Hair clippers in hairdressing shops and the spread of diseases

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Extract from the article: Plusieurs outils comme la lame, le peigne, la tondeuse entrent dans les matériels de travail du coiffeur. Parmi ces outils, la tondeuse est le principal dans les salons de coiffure des hommes. Elle sert à débarrasser les cheveux de la tête et à resso

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Several tools such as blades, combs and clippers are part of the hairdresser's working materials. Among these tools, the clipper is the most important one in men's hairdressing salons. It is used to remove hair from the head and to bring out the shape. But if not properly maintained, the clippers are also a vector for the transmission of several diseases.

Many men and women go in and out of hairdressing shops every day to have their hair done and to make themselves beautiful. For this reason, no hairdresser can do without clippers in the course of his or her work. A distinction is made between mechanical and electric clippers, which are the most commonly used in the workshops in Togo and elsewhere. From one client to another, the same clippers are often used on the heads. This requires hairdressers to take special care of this work tool. The lack of this attention exposes people to many diseases.

Vectors of disease transmission?

Several diseases can be transmitted by the use of lawnmowers from one individual to another, if this tool is poorly maintained. Thus, the risk of contracting hepatitis B, C, AIDS and other blood-borne diseases is high. The clippers are a tool that can injure the client during the hairdressing process. Even if the injuries caused by this tool are mostly invisible to the naked eye, the chance of contamination is not to be neglected. Also, even minimal and unnoticed blood contact can transmit diseases. Some clients who have understood the risks associated with this practice take steps to have their hair done by their personal hairdressing kit. This is the case of Papa Martial, a bar owner who said, « Since I saw a customer being cut by a clipper, and the hairdresser used the same clipper to cut another person's hair, I have given up using common clippers. I always keep my comb and clippers when I want to do my hair. This prevents certain diseases that can be caught through blood in these hairdressing places ».

Like Papa Martial, many have an idea of the risks they run by having their hair done with the same tools, but the lack of means means means that they limit themselves to that for the moment. Nevertheless, they are quick to remind hairdressers to clean the instrument from one client to the next. « Well, I want to have my own clippers and keep them every time I want to do my hair. Because, the clippers at the barber's here, you can easily catch the disease from an infected person if you get hurt by mistake. But at the moment I don't have the means to do that. But every time I come to do my hair, I tell the hairdresser to clean the clippers properly, to wash them before putting them on my head », said Sévérin, a customer he met in a hairdressing workshop in the Adidogomé-Sagbadao district of Lomé. Hairdressers aware of the situation are still trying to take measures to limit the damage.

Maintenance measures used by hairdressers

Preventive measures are taken, even if they do not always guarantee the health safety of all concerned. Kokou, 28 years old, a young master hairdresser and owner of a hairdressing workshop, says : « After a job is done, the clippers are washed with bleach and cleaned with cotton and alcohol. This is a process that is strictly adhered to. The blade on the razor is renewed after a hairstyle. This limits the risk of contamination. Respecting this rule guarantees the trust of many customers. We also gain the trust of our customers by taking care of the hygiene of our working tools ».

Special attention and care must be given to the working tools in the hairdressing workshops. It is also important that each individual has an individual clipper for safety.

William O.