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Here a 7 tips to avoid beauty salon disasters. These tips will surely help you, to avoid those beauty disasters and health hazards.
Neatly arched brows, perfectly pedicured feet, trendy haircuts, rejuvenating facials and relaxing massages! At times, we all need an escape from everyday chores and stresses of life to pamper ourselves. When you need to look and feel your very best, what better place to treat yourself, than walking into the soothing atmosphere of a spa or a salon and transform your look from ‘ordinary’ to glamorous in minutes or indulge yourself in luxurious beauty treatments and walk out feeling like a million dollars!
However, our quest for beauty can leave us feeling helpless and distressed.
How many times have so many of us walked into a beauty parlor with great expectations and walked out with experience; an unpleasant or an ugly experience, we want to forget. Yes, it’s true, mishaps can and do happen in a beauty salon and even a simple procedure can end up in a disaster which can take a long time to reverse or may be irreversible.
What can you do to stop these mishaps from happening?
Here are some tips on things you need to watch out for and be wary about at your next visit to a beauty salon.
Finding the right salon and a good beauty therapist is all important. You can shortlist some salons based on online customer reviews, through newspaper advertisements or by simply asking your friends or neighbors about the ones they prefer. Always get the name of the stylist or a particular beauty therapist. Someone who comes with a personal recommendation is a better bet than a complete stranger. If you let the therapist know that they have been recommended by a friend, they will hopefully pay a little extra attention to you. A salon does not have to have a big name for it to be suitable for you. Sometimes even a small, basic salon that exists in some enterprising person’s house may be the right place for you. But get your research done first.
The best way to check out the place is to make an appointment in person. For starters, get an appointment for something basic, like a hair trim. This allows you to ‘test’ the parlor before getting anything major done and also gives you a chance to see for yourself what the place is like. Spend a little time to look around to check in the cleanliness [or lack of it]. It should be high on your list of priorities. Safety is another factor that should be high on your list. Try to look beyond the glamorous and sparkly reception area.
Ask if you can possibly see the inner chambers where facials are done. Ask how they clean their instruments. For example how is the blackhead remover cleaned? How are the instruments for a pedicure cleaned? Do they use disposables? Do they clean combs after each client? What about towels for facials? Are they fresh and clean for every new client? Check out the changing room where you change into the gown for a facial. Is it safe? Any chance of hidden cameras or a window that does not close completely? Is it a unisex salon and if so, are you comfortable with the privacy offered? Are the gowns clean?
Do not be afraid to ask questions even if they may seem nosy to you or make someone awkward. Many of us are hesitant to ask these basic questions because we do not want to be seen as being too fussy and difficult. But the truth is, when we go to a beauty salon we are putting our faces and bodies into the hands of strangers, trusting them to make us look better, fresher, more beautiful.
If we are not careful about basics like hygiene, we are putting ourselves at risk to contracting diseases. Infections of the skin, hair lice are some conditions to be cautious of. A rusty, unclean instrument used in a pedicure could be an invitation to contracting tetanus.
Why take such a big risk to look pretty. If in doubt, do not go ahead with any procedure. It is your body after all and if you are unsure of what health risks are involved; just decline the complete procedure or simple bypass part of it. For example, if you are midway through a facial and out comes a suspicious looking blackhead remover, stop the therapist and simply ask to skip this step.
Discussing your haircut is vital before you go under the scissors for a chop. Talk to the hairstylist about your expectations- the hair length that you wish to have your hair cut or for that matter the hair color that you anticipate.
Before hair coloring, getting highlights or lowlights, always insist on getting a patch test on your skin (in case if they do not) to test yourself for any allergic reactions to chemicals. If you know you are allergic to any chemicals, do not hesitate-say so! You don’t want to end up in any adverse situation. Make sure you are happy with what is on offer.
Perming, hair straightening or re-bonding use a combination of heat and chemicals and carry a huge risk of hair damage and loss if not done carefully. It is best to have a chat with the therapist before; ask about products being used, what brand they are and importantly care to know not just about the procedure that you are about to get done but also about the after care.
Do not allow the hairdresser to persuade you into having something done only because it is the latest trend. It is nice to be open to suggestions and advice, but beware if someone is pushing you into something you will most certainly regret later. If the therapist is hurrying you up or being inattentive, it may be a good idea to postpone the procedure to another day, another time, to another salon or perhaps never have it done.
Although salon time is for relaxing and even catching up with a quick snooze, it pays to be alert to what is happening during the beauty procedure.
If the face mask gets into your eyes or even eye area, make sure you alert the therapist. If you feel the face mask stinging or burning, don’t just put up with it, but alert the therapist. If your haircut is not going right and you see that the hairdresser is taking off more inches, it is better to stop, have a good look at your hair at that point and discuss what is wrong there and then. If you feel something is painful or sense something wrong, do not hesitate to voice your concerns before it is too late.
Whether it is the eyebrow threading technique that is hurting you, your eyebrows are being threaded more than you need them to be, a massage being done hurriedly using a wrong technique or a pedicure being done haphazardly; it is your right to point that out.
If anything that is beyond your tolerance level, do not just grin and bear it for beauty’s sake. You have every right to flag it up and a good, empathetic therapist will make sure you are alright before proceeding.
To begin with, make sure that the parlor uses proper sterilization techniques. This holds true especially during monsoons. Basic things like linen, gowns or aprons used or worn during procedures should be well washed (and dried), surfaces like benches where you would be lying down and get treated should be cleaned between each client or at least a clean cover should be placed over the treatment surface.
Make sure that the liquids or creams they use for your treatment are put into single use containers (no double dipping) and a single use applicator is used for each person. All the tools and instruments starting from foot tubs where your feet are soaked, towels and instruments like nail cutters, filers, cuticle pushers, pumice stone, scrubbers, brushes etc need to be cleaned and dried thoroughly after every use to ensure that you do not contact any kind of infection. There are chances that all the trimming, buffing and cutting can give you minor cuts and if left unattended can leave your vulnerable to contacting a viral or a fungal infection.
If you are not satisfied with the level of hygiene or the idea of using shared instruments, simply carry your own towel, manicure or pedicure set along with you (there is absolutely no reason to feel shy) Whenever wax is used for hair removal, the wax and spatula or wax strips used to apply the wax must be immediately disposed after the procedure is done.
Before getting procedures like tattooing and piercings done, one needs to understand the risks and precautions. E.g. you may have an allergic reaction to the tattoo ink or you many get a skin infection or a disease if the equipment is contaminated. These procedures need to be done from a professional who has had proper training and experience about all the precautions needed to avoid risk of infection and disease transmission.
Similarly, microdermabrasion and chemical peels need to be done a by a qualified and skillful esthetician. Again, one needs to be aware of possible side effects and risks.
A lot of us may not be aware that acrylics nails for which so many women have a penchant contain chemicals which are hazardous to health- to both to the woman getting it applied and the nail technician. Besides when applied, these nails are known to harbor a variety of bacteria and can aggravate nail bed infections.
Teeth whitening, carried out by a trained dental professional is safe. Any other person like a salon staff offering to do it for you won’t have the right training and knowledge and could permanently damage your teeth or gums and may not be able to help you in case if something goes wrong.
By being just a little conscious and following a few cautious on your salon visits, you can give yourself the refreshing and rewarding experience that you deserve. What are your beauty tips and experiences? Do share them with me!
Beauty Salon image via Shutterstock
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