The moment a guest walks into your treatment room, it should be clean in such a way that they should feel as if they are the first person to be treated in your space. A great way to ensure this is to stay organized. By being organized, you will allow yourself to quickly turn over your treatment area, so that you can spend the appropriate amount of time disinfecting your tools. Once those tools have been disinfected, you should pay special attention to your equipment and that they are being properly sanitized, disinfected, and maintained. By following a comfortable process and taking your time on areas that need particular attention, you can take ownership of the infection control practices in your spa. Proper sanitation benefits everyone and is a crucial necessity in any professional treatment area.

THINKING AHEAD

Now that your client has left, you are tasked with turning over your room in preparation for the next appointment. An organized treatment room with distinct processes and schedules is easily a higher functioning treatment room. When developing infection control procedures, keep in mind your allotted time and comfortability, and decide which areas you will focus on first and last. Washing your hands to begin the treatment room cleaning process is always a good idea. Donning a pair of gloves is optional, but recommended to prevent cross-contamination. Next, linens from the treatment table, as well as used towels, should be moved to the proper receptacle so that you can then focus on cleaning those surfaces. To provide ample immersion time, next sanitize multi-use implements and tools and then disinfect them by submerging for the appropriate time in your selected disinfectant. At this point, it’s a good idea to wipe down the equipment in the room with your preferred disinfecting spray or wipes. You should also utilize this technique for product bottles that may stay on your cart or trolley. Once you have completed the infection control process, you can then reset the room and reestablish your sanitary maintenance area for the next client. Having a set process will reduce transition time between clients; however, you must know how to properly sanitize and disinfect every component of the treatment room and do it with attention to detail.

DISINFECTION

Proper disinfection practices will ensure the health of each patron to your business and the communities they belong to. When it comes to disinfecting multi-use tools, pay attention to detail to make sure they are properly cleaned and prepared for future use. A large part of this is deciding what needs sanitizing, which tools need disinfecting, and whether or not to sterilize. In a typical aesthetic treatment room, disinfection is the best form of infection control, as we often do not use tools that pierce the skin and would require sterilization. Therefore, research disinfection manufacturers and their products and decide what will suit your business best. Once you’ve decided, read the instructions provided by the manufacturer for immersible implements and the steps to take prior to their immersion. Once correctly disinfected, store your tools according to the disinfectant label, which is most typically in an airtight container. This step should be treated with extreme caution considering disinfecting tools is a necessity for infection control, as well as special attention to every piece of equipment that your treatments are performed with.

CLEANING EQUIPMENT

To successfully complete an aesthetic treatment, there are several components that play a unique role in that process. These pieces of equipment will require different methods of sanitation and disinfection. After every client, the treatment table or bed should have the linens removed and be wiped down with the disinfectant you’ve chosen or wipes of the same nature, whereas the steamer should be regularly maintained with the recommended combination of water and vinegar to clear any deposits that could clog the machine and contribute to break down. At times you will be tasked to deep clean some of the machines used, such as the aforementioned steamer and bed, but also the microdermabrasion machine, high frequency machine, and so on and so forth. This is an important aspect of not only infection control but also protecting your investments into your business. When you take the time and attention to fully sanitize and prepare your room for the next client, they will undoubtedly feel like they can trust you and your skills as their aesthetician.

To wrap up one appointment means the beginning of another. Staying organized will help to speed up preparation time, so develop a process for flipping your room that suits your business model and personal preferences. Taking care to follow the proper infection control guidelines to sanitize and disinfect will undoubtedly give you peace of mind that you are protecting yourself and your clients. To say that sanitation practices are a necessity is without a doubt the most important aspect of this ever growing and improving industry.

Brittany Facio is a Phoenix-based educator-turned-business development manager, passionate about how proper aesthetics education and sophisticated protocol implementation can create business-changing revenue. As a business development manager, she is responsible for not only educating her clients on skin care products and protocols, both on an individual basis and in regional training seminars, but also for providing marketing, merchandising, and branding assistance to generate leads and capture a new audience. When she is not working, Facio can be found enjoying play time with her family and Havanese rescue, Spruce, trying a new dinner recipe, and binge-watching comedies on Netflix.