Chemical working environment in the salon — allergies, eczema and ventilation
Protect your hands and airways throughout your career
Hairdressers work daily with water, dyes, bleaching agents and permanent waving solutions — a combination that makes the trade one with the highest incidence of hand eczema and contact allergy. The damage creeps up over years, and once the allergy is there, it is lifelong. Good chemical workplace practice is therefore not a formality, but what determines whether you can stay in the trade.
§The typical offenders
Some substances in salon products are known to cause allergy or skin irritation. You do not need to know the chemistry by heart, but you must be aware that they exist and treat the products accordingly.
- 01Oxidative hair colours – may contain strongly sensitising dyes; skin contact should be avoided.
- 02Bleaching agents (persulfates) – can cause both skin and respiratory reactions, including asthma.
- 03Permanent and straightening agents – powerful substances with both skin and respiratory tract irritation.
- 04Wet work – constant moisture breaks down the skin's barrier and paves the way for eczema.
§Gloves – the most important protective equipment
Gloves are your primary protection against skin contact with chemicals. Use suitable disposable gloves (typically nitrile rather than latex and vinyl, which provide poorer protection against salon chemicals), change them often, and never put them back on after use. Dry your hands thoroughly before putting on new ones – moist skin under the glove is itself a risk factor.
- 01Choose nitrile gloves for colouring, bleaching and permanent.
- 02Change gloves between tasks and customers – do not reuse.
- 03Avoid powdered latex gloves which can sensitize in themselves.
- 04Nail band care
§Extraction and ventilation.
Vapours and suction
§Safety data sheet and labelling
Each chemical product has a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and labelling with hazard symbols. The SDS tells you what hazards the product has, what personal protective equipment is required, and what to do in case of spill or accident. It must be accessible at the workplace — learn to look it up so you know the risk of what you are working with.
§The young person in the salon
As an apprentice your skin is not yet used to the strain and bad habits you learn early will follow you. Put on the gloves from day one even when it feels superfluous for a quick task. The skilled hairdresser protects herself just as systematically as she protects the customer's hair.