how to sterilize your manicure equipment?

Why sterilize your manicure equipment?

Why do you need to disinfect and sterilize manicure tools? First of all, because when performing a manicure, small injuries and microtrauma almost always occur. Through them, viruses and bacteria can therefore enter the bloodstream.

The aspect of tool sterilization is particularly important in beauty salons, where a large number of clients each work with the same tools. Therefore, if a blood-borne infection is present in the client or technician, there is a risk of transmission if the instruments are improperly sterilized.

Correct disinfection and sterilization of manicure instruments significantly reduces the likelihood of contracting diseases, both harmless, such as fungi, and very serious, such as HIV, hepatitis and others.

Some precautions to know before each step:

• Disinfect instruments immediately after use. Simply place the instrument used in a bath of disinfectant solution (see below).

• Touch contaminated instruments only with protective gloves or special tweezers.

• Disinfect the instrument first, then wash it. Do not skip the step of disinfecting the instrument. The technician is thus protected against the risk of transmitting an infection.

• Ultrasonic baths and ultraviolet boxes do not sterilize instruments! They are designed for disinfection

Stages of disinfection of manicure tools

Processing manicure instruments always includes 4 stages :

• Disinfection - place instruments in a bath with a disinfectant solution, an ultrasonic bath or a UV box. Wear protective gloves to avoid the risk of infection.

• Mechanical cleaning - Wash each tool with a brush and soap (or detergent) under running water. The tool must then be carefully wiped clean.

• Sterilization - It is carried out in an autoclave, an oven or a glass sterilizer. At this stage, even resistant microorganisms, bacterial spores and viruses are destroyed. Place the instruments in self-adhesive kraft sterilization bags and seal them. Sterilize the instruments in the autoclave at 180°C for 1 hour. Do not exceed the specified temperature and holding time! Exceeding the temperature of 180°C, even for a short time, can result in a reduction in the resistance of the instruments and cause them to lose their value.

• Storage - It is carried out in kraft bags until the next use of the accessories, but not more than 30 days.