conscious brand. The Green Saloon award confirms that all Disicide products contain no substances or ingredients that are problematic to humans or the environment.
- Effective – Disicide puts effectiveness at the forefront of all its efforts. As a result, all Disicide products are proven effective against bacteria and viruses (including Coronavirus). Disicide kills 99.9% of germs.
- Gentle – all Disicide products are water based, alcohol free and solvent free, meaning:
- No harsh chemical smells.
- Non-hazardous.
- Non-flammable.
- Safe for transportation.
- Does not harm animals or the environment.
- Cost effective – you shouldn’t have to pay a fortune for effective disinfectants. The Disicide concentrate requires only 30ml of Concentrate mixed with 1000ml of water, allowing you to save on disinfectant bills.
With Disicide’s credentials covered, let’s take a look at the products themselves.
Disicide Concentrate
Available in 600ml and 1500ml options
Effective against bacteria and viruses alike, the Disicide Concentrate will disinfect tools in 15 minutes, meaning tools and areas can be cleaned in between clients rather than having to wait overnight for disinfection.
Other key features of Disicide Concentrate, include:
- Can be used in jars to disinfect tools.
- Can be used in a spray bottle to disinfect salon and barber shop surfaces.
- Cost effective.
The Disicide Concentrate performs best when it is changed daily. Jars and spray bottles alike will perform best when refilled with fresh fluid each morning.
Disicide Jars
Available in 750ml and 1100ml options
Having high quality jars to disinfect your tools can be as important as the disinfectant itself. After all, the jars are highly visible and demonstrate to your clients that you are actively disinfecting your tools.
Disicide Starter Kit White
When you’re looking to completely overhaul your salon or barber shop disinfection regime, the Disicide Starter Kit White is the best place to start. The kit contains everything you need to get your tools up to standard. It’s also completely vegan friendly and cruelty free and offers hospital grade disinfection.
In the kit, you’ll find:
- Large glass jar, 1100ml.
- Disicide Concentrate, 600ml.
- Disicide Spray, 1000ml.
- Disicide Wipes, 100pcs.
- Disicide Plus+ Concentrate, 1000ml.
- Disicide Plus+ Spray, 300ml.
Get Disicide Certified
As well as equipping yourself with all of the necessary products to keep your salon or barber shop clean and Covid-free, you should also take the opportunity to get Disicide Certified. It’s the perfect way of demonstrating your clean credentials to your clients!
Hair Tools is currently offering a FREE Disicide course which is open to everyone. The course educates you on how to properly use your Disicide products to effectively disinfect your salon or barber shop. It also shares best practices and methods for achieving top standard hygiene. A short test is taken at the end of the course, with those who pass receiving a “Officially Disicide Certified” certification to display in your workplace and on social media. It’s a brilliant marketing tool and great for providing reassurance to your more nervous clients.
You can access the course here.
Certificate of Sanitisation
As well as taking Disicide’s free course, you can also obtain a Certificate of Sanitisation – just by buying a Disicide product!
Simply email a copy of the receipt showing your Disicide purchase to [email protected] and you’ll be provided with a “Certification of Sanitisation” certificate to display in the window of your salon or barber shop. Again, this is a fantastic marketing tool to demonstrate that your salon or barber shop is exclusively sanitised with hospital grade, vegan and environmentally friendly, anti-virus, anti-bacteria disinfection products.
Stock these products and obtain these certificates and you’ll be in the best possible position when you re-open!
Shop the complete range of Disicide products at Salons Direct now.
Read more salon and barbering advice on the Salons Direct blog…
Keeping Clients as Safe as Possible in Your Salon or Barber Shop | How to Offer the Best Customer Service Post-Lockdown | How to Reopen Your Salon or Barber Shop Post-Lockdown
