OSHA Web Page vs. Formaldehyde Danger, plus the Coco Alternative

OSHA, after citing 23 salon owners and beauty schools in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Ohio in 2011 for failing to protect their workers from overexposure and potential exposure to formaldehyde, has creatively resorted to a new tack to alert beauty salons to the hazards of hair products that contain excessive levels of the toxic chemical: a brand-new web page for cosmetology license holders and for those who are finishing their cosmetology CE.

Called “Hair Salons: Facts about Formaldehyde in Hair Smoothing Products,” the web page informs owners and workers about formaldehyde in hair-smoothing products, the formaldehyde and hazard communications standards they need to comply with when using hair-smoothing products, and the updated results of OSHA investigations regarding dangerous substances in hair products.

Aside from the 23 salons and beauty schools penalized last year, OSHA also cited three manufacturers and two distributors of hair products for failing to protect their own workers from possible formaldehyde exposure and for neglecting to communicate the dangers of formaldehyde overexposure to salon workers and their clients.

Meanwhile many salon clients are already looking to healthier natural alternatives to condition their hair and keep out of harm’s way. Now it seems, not a few salon clients, cosmetology license holders, and cosmetology CE students are going loco over coco. And for good reason!

Coconut oil is a natural, deep-treatment hair conditioner that enhances hair gloss and gives it extraordinary softness no commercial product can match.

It is also medically healthy for the hair. It has antifungal and antimicrobial action that helps fight dandruff and bacterial scalp infections. In addition, coconut oil is even believed to retard hair loss by revitalizing and sloughing dead skin tissue off the scalp.

In contrast, coconut milk contains proteins which strengthen hair (helping prevent split ends) and shield the hair and scalp from harmful UV rays. Coconut milk can be used to complement coconut oil in conditioning hair.

The best coconut oil for the hair (and for the health) is pure virgin coconut oil. Look for organic, unrefined virgin coconut oil. The variety sold on the market is usually solid in its container, but it will melt in the hands once scooped it out. 

For hair conditioning purposes, hair experts recommend applying a few tablespoons of pure virgin coconut oil to dry or slightly damp hair. Wrap head in a hot, wrung-out towel, then cover this with a dry towel. Let the oil melt into the hair and scalp for half an hour or longer. The heat opens the hair cuticle layer, allowing the oil to go deep into the hair shaft. For best results, do this before a bath or a shower.

Cosmetologycampus.com, the cosmetology portal of top e-learning hub 360training.com, provides an excellent online cosmetology CE program (if you are in Wisconsin it is called the Wisconsin cosmetology CE; if you are in Texas, it is called the Texas cosmetology CE), which is required by many states for renewing a cosmetology license.

Salon News Bits and a New iPhone App

To start off the new year, some interesting news bits from the salon scene.

This January, those infernally ungainly flip-flops that you have to wear at the nail salon in Georgia or New York are getting the boot (about time, too). Bootie Pies (introduced in 2007), suede and leather boots that look like Uggs but with front flaps, are making the scene again to keep your toes toasty while waiting for your toenails to dry. Good buy at $68 to $88—and good news for those with a Georgia nail technician license or a Georgia a cosmetology license.

In California, meanwhile, a plastic surgeon has integrated blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) and browpexy (brow lift) into an all-in-one eyelid-and-brow lift that he claims is more cost effective and less invasive than separate procedures and also than many similar procedures. The innovative lift’s two internal stitches require 30 minutes to finish and five days to recover from. For all that the procedure sets the client back $4,500.  Visit the practice of Tancredi F. D’Amore, in Corte Madera, Calif.

In Midtown Manhattan, Dr. Robert M. Bernstein, of the Bernstein Medical Center for Hair Restoration, has earned the distinction of being probably the first doctor on the East Coast to press into hair-transplant service a robot. The robotic wonder, the Artas System for Hair Restoration, was designed, developed, and released to the world by a company called Restoration Robotics. It’s really high-tech—it employs digital mapping and tracking to painstakingly extract and harvest individual hairs (“follicular units” in techspeak)—and really expensive ($12,000 to $15,000). But if you have a deep pocket and the patience to endure four to eight hours of hair-pulling, it’s worth every hair root.

Finally, pretty eyebrows meet pretty iPhone in HairPro Tracker, a newly released iPhone-iPad app developed for salon professionals (including those finishing their cosmetology CE as a requirement for renewing their cosmetology license) who are looking to have a cool iPhone bling that actually does serious things, including help the user manage his or her practice. Enthused founder and salon professional Tara O’Connell, “It’s innovative and highly intuitive, and this app tracks and analyzes earnings, goals, most profitable services and more. The goal is to help you work smarter, not harder!”

HairPro Tracker, for instance, can track the following:

·         Most profitable services

·         Most profitable clients

·         Which add-on services make the most money

·         Average money earned per client purchase

·         Average hourly rate

·         Services performed

·         Services that fall below the average hourly rate

·         Past paycheck bar graph

·         Daily, weekly and monthly reports

·         Percent to goal

·         Net income at the end of each day

HairPro Tracker is available for download at www.hairprotracker.com

Cosmetologycampus.com, the cosmetology portal of top e-learning hub 360training.com, offers an excellent online cosmetology CE program (if you’re in Texas it’s called the Texas cosmetology CE; if you’re in Ohio, it’s called the Ohio cosmetology CE), a requirement by many states for renewing a cosmetology license.

Cosmetology-Licensed Salon Technicians vs. Formaldehyde Scare

Is it safe? The unforgettable question asked of Dustin Hoffman’s character in the 1974 conspiracy thriller Marathon Man is being reprised by thousands of hair-salon customers each time they go for that hair-straightening procedure that’s all the rage across the United States today—keratin hair treatment.

It’s the same question too that both the FDA and OSHA recently asked—and both recently thumbed down in separate actions. FDA issued a health warning against it, but stopped short of a ban; OSHA cited manufacturers for mislabeling their products and penalized several salons for unsafe practices. At the heart of the health controversy over keratin treatment is formaldehyde, a strongly suspected carcinogen that’s used as an important ingredient in hair-straightening products.

Of course, salon workers who are cosmetology license holders (such as those who have finished their Texas cosmetology CE or Kentucky cosmetology CE) have the training to know how to make their work places safe for their clients and for themselves.

Jonathan Elkhouri, owner and master stylist of Salon Khouri, suggests the following steps to a safe hair-straightening treatment:

·         Find a reputable salon with licensed and, therefore, trained technicians. With FDA and OSHA warnings and alerts out, this salon will likely carry a keratin product that has little to no formaldehyde.

·         Check if the salon is properly ventilated. Proper ventilation ensures that the formaldehyde released during the keratin hair-treatment process is quickly dissipated and the vapor remaining is kept at safe levels according to OSHA standards.

·         Seek alternative products if available.

Reputable cosmetology institutes like cosmetologycampus.com provide comprehensive online cosmetology CE training, a requirement by many states for renewing a cosmetology license.

Hepatitis B Danger in Nail Salons

That manicure (or pedicure) can be dangerous to your health. This January, Ivanhoe Newswire reported that according to a recent study salon customers are at risk of contracting hepatitis B, a chronic liver infection that could be fatal, and aren’t even aware of it. The new study highlights the unique risk confronting salon clients in the U.S., where today an estimated 4.4 million are suffering from chronic hepatitis.

Of course, salon workers who are cosmetology license holders or are finishing their cosmetology CE are well versed in preventing infectious diseases at the salon because reputable schools like cosmetologycampus.com, a popular online cosmetology institute, emphasize health-and-prevention training.

“A lot of these places use sharp instruments and they could be re-using those,” Dr. Robert Gish, a clinical professor at U.C .San Diego informed Ivanhoe. “Ninety-five percent of people with hepatitis B have no symptoms. That’s the problem.”
Dr. Gish is drafting a health policy for the Vietnamese government on the spread of the liver disease. 

Hepatitis, especially the variant hepatitis B, is prevalent in the Asian-Pacific region and population studies show that every person born in the region is at a high risk of already being a carrier. Hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV, says the World Health Organization. Dr. Gish’s study involves thousands of salon workers, mostly of Vietnamese descent, who are now working in salons across the country.
The report points out the following practical measures to help protect the salon client from hepatitis B infection at the salon.

·         Make sure that your salon has a license is clearly.

·         Make sure that scissors and clippers are disinfected after every customer and only disposable files are used.

·         Make sure that the pedicure bath and all suction screens in the tubs are fresh.

·         Always take your own polish. 

Cosmetologycampus.com, the cosmetology portal of top e-learning hub 360training.com, provides comprehensive online cosmetology CE training (if you’re in Texas it’s called the Texas cosmetology CE; if you’re in Kentucky, it’s called the Kentuckycosmetology CE), a requirement by many states for renewing a cosmetology license.

Cosmetologists Take the Imperfect Look

Hold on to your bed sheets because there’s good news for the OMG-I’m-so-late-to-work-where’s-my-makeup type. Says an article by Stephanie Rosenbloom for The New York Times, not being able to apply proper makeup might not be too bad in 2012 because the in thing this year was the out thing in 2011. This year, when the world is supposed to end according to the Mayan calendar, the hottest is imperfection. YES, you read that right.

So, this year it’s in with the “effortless, minimalist, just-out-of-bed-with-your-lover” look, and out with the Twilight eyes, vampire coiffures, and the draughtsman-approved lips. Easy to do, right? Cosmetologists and beauty experts who are cosmetology license holders (such as those who have finished their Texas cosmetology CE or Kentucky cosmetology CE) say—and not without a pout—not quite.
  
Apparently, there’s perfection in imperfection. And the preferred weapons for this new battle for beauty? Well, your fingertips. It’s push it, smudge it, smear it, whether it’s your lipstick, your bronzer or your eyeliner. And if you’re fearful about exercising the new freedom, the beauty professionals are of course more than willing to take over. They have the training, the knowledge, and the experience to give you the 2012 je ne sais quoi. In other words, they have the restraint (another 2012 beauty buzzword) not to make a mess of it.

If you’d like to be a beauty professional (or someone who can do beauty the right way), there’s good training at online beauty hubs such as cosmetologycampus.com, which provides comprehensive online cosmetology CE training (if you’re in Texas it’s called the Texas cosmetology CE; if you’re in Kentucky, it’s called the Kentucky cosmetology CE).