​​​​​​​​

As winter wraps up and the flu season shifts into spring colds, it is important to keep practicing proper disinfection techniques in the salon to keep everyone healthy, from your clients to co-workers to you. Barbicide, an industry standard, makes Barbicide Wipes that are perfect to handle this task, year-round! Barbicide Wipes helps reduce the spread of illnesses, by offering a quick and handy way to perform proper infection control.

Did you know the 2017/2018 Flu season was the worst since the early 1940’s and resulted in 80,000 deaths in the United States? The Influenza virus (all types) are spread by respiratory droplets that carry the virus into the air and on to surfaces every time we breathe, talk, sing, cough or sneeze.

Unfortunately, most people with Influenza are contagious several days before becoming sick and are therefore out and about spreading the virus to unsuspecting people. But, there are simple things you can do to reduce your risk of getting sick or spreading illness if you have already been exposed/are already are sick. 

First, and always foremost is proper hand washing as often as possible and then keeping your hands to yourself. This is not the season for polite handshaking with everyone you meet - it simply is not worth the risk! When hand washing is not an option, hand sanitizers are very effective against influenza. In some states you are allowed to replace hand washing with hand sanitizer. Either way, you need to clean your hands BEFORE each service! Equally important is proper cleaning and disinfection of surfaces, particularly those high contact surfaces such as counters, work stations and door handles. Because proper disinfection (killing of the virus) requires a clean surface, and no one wants to do 2 steps several times a day, a disinfecting wipe is the perfect solution. Keep in mind that like all disinfectants, wipes have a required contact time to work properly. 

Contact time is the time that it takes the chemical to do its work and in the case of Barbicide Wipes, that’s a short 2 minutes!
​​​​​​​

​​​The process to a safe and healthy salon is simple:

1. Identify those areas where people put their hands or where that person was sitting coughing into the air.
2. Use a Barbicide wipe to wipe off the surface debris, which allows the chemical to work better.
3. Use a second wipe to saturate the area. Barbicide Wipes are super-saturated, making this part easier.
4. Wait 2 minutes and take a clean paper towel to remove any remaining product.
5. Wash your hands or utilize hand sanitizer frequently.

Practice this several times daily on those high traffic areas, keep your hands clean and away from your face and you will have significantly reduced your risks of viral illness.