Microblading salons, clinics and studios need to follow the health standards provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
OSHA sets the safety standards for workers and the responsibilities of employers in ensuring a safe work environment., while CDC looks out for diseases and cures. Both are essential for the microblading industry, as microblading artists work with needles, sharps, blood, and other human body fluids, skin, and hair.
General rules all microblading artists must follow
OSHA mandates personal protective equipment for microblading artists so they must be gloved, gowned, goggled, and masked. This practice ensures the safety of both artist and client.
Bloodborne pathogen certification for microblading artists
OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Certification is one of the most important certifications that permanent cosmetic artists and microbladers are required to take.
Is important to be educated on all the risks involved during permanent cosmetics procedures such as eyebrow tattooing and micro-blading, as they can all break human skin and potentially cause the transmission of bloodborne pathogens and related diseases.
Just like any other profession, there are always risks involved for both staff and clients if certain precautions aren’t followed – which is why we follow the OSHA bloodborne pathogen standard in order to minimize this risk.
With microblading, the risks include cross-contamination and the transmission of bloodborne pathogens like Hepatitis B and HIV.
There are so many permanent cosmetic and microblading classes on offer these days and of course because of the pandemic most classes and training now take place online.
In these technique and industry-focussed type classes, safety practices are usually not touched on or are very briefly addressed.
For example, they may just show you what type of wipes to use when cleaning a procedural area – but there is a lot more that goes into it than that.
Most artists are only in training sessions for a few hours so there is usually no time to cover all the information that you are required to know in order to be licensed and compliant.
Safety and sanitation is one of the most important parts and is often not even touched on.
Most classes just go over how to microblade and gloss over the fact that there can be blood and the client’s skin is being opened up, putting them at risk of infections and bloodborne diseases.
Most states now require a bloodborne pathogens certification but not all do – but this does not mean that you should not take a bloodborne pathogen training course.
Proper clean up in between clients is a crucial part of the microblading process that often gets overlooked.
Managing Bloodborne Pathogen Risks
You should use pre-sterilized disposable tools, use a barrier wrap on everything you touch during the permanent cosmetic procedure, have a sharps container close by, disinfecting agents close and easily accessible, and gloves and masks used along with all other appropriate and specified personal protective equipment (PPE).
We will also be required by both OSHA and your employer to follow certain practices such as the proper and safe removal of disposable gloves, correct handwashing at the proper intervals etc.
After everything is properly disposed of, a hospital-grade wipe should be used to wipe down all surfaces used during the microblading procedure. These wipes kill bacteria and viruses in less than 3 minutes.
The whole start to finish is very important because bloodborne pathogens can be transmitted so easily by contact transmission.
For example, you finish the procedure and you still have your gloves on which have touched the client’s open skin with, so now their blood or other viruses or bacterias are present on the gloves, and you grab the handheld mirror to give to your client to check out their new eyebrows.
Now the pathogens are on your mirror. Now they are on your client’s hands and if they set the mirror down and touch other surfaces it will continue being spread everywhere. Scary right? Well, it is correct to be concerned and to take blood borne pathogens seriously.
Health awareness Is the number one priority
So, you can see See how easily an infection can happen just by lack of awareness and not following the correct procedures.
This is why it is so important to choose an artist who has their bloodborne pathogen certificate so they know how to handle every type of situation.
The bloodborne pathogens certification is required to be renewed annually to make sure you don’t forget to follow safety practices and stay up to date on everything within the permanent cosmetics business.
You can take our bloodborne pathogens training for tattoo artist 100% online. Start right now.