Implementing Success

Are your nail technicians and estheticians using
the best tools for the services you offer?

Every professional needs tools to perform his or her tasks; carpenters have a toolbox containing everything from hammers to high-tech measuring instruments; physicians have stethoscopes and otoscopes; and dentists have their explorers, hand mirrors and rasps. Professionals in the spa industry also have tools, called implements, which help them efficiently perform their services.

Implements can be either disposable, such as cotton swabs and orangewood sticks, or reusable. Disposable implements are used on one client only and then discarded, whereas reusable implements must be able to withstand the rigors of repeated reuse and disinfection. This article will focus only on reusable implements.

Professionals in each specialty will make similar implement choices, but each will have particular preferences in design. For example, one nail technician will prefer a cuticle pusher with different-size “spoons” on each end, while another will prefer a pusher on one end and a pterygium remover on the other. Similarly, each esthetician will have her own favorite tweezers.

All implements must be able to withstand disinfection or sterilization, which means most are either stainless steel or nonporous plastic. In 2005, a pedicure client died due to a Staphylococcus aureus infection, which was tracked to an injury and poor disinfection practices in a Ft. Worth, Texas, salon. This tragic death attracted a great deal of negative media attention to the industry. Quickly, Texas changed its regulations to require that all reusable implements be sterilized in an autoclave. This spawned a trend toward use of autoclaves in the general spa industry, and OSHA demands autoclave sterilization in medical spas. Be sure to check state regulations before purchasing any reusable implements.