Does Your Barber Sanitize Their Equipment?

Gone Gray said:

I've often suspected itching and pimples after a haircut were the result of unsanitary conditions of the barbers I went to. I would see the standard barbrasol type products and ultraviolet lamps, but never really saw them used. The last barber I went to, before I starting cutting my own hair, actually sanitized his clipper blades after each customer. Out of curiosity, I looked up the Texas health and safety standards and listed them below. I've never seen ANY barber use these standards. Have you?


2.103. Health and Safety Standards--Hair Cutting, Styling, Treatment and Shaving Services. (Rule effective March 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 1297)
(a) Barbers shall wash their hands with soap and water, or use a liquid hand sanitizer, prior to performing any services on a client.
(b) All equipment, implements, tools and materials shall be properly cleaned and disinfected in accordance with this rule prior to servicing each client.
(c) After each client, all non-disposable implements shall be cleaned and sprayed with either an EPA-registered bactericidal, fungicidal, and virucidal disinfectant, or isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, or a high-level disinfection chlorine bleach solution. Equipment, implements, tools and materials to be cleaned and disinfected include but are not limited to combs and picks, haircutting shears, thinning shears/texturizers, razors, edgers, guards, clippers, and perm rods.
(d) At the end of each day of use, the above items, along with any other tools, such as sectioning clips, brushes, comb and picks shall be cleaned by manually scrubbing with soap and water or adequate methods, and then disinfected by one of the following methods:
(1) Complete immersion in an EPA-registered bactericidal, fungicidal, and virucidal disinfectant in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.
(2) Complete immersion in isopropyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol;
(3) Complete immersion in a high-level disinfection chlorine bleach solution.

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TAZORAC said:

I had a barber that use to use toliet paper as neck stripes, a raggedy torn leather chair that would cut you when you sat in it, but he gave excellent haircuts. The turning point was one day while sitting in his chair a roach crawled up my arm while I sat their, and he laughed about it. I never went back.

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Fiend606 said:

The barber I used to go to before I started cutting my own hair used disposable items where he could and he had at least 3 of everything else like scissors, brushes, guards and combs. Everything was metal or plastic. After a customer paid and left he cleaned the area up took stuff soaking in barbicide out to dry and tossed what he used into the empty barbicide tank. I never saw him clean the clipper blades between customers and I never paid attention to whether he washed his hands. One barber in that shop used to wear surgical gloves he changed between customers but not the old guy I visited.

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PMT said:

Not sure, will be watching him next time!

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Gone Gray said:

Surgical gloves? Wow, never seen that.

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Phog Allen said:

I guess I am lucky. Of all the old generation barbers I went to as a kid, back when we had such places, ALL used the Barbicide tanks religiously. They had rows of them with combs and brushes soaking in them and the smaller ones with clipper blades in them. I never really paid attention to the hand washing but I suppose it was not thought of that much. Most barbers I have been to were pretty clean. They did enough shaving, shampooing, and neck shaves to have soap lather on their hands all day long. I can say pretty safely if I saw a roach climb up a barber chair I would be skipping the place from there on out. I will ask my barber(a talented lady who holds a real barber's license) what she uses. If memory serves she uses a spray disinfectant on the clipper heads and barbicide on the combs and brushes.

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gone gray said:

sometimes it's better not to watch--you may not want to know.

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Greaserboi said:

I'm not one for sexism, but I'd rather go to a barbershop and have a cockroach crawl on me than have a chick be cutting my hair.

Plus, it's a cockroach, you're getting your haircut, not eating.
In California I believe, you can't have a barbershop next to a food place. And not all cockroaches are actually dirty...Freaky and gross, yes, but dirty? Not if you find them by a dumpster....Then again, do you avoid a park because it has ants(who will crawl up literal crap, where as a cockroach would avoid it).........Food for thought, if it's warm outside, cockroaches prefer temperature neutral areas hence how the thing ended up crawling on you..

Just my two cents.

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Z blade said:

Since I am now my own barber, I don't have to worry about it.

I got tired of barbers not doing my hair exactly that way I asked, so I invested in an Oster Classic 76, a Model 10, and all the blades and accessories. I learned how to cut well by watching barbers on you tube, and my hair always ends up the best it has ever looked.

I also have my Barbicide jar that I can sterilize in if I want to, and it looks great!

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Fiend606 said:

I used to raise tropical leaf litter roaches as feeders for my tarantula collection. I had thousands of them in rubber maid tubs and never had any escapes but the species I reared couldn't climb smooth surfaces like the pest species. Roaches are actually quite clean and don't carry diseases like ticks or fleas. What roaches will do is spread around dirt, filth and possibly bacteria that is already in the area on their legs/feet from having to walk through it to get to food, water, warmth and safe shelter. If you touch a roach with your hands that roach will spend hours afterwards grooming itself to remove the oils and dirt from your hand from it's body. Many people are allergic to roach frass(poop) but it usually takes a large quantity for a reaction to it. Some people develop a mild rash from contact or more common is breathing issues from breathing it in. I had to wear a respirator and gloves when I did major clean outs of the roach colonies every couple months but normal feeding and maintenance posed no problems for me. Young roaches will hide in the frass/substrate mix in the bottom of the enclosure so major clean outs required some sifting so I didn't lose a large number of young roaches from the colony.

Roaches are attracted to food, water and dark warm humid places. This is why they love kitchens, bathrooms and basements. Eliminate the food and moisture and you'll significantly reduce the chance of an infestation. Roaches like wet or damp wood as they can live off the moisture, the decaying cellulose of the wood and the molds and fungi that will grow on it. It doesn't take a lot either. Look for leaks or condensation under sinks, around pipes, water heaters and in attics and fix the issues. Dry spaces out with heaters and damp rid crystals. Take up your pets' food and water dishes at night. Many people with roach and rodent problems don't realize they are feeding the pests by leaving out pet water/food dishes. Clean out the kitchen sink and the drain plug of food and dry the sink down with a towel. Don't leave any open standing water out like a dish pan. If you don't have an exhaust fan in your bathroom then consider using an electric heater to dry out the room after showers. If the roaches don't have food , water, warmth and humidity they won't breed very well and won't set up house in yours.

Crickets get much better press than roaches but crickets are disgusting bugs if you raise them. They stink, they eat each other even when they have plenty of food and water. They will contaminate their own water source. They STINK. Crickets will stink after a couple days where roaches won't smell for months. Crickets are very dirty and they are loud.

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