How To Tell If Your Freelance Artist Has Sanitary Practices
Onsite Beauty. Whenever, Wherever.
In a time where we are being asked to social distance, stay at home and wear a mask when we go out - we have become ultra-aware of how easily and quickly disease can spread. As the country begins to open back up, I felt it was important to take some time to educate you on what you should and need to look for when working with freelance makeup artists and hairstylists for your events, photoshoots, and special occasions. In addition what you can expect to see from WPI going forward.
With services like instacart, amazon, and all the instant gratification apps we have now, the trend and demand for onsite beauty services has been on the rise. Getting your makeup and/or hair done in your home, office or at your event venue has become rather mainstream. It’s no longer something reserved only for the uber-rich or celebrities. As such, there are some things you need to consider before hiring an artist to come to your home. Or even when getting a service at a beauty counter. Now more than ever it is important for you to be educated about beauty sanitation in order to protect yourself and ensure you’re working with a professional.
Education
First and foremost you need to ask about education. What type of sanitation training, if any, has the artist or company had? Do your research to ensure you’re hiring a professional that has sanitation practices and procedures in place. Ask questions like “Can you explain what your safety and sanitation practices are?”.
Photo Credit: White Peach Photography.
Makeup Artist Jessica Mae
What to expect during a service
An artist arrives at your doorstep, you are eager and excited to soon be looking your best for your special event. Here are some of the most important things to expect/look for sanitation wise before, during and after your service.
Arrival. The artist should ask where you’d like them to set up and then immediately wash their hands.
Set up. The artist should spray the table or set up area with 70% alcohol or an EPA registered hospital grade disinfectant. Next they should lay down clean paper towels to set up on. Hair artists should lay down a clean heat protector mat (in lieu of paper towels). Once they have set out the product they will need for the service, powders, eyeshadows, tweezers, palette knife, palette and any tool that will be used throughout the service should be sprayed with the EPA disinfectant and let dry prior to beginning. **Take a peak at their kit, is it clean and organized?
Disposables. The artist should have disposable makeup applicators such as mascara wands, lip wands, sponges, q-tips etc. The disposables should be kept in a clean, organized container or bag.
Bobby pins and clips. The artist should have clean, unused bobby pins stored in a clean, organized container or bag. Clips that are reuse-able should be stored in a clean, organized container or bag. **Bobby pins should NEVER be placed in the artists mouth and then applied to the client’s head.
Palette and Palette Knife. Some artists will use disposable palettes and palette knifes and some will have stainless steel. Either are fine so long as they are using one or the other and they are properly sanitized (or new if using disposable).
Brushes. All makeup and hair brushes/combs should be visibly clean.
Capes. If a cape is used, it should be clean.
Application. Once set up, the artist should use hand sanitizer or wash their hands again. During the application you should see the artist scooping out cream and gel products with the palette knife and putting onto the palette. The artist should NEVER apply cream or gel product directly from the container onto you. Mascara must be applied with a disposable mascara wand, and should only be dipped into the tube once. Lipstick or lipgloss must be applied with a disposable wand, the product should be de-potted onto the palette and applied with the wand from there. Dirty brushes/combs/clips should be kept in a separate area away from the clean ones and off of the work area. Disposables and any other trash created during the application should promptly be discarded in a zip lock or clean bag the artist brought with them. The work area should be kept clean and free of dirty utensils at all times.
Post-service. The artist should spray down all tools and product used with the EPA disinfectant. Makeup brushes should be cleaned with a brush cleaner. Hair brushes and combs should be cleaned with barbicide.
Red Flags.
Ok, so now you know some of the most important sanitation elements that need to be in place in order to remain safe. So now I’ll share a few red flags to look for. If ANY of these happen you should immediately ask the artist to stop the service and either use your product or discontinue the service entirely.
The artist doesn’t wash their hands or use hand sanitizer.
The artist doesn’t have disposables.
The artist’s kit is dirty on the inside.
The artist double dips product. An example would be, they use a disposable mascara wand. They dip it into the mascara tube, apply to your lashes and then dip the wand back into the tube. If they do this with you, you can bet they’ve done it on dozens of other clients. Gross!
The artist does not have 70% alcohol, EPA disinfectant or brush cleaner. Some artists won’t carry alcohol if they have the EPA disinfectant - this is ok. Also, some artists will have enough brushes for multiple applications and therefore won’t need to use brush cleaner onsite as they will clean them at home - this is ok - so long as they are not using dirty brushes on you or anyone else.
The artist’s brushes are dirty.
What is WPI doing to keep you safe post COVID-19.
All of our artisans will be required to wear a mask when working with clients.
All of our artisans will be required to take additional sanitation training through Barbicide and Bactronix (or equivalent) before returning to work from the shut down.
All work areas will be set up a minimum of 6 feet a part from one another.
I hope you found this information helpful. WPI is committed to your safety in addition to providing high level services. We look forward to getting back to work and Preparing you for Battle!