Heads-Up on Untidy Hair Salons

When it comes to haircuts, turns out I’ve been looking in the wrong direction when I walk into a barbershop or styling salon.

My eyes are usually up high, searching for the posted price list. Not good enough, says the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

It’s engaged in an ad campaign to get barbershops and salons to meet its health standards. The Consumer Affairs campaign slogan is Before you get a new look, get a good look around.

Why should that matter so much to us? Because the experts say that dirty conditions and improper procedures at barbershops and salons can lead to health problems for customers. These can range from just getting sick to catching viruses or even passing on communicable diseases.

Here are some examples of what it suggests: Look at the ground--do you see hair all over the floor? Check the wastebaskets. Do they have proper covers, or are they overflowing? (Who thinks of such things?)

How about the towels? Are they in a covered cabinet? Here’s one you can easily check: After the barber/stylist finishes one customer, does she (in my case) wash her hands with soap before shouting, “Next!”? This one I’m sure about: My barber makes a living off fast service--she never washes her hands between customers, and I’ve never given it another thought.

Consumer affairs officials call this “salon season” because people like to spruce themselves up for the holidays.

“If a salon or shop isn’t clean, or if you don’t see state licenses posted in plain sight, refuse service and walk out,” said Pamela Reed, director of its Barbering and Cosmetology Program. “Then let us know, so we can investigate.” I’m more concerned about whether my barber knows I want it off the ears. I’ve never once looked around the salon to spot a state license.

Well, you should, Reed said. “Every day, our investigators are finding places operating illegally, or below standards.” Among the more serious problems, she says: Hair styling tools that are not properly disinfected can transmit fungus, bacteria and viruses like hepatitis B and HIV--yes, experts insist, the dreaded HIV.

I asked Reed if she knows of a single incident in which someone contracted HIV by going to an unscrupulous hair stylist. Her quick answer was no, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

If you need electrolysis work, the needles and tweezers not only must be sterilized first by a steam or dry-heat sterilizer, the sterilizer must be one that is registered with the Food and Drug Administration.

Here’s another one from Reed: “Tell your operator of any chemical services that have been done to your hair and any medications you are taking. This could affect the outcome of the service.”

That might be a stretch. You start going over your pill list with your stylist, and she or he might think you’re wacky. Or at least eccentric. But that’s not to demean the work being done by the Consumer Affairs Department. Most of its suggestions are important.

If you do come across a salon you believe isn’t meeting state standards, here’s what you can do: You can call Consumer Affairs toll free at (800) 952-5210. And if you want to check out further details about salon safety, call up the “Consumer Guide to Barbering and Cosmetology Services on the Internet: https://www.dca.ca.gov/barber

Most shops and salons do try to abide by the rules. Reed points out that the ad campaign has the support of the industry: “Our licensees want the public to be protected just as much as we do. Dirty shops make the entire industry look bad.”