Dust is mainly seen to be an annoyance more than a health risk. At worst it is considered to make you sneeze and just generally feel uncomfortable. However, if you or your clients suffer from a dust allergy then a large quantity of dust particles could make life in the salon fairly miserable! It is not only allergies that you have to be aware of either; if it gets into the lungs then it could cause various respiratory problems.

Dust and the Respiratory System

To protect the lungs against the effects of dust, we have built in hairs that catch it before it manages to reach them. This mainly applies to larger particles of dust and it is extremely effective. However, even our body’s most effective defences are not always efficient against the smaller particles of dust. It is those that you need to be worried about. They slip straight past the body’s defences and enter directly into our respiratory system.

If it does manage to reach your respiratory system then you could experience some fairly nasty symptoms. There is a reason why people who work in particularly dusty environments wear dust masks to protect themselves and it is not just to stop them sneezing! You may think that working in a nail salon would not be all that dusty, but in fact there could be a lot of hidden dust built up that you simply cannot see.

Dust in Your Salon

In a nail salon, dust mainly builds up as you perform various treatments. If you consider what happens when you file a client’s nails for example, you will see that quite a lot of dust is created. If you place a paper towel underneath the client’s hands, you will see after the treatment just how much dust has been created. It would be a wise idea to change the paper towels after each different section of a treatment. That way it will cut down how much dust is released into the air.

By reducing the dust amounts within your salon, it will help to ensure that you and your clients breathe that little bit easier. The most effective way to stop too much dust from entering the air is to have a built in ventilation system. You could choose an extractor fan to be installed into your desk. That would grab the dust particles, as well as any vapours created, before they have a chance to travel around the salon.

You should also make sure that you use a damp cloth to polish over surfaces. The damp will cause the dust to stick to the cloth, whereas a dry one would simply shift the dust around. Many people make the mistake of polishing with a dry cloth and it really doesn’t do your respiratory system any good if you do!

Overall reducing the amount of dust in your salon is vital if you want to stay healthy. You are more at risk of developing problems through dust in your salon than your clients because you spend more time there. So take all precautions to reduce dust amounts whenever you can.