Unfortunately some of the most important elements of any treatment can be the most boring. Cleaning is one of them, but it is essential to any professional treatment. This article aims to provide a summary of how best to keep your wax pot, tools and treatment area clean ready for action. The article is split into sections, each dealing with a specific item.
A good practice to get into is to use a Hand Sanitizer Gel / Spray at the start of each treatment in front of your client. This helps demonstrate you commitment to hygiene without having to shout about it. Your actions speak louder than your words.
Wax Heaters
Throughout the day you need to be cleaning and wiping any wax spillages or drips from your heater. At all times when cleaning your heater make sure you use a Wax Equipment Cleaner product. If you use Surgical Spirit or Acetone you will find that this will dry out the plastic and make it brittle, leading to cracks and damage to the heater.
I have a small clearly labelled spray bottle that I pour some equipment cleaner into, and then at the end of a treatment I spray some onto a wax strip and wipe over my heater. This does the job quickly and easily, and done regularly it doesn’t become a big chore. Whenever using any cleaning products you are always advised to wear suitable gloves to protect your skin.
If you pour your wax into a refillable inner container bucket you may wish to change the wax you use some times. And to do this you will need to thoroughly clean the bucket to remove all traces of the previous wax. It is also good practice to do this once every so often even if you don’t change the waxes, just to ensure the bucket and product inside is clean and free from any contaminant.
The way I would normally do this is fairly simple; firstly heat up the bucket – maybe a little warmer than you would normally to make the wax very thin. Then carefully, using suitable protection for your hands (you don’t want to burn yourself), remove the bucket and pour any of the wax in the bottom into a suitable container for disposal – don’t pour it down the drain!
Now leave the bucket in a safe and secure place to completely cool down. Once it has gone cold, pour some equipment cleaner into the bucket, about 0.5 – 1cm depth. Leave this for a few minutes and then swill it around to dissolve as much wax as possible. You may find using a spatula helps to dislodge stubborn bits. Again dispose of into a suitable container and then repeat the process several times until all wax has been removed.
Once all wax has been removed thoroughly wash the bucket in warm water. Then fill it with your tool disinfectant solution, and ensure you leave it for the prescribed time as a minimum. Then again thoroughly rinse out and allow to completely dry before using again.
Tweezers And Other Small Tools
These need to be sanitised between each and every client. The easiest way to do this is to use a suitable tools disinfectant product such as Barbicide, or my personal preference Mundo Power Plus Instrument and Tool Disinfectant. You must pay careful attention to the manufacturer’s instructions, how long do the tools need to sit in the solution, it can be ten or more minutes, and how often must the solution be changed.
Mundo manufacturer a fantastic little tray that you can use to soak your tools in to ensure they are fully cleansed and ready for use.
Treatment Couch / Table & Surfaces
Oils and products can easily seep through towels onto your treatment table. You should always wipe this down with a suitable disinfectant cleanser each time you change the towels. You can even get disposable wipes that you can use to make this job even quicker and easier. Be sure to check that the cleaning product is suitable for use with your tables covering material. Some can dry out vinyl and other coverings eventually making them brittle leading to cracks and tears that can be costly to repair.
You also need to ensure you wipe down your surfaces, such as your trolley or any worktop you may be using with a suitable disinfectant.
Towels
These must be clean and fresh for every client. Towels must be washed at a minimum of 60 degrees Celsius. Personally I prefer to use a fabric softener with my towels, some people say you shouldn’t because it can affect the absorbency of them which is fair enough, but my towels are for lying on or under.