microblading handles and more—is an essential aspect of
keeping them clean and protecting your employees and
guests. After a service, ISPA recommends the following:
1. Clean the tools using water and detergent.
2. Rinse the tools with clean water and dry them.
3. Fully immerse the tools in an approved disinfectant for
at least eight minutes.
4. Rinse the tools with water and dry them using a cloth.
5. Store them in a closed, disinfected container.
The PPE Process
Most spas will require spa staff to wear masks upon reopening,
so knowing how to use them properly is essential.
When putting on a mask, secure the ties or elastic bands,
then pull the mask snug to cover both your nose and chin.
If you need to wear gloves, put on gloves after putting on
your mask. Refrain from touching your face or your mask
once it is in place. Before removing your mask, remove any
gloves first. Then, safely remove the mask by the elastic
bands or ties, being sure to avoid touching the part that
covered your face. Afterwards, wash your hands. If the
mask is reusable, wash it regularly.
Difficult Choices, Tough Answers
The process of effectively putting on and removing PPE is
straightforward—but getting your staff behind the idea of
using PPE is a tougher nut to crack. There’s tremendous
resistance to wearing gloves; fortunately, most state
guidelines do not require them, but guests may ask for
them just the same. Reassure your team that although
gloves may affect their ability to perform at their normal
standards, guests understand that and will be deeply appreciative
of the both the service itself and the care that’s
being taken to limit possible disease transmission.
ISPA members have reported that early reception to
wearing masks and face shields has been mixed. Simply
put, masks are hot and stuffy, and spa treatment rooms
are warm and generally humid places by design. Wearing
a mask for hours at a time can be difficult. Unfortunately,
there’s no good answer to this challenge, and spa directors
will likely have to repeatedly train staff and emphasize
the importance of wearing PPE in rebuilding
spa-goers’ trust. Remember: many essential workers have
been wearing masks all day for months. It will take time
for service providers to adjust to wearing masks, but they
will adjust. n
Think Beyond Bleach
Although traditional hospital-grade disinfectants will
remain the cornerstone of spa sanitation, there are a
number of new and existing technologies that can
help your spa stay safe for employees and guests.
OZONE
Ozone-based sanitation has become a hot topic in the spa
industry, in part because it offers a thorough and passive
way to sanitize virtually any space. In essence, an ozone
generator creates ozone (O 3 ), a compound which rapidly
breaks down into normal oxygen (O 2 ) and free oxygen
molecules. These free oxygen molecules then destroy
viruses and bacteria that they come in contact with. Many
spas have been using ozone generators to sanitize wet
areas for quite some time, but their use in treatment rooms
is only now coming into vogue. Certified Clean-Site, an
offshoot of longtime sauna and spa manufacturer Scandia
Manufacturing, offers a top-to-bottom ozone sanitation
system that includes monitoring and certification. Since
ozone is an irritant to humans, though, the area must be
empty while an ozone generator is in use. Kristen Daley,
of Certified Clean-Site, suggests assigning therapists to two
rooms—while they work in one, the other is being passively
sanitized by an ozone generator.
HVAC SYSTEMS
Given that COVID-19 primarily spreads through respiratory
droplets, filtering and disinfecting the air within a spa has
become a topic of discussion. Bodyworkmall has recently
started distributing AtmosAir, an ionizing air filtration
system that measures air quality and disinfectants viruses
in the air. There are also HVAC-based systems that use UV
light (also known as UVGI, or Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation)
to sanitize air. The American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
recommends UVGI, among other methods, in response to
COVID-19. It’s worth noting, however, that any air treatment/filtration
systems currently on the market are
unlikely to have been specifically tested against the
SARS-CoV-2 virus, although they may have been tested
against other coronaviruses.
JULY 2020 ■ PULSE 17