Beauty Salon Risk Assessment Guide (With Free Template)

Beauty salons should be tranquil havens, free from worry. However, they can harbour significant risks for clients and employees alike. If not addressed properly, these hazards could lead to client loss, high employee turnover, and potential legal troubles. Regardless of your role—hairdresser, nail technician, lash artist, or aesthetician—it is a legal requirement to prioritize health and safety in your business. In fact, risk mitigation techniques should have set in stone before you even open your salon.

Let's explore the most common beauty salon hazards, discuss potential solutions, and guide you through conducting a thorough risk assessment. We'll also delve into UK safety legislation governing risk assessment and mitigation, along with the relevant governing bodies

What Are the Most Common Beauty Salon Risks & Hazards?

Professionals in every corner of the beauty industry work directly with potentially hazardous products and equipment every day. Some of these potential liabilities you probably are already familiar with, while others you may come as a bit of a surprise.

We’ll split them up into the following categories:

Chemical Hazards

Hair dyes, bleaches, nail polish removers, chemical peels and other chemicals you use daily in your beauty salon can release harmful fumes, such as ammonia, acetone and formaldehyde. These can potentially cause respiratory problems like coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing.

Prolonged contact with potentially harmful products can cause skin irritation, dermatitis, or allergic reactions. Long-term exposure can also lead to more serious health issues, including chronic bronchitis and asthma, and even neurological damage if inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

Physical Salon Hazards

Physical hazards typically involve the assorted tools of your trade.

Burns: Hot styling tools, such as curling irons and hair dryers, can cause severe burns if not handled carefully or if they encounter the skin.

Cuts & punctures: Sharp tools, like scissors and razors, can lead to accidental cuts and punctures, which can cause bleeding, infection, or other injuries. They must be disposed of properly.

Biological Salon Hazards

Beauty salon equipment or tools that haven’t been adequately sanitized can transmit bacteria and viruses, leading to such issues as staph infections, hepatitis, or fungal infections. This is especially important in nail salons, where tools can come into contact with cuts or broken skin.

Keep in mind that your clients may also have allergies to certain products or ingredients, such as dyes, fragrances, or preservatives. These can trigger hives, itching, swelling or difficulty breathing.

This is, luckily, something you can learn during the intake process through a client intake form. Speaking of forms, be sure to clearly mention that your beauty salon uses such dyes and fragrances in your liability waivers.

Area Hazards

Ergonomic injuries: Repetitive tasks and poor posture can contribute to musculoskeletal disorders like carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, or back pain.
Slips & falls: Wet floors from spills or cleaning, uneven surfaces, or cluttered walkways can increase the risk of slip and fall accidents, leading to injuries like sprains, strains, or fractures.
Electrical: Faulty wiring, overloading outlets, or using electrical equipment near water can create electrical hazards, leading to shocks, burns, or even fires.
Fire: Flammable products and improper storage can increase the risk of fires. This is especially important in salons that use flammable chemicals like hairspray or nail polish remover.

Should your salon employ chair renters, your renter's agreement ought to address many of the above hazards and risks. It should outline the responsibilities of the stylist as far as maintaining a safe and sanitary workspace, as well as the responsibiliity of the salon owner to maintain a safe workplace.

In fact, the language used or referenced in such agreements lilely comes from the following official laws and regulation.

Rules & Regulations

You can spot the biggest risks in your salon and understand the specific risks they pose. So, how do you deal with them? No beauty salon risk assessment can be done without familiarizing yourself with the necessary health & safety regulations.

As a beauty salon owner or manager, you should familiarize yourself with the following regulations and ensure that your salon follows all relevant requirements.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974¹

This overarching legislation sets out the general duties of employers, employees, and others involved in the workplace.

As a beauty salon employee, you are legally obligated to adhere to all health and safety protocols established by your employer. This includes following specific practices, such as wearing protective gloves during certain tasks or using chemicals within prescribed limits.

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002²

This regulation requires employers to assess the risks associated with hazardous substances and implement control measures to minimize exposure. It requires beauty salon owners to implement measures to minimize or eliminate exposure to hazardous chemicals, which are commonly used in daily operations.

As a business owner, some simple measures can include:

Safe handling practices: Work in well-ventilated areas or use respiratory protection to reduce inhalation of harmful fumes. Never eat, drink, or smoke in areas where chemicals are handled. This should be explicitly outlined in your salon's safety policy.
Proper storage: Store chemicals in secure, labelled, tightly closed containers away from heat, direct sunlight, and incompatible substances.
Limiting contact time: Use the minimum amount of chemical necessary and consider using automated equipment to reduce manual handling of chemicals.
Wearing protective gear: Provide PPE, such as gloves, aprons and eye protection, that is in good condition, well-maintained and that your staff is trained to use.
Using non-toxic alternatives: Research possible alternatives to hazardous chemicals, such as water-based or plant-based products and incorporate them into your salon services.

The GB CLP (GB Classification, Labelling and Packaging) Regulations³

This set of regulations exists to ensure that chemicals are classified, labelled, and packaged in a way that provides clear and consistent information to workers, consumers, and emergency responders about the potential risks associated with these substances.

Key aspects of the GB CLP Regulations include:

Classification: Chemicals are classified based on their physical, health, and environmental hazards. This classification system uses a harmonized approach across the EU and UK.
Labelling: Potentially harmful chemicals must be labelled with specific information, including the name of the substance, hazard pictograms, signal words (e.g., "Danger," "Warning"), hazard statements, and precautionary statements.
Packaging: Packaging must be designed and constructed to prevent accidental release of the substance and to ensure that the label is clearly visible and legible.

The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2013⁴

This regulation mandates that employers must provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to their employees wherever there may be a risk to their health and safety.

Such PPE may include

Gloves: Latex gloves are commonly used to protect hands from exposure to chemicals like hair dyes, bleach, and nail polish remover. Nitrile gloves are puncture-resistant while Aramid fibres, like Nomex, are known for their heat resistance.
Aprons: Aprons made from a waterproof plastic material are ideal for protecting clothing from spills and stains, especially when working with chemicals.
Masks: Dust masks can be used to protect against inhalation of harmful fumes from chemicals. “Respirators”, including N95, KN95, and FFP2 masks, filter out a higher percentage of small airborne particles.
Eye protection: Safety glasses made with impact-resistant lenses and a sturdy frame, or goggles that cover a larger area of the face and seal around the eyes, can protect from flying debris or chemical splashes.

The Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013⁵

Okay, while your beauty salon may not be classified as a healthcare setting, you still use sharp instruments like razors and scissors. Therefore, as a business owner you must consider the principles and guidelines outlined in these regulations when implementing your safety measures.

Some suggested measures include:

Proper disposal: Dispose of needles and sharps in puncture-resistant containers that are clearly labelled and readily accessible.
Safety Training: Give all staff who handle needles and sharps comprehensive training on proper handling, storage, and disposal procedures. This training should cover topics such as the risks associated with accidental punctures, the proper use of safety devices, and emergency procedures in case of an accidental puncture.
Safety devices: Use safety devices, such as retractable needles or blunt-tipped scissors, whenever possible, reducing the risk of accidental punctures.
Cleaning & disinfection: Thoroughly clean and disinfect work surfaces and equipment after use to prevent the spread of infections.

This is not an exhaustive list, but some of the most common sets of laws and regulations that apply to salon owners. There might be others, depending on the scope of your business.

For example, if you offer any food or beverages, you might want to review The Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations (2013). While primarily focused on food businesses, these regulations also apply to beauty salons that that involve refreshments as part of certain services.

If you’re unsure, perform some additional research before starting an official beauty salon risk assessment.

Speaking of risk assessments...

Your Beauty Salon Risk Assessment Template

You should, ideally, perform your beauty salon risk assessment at least once a year, or whenever a new risk is identified. Of course, there are other times when risk assessments are appropriate, including:

When you introduce new beauty services, and therefore new equipment and products (chemicals), in your salon.
Periods of high staff turnover, or in which there are a high number of sick days, call outs, or complaints.

The following salon risk assessment template provides a basic framework for conducting a workplace risk assessment in your beauty salon. the information inside can prevent accidents and mitigate safety issues before they can become an issue.

1. Identifying Safety Hazards:

Chemical: Hair dyes, bleaches, nail polish removers, etc.
Physical: Slippery floors, hot styling tools, sharp objects, electrical hazards.
Biological: Infections, allergic reactions.
Ergonomic: Repetitive tasks, poor posture.
Fire & electrical: Flammable materials, faulty wiring.

2. Assessing Risks:

Likelihood: How likely is the hazard to occur? (Low, Medium, High)
Severity: What are the potential consequences of the hazard? (Low, Medium, High)
Overall Risk: Calculate the overall risk by multiplying likelihood and severity.

3. Existing Controls:

What measures are already in place to control the identified hazards?

4. Evaluating Controls:

Are the existing controls effective in reducing the risk?
Do they need to be improved or strengthened?

5. Implementing New Controls:

If necessary, identify and implement new control measures to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.

(Example Control Measures:

Chemical: Proper ventilation, PPE, safe storage, and handling procedures.
Physical: Regular cleaning, non-slip flooring, safety signage, and emergency procedures.
Biological: Sanitation protocols, disinfection procedures, and hygiene practices.
Ergonomic: Ergonomic workstations, regular breaks, and stretching exercises.
Fire and electrical: Fire extinguishers, escape routes, electrical safety checks, and proper storage of flammable materials.
Needles & sharps: Use safety devices, implement a sharps injury prevention program, provide proper PPE, conduct regular safety audits, and report and investigate incidents.)

6. Monitoring and Review:

Regularly review and update the risk assessment to ensure accuracy and effectiveness.
Monitor the effectiveness of control measures and make necessary adjustments.

7. Record Keeping:

Document the risk assessment process, findings, and control measures.
Keep records of any incidents or accidents related to identified hazards.

Always make all your employees aware that a risk assessment is taking place and are aware of its results. Consistent Team communication is a must.

Remember, also, that this is a general outline of a beauty salon risk assessment. The specific hazards and control measures may vary depending on your business's size, the services you offer, and local regulations.

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You should now be equipped with the safety knowledge and risk assessment tools necessary to spot potential hazards maintain your salon as a tranquil oasis.

The right salon management software can further enhance your efforts by providing features that support a safe, efficient, and liability-free environment. From custom forms to resource management tools, Vagaro offers comprehensive solutions. Start your 30-day FREE trial and experience the difference of an all-in-one salon software solution!

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Your Salon Risk Assessment Guide (With Template!)