Swine Flu - 10 Must Do Practices for Makeup Artists

As a pro artist I am increasingly alarmed at the amount of unsanitary practices I witness being used by people in the beauty industry. In fact, some schools shamefully teach these kinds of unhygienic practices with nary a concern about the health hazards being amplified.

As artists we have a responsibility to give our clients not only the best of our skill, but, like the medical community, the best purification and cleansing practices possible.

Signs of Swine Flu
Fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, fever.
Effects can have varying degrees of severity.

Those at High Risk
Those with underlying chronic medical conditions – which can become worse.
Frail, very young, very old.

How its Spread
Contact with pigs (the four legged variety) or by a person infected with the virus.
Coughing or sneezing of effected people onto others.

Ways to Avoid
Wash hands thoroughly and often throughout the day.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
If you cough or sneeze - use your sleeve.
If you blow your nose, sanitize your hands thoroughly afterward.
Carry a supply of face masks and sanitary gloves – just in case.

Clients’ Responsibility – make sure you arrive with clean face, teeth, hands and hair and practice the established standards of hygiene.

Makeup Artists’ Responsibility - 10 Ways to Protect You and Your Client

1. Avoid cross contamination of your makeup, your kit, all your tools and any hair tools too with standard common sense practices. Use the same approach that dentists and doctors do in the operating room.

2. Sanitize your kit, inside and outside with 99% spray alcohol. Look on the bright side – it’s a good time to re-organize and get rid of all those products you hardly use anyway - and a lighter load brightens the face.

3. Sanitize all your tools, spatulas, scissors, lash curlers, brow razors, pencil sharpeners, etc. with 99% spray alcohol.

4. Sanitize all your powders, creams, lipsticks, etc with Beauty So Clean Remove all your pans and thoroughly wipe and spray sanitize everything before you put it back.

5. Sanitize everything you touch or that touches your clients, counters or is pulled from your kit, and every instrument and brush you use after each client.

6. DO NOT USE YOUR HANDS AS A PALLET OR BLEND MAKEUP WITH YOU FINGERS! Use a stainless steel pallet and spatula removing makeup from its container with the spatula and placing the product directly on the pallet. Mix product only with the spatula.

7. DO NOT BLOW ON ANYTHING. Use a dedicated fan brush to wipe away loosened powders from their tray. To make eyelash glue tackier, wave the glued lash in the air before applying.

8. Clean your hands thoroughly in front of your client both before and after your session satisfying them you are practicing good hygiene.

9. If you have more than 1 client on the same day line your protection cape with Kleenex at the neck and afterward spray the neck and front of the cape with alcohol.

10. Put up a sign for your client to view outlining sanitation practices both you and they are required to follow. Have tissue readily available for clients to blow their nose and ask that they dispose of their own tissues in the garbage. Then offer them some hand sanitizer.

Our industry needs to step up to the hygiene plate and become vigilant in practicing pristine sanitation - now!

SARS hit 5 years ago - are we any smarter?

As a client, make sure your artist is practicing the above or run – don’t walk away from the makeup chair. As an artist kindly decline a client that appears to be ill or not practicing standard hygiene. We all have to work together to protect ourselves and each other.

Sharon Danley, Master Artist
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