What does it mean for a beauty salon to be Clean Touch Certified?

While salons have opened again, you might be hesitant to leap back into your favourite beauty therapist or make-up artist’s chair. Understandably so -  the spread of Covid-19 is at its height and it’s now more important than ever to be sure that the necessary precautions are being taken at any establishment that you choose to go to.

There’s nothing like a seal of approval to make you feel confident about purchasing a certain product or service, and the quality and safety thereof. That’s why Dermalogica has introduced a "Clean Touch Certified" seal for salon owners, barbers, nail technicians and skin therapists to display in store, provided of course that they’ve completed Dermalogica’s Clean Touch Certification course.

This certification adds 12 principles for enhanced service safety that must be complied with in addition to the standard government health and safety protocols. There’s also a separate course designed for the high-touch nature of make-up artistry.

Marja Basson, national education manager of Dermalogica, tells us more:

Name some of the differences you can expect to see at a Clean Touch Certified salon as opposed to other salons.

Signs in the store and on the windows indicating the team is Clean Touch Certified and has completed the training. The principles [governing this certification] are also on display.

Testers are clean, disinfected and packed away in a container. Clients can try out the products only with the guidance of a Clean Touch Certified skin therapist.

Clean and dirty items and tools are kept visible in separate well-marked containers.

What are some of the ‘normal’ skin therapy practices that an establishment must have discontinued to be Clean Touch Certified? 

We have implemented online consultation card completion. Alternatively, the therapist can complete it on an iPad [in store] instead of the client completing it with pen and paper.

Clients are no longer handling retail products, and testers are no longer on the shelves for clients to pick up and play with but packed away in a closed container. Therapists must sanitise samples and products before placing them in the client’s retail bag. This is all to avoid multiple hands touching the products and samples.

How does Clean Touch certification for make-up artists differ from that for skin therapists, or is it roughly the same?

Yes, it is roughly the same, except with some key protocols that are specific to make-up artists namely:

• The make-up artist has to pre-screen clients, and check their temperatures, as they mostly work alone.
• Make-up has to be placed in clearly marked containers.
• Like skin therapists must sanitise their treatments beds before and after each client, make-up artists must sanitise their work stations.
• Every service should begin with a facial cleanse.
• Make-up needs to be scraped on to a clean tray/tissue to work from and applied using sanitised/disposable applicators.
• Make-up artists need to store clean and soiled applicators in separate, well-marked covered containers. Soiled disposable applicators must be placed in a covered waste bin after use. Non-disposable applicators must be placed into a container marked soiled to be disinfected between clients.
• Make-up artists must wear clean masks and face shields at all times as they work in close proximity to their client’s faces.
• They must wash or sanitise their hands in a visible manner before and after touching clients or after contact with potentially soiled surfaces.  Gloves are not recommended over thorough hand washing unless they are requested by clients.