Barber shop sanitation (Bloomfield: hair salon, preschools, college)

[tranceFusion]

I've been going to Dan Cercone's in Bloomfield for a while. I've been very pleased with the cuts and the guys are all real nice and friendly and was very happy to have found such a great shop.

However, I have been having some scalp irritation recently and it got me thinking - they really don't seem to clean anything in there. The last time I went in I paid attention and it seems clear that nothing gets cleaned. There's hair all over the counters and all of the scissors, clippers, guards and brushes laying around are completely covered in hair.

I looked on the PA Board of Barber Examines website and it seems that there are very clear regulations for cleaning each item with disinfectant between customers. Certainly no health examiner going in there is going to mistake it for a place that cleans everything between each customer. Also, I never really paid attention, but I don't remember the last place I went to cleaning anything either.

So what's up with that?

[woodworkingmenace]

NOPE! All the years I have gone to Barbers, none have 'cleaned' anything, except sweep the floor of hair, (this was before they started to put the vacumns on the clippers, and even then, they still have to sweep 'some' as it doesnt get it all).

We see Women's hair salons, they showed on the National News about women soaking thier feet in a solution of filth. Dead skin cells, toe nails and a miasma of garbage, and they get rashes and diseases...

No one ever thinks about cleanliness or cross contamination in clippers, or scissors, or any other instrument. Lets face it, you get some kid with lice, and it gets on the Barber's Comb...gonna run this through how many head of hairs? (Unless the barber catches sigh of the bug, and sterilizes the comb, but, who know if they will or not, catch it?).

All you can do, is ask, and if they refuse, then go someplace else. Somewhere you will find someone who will give you the satisfaction of disinfecting the instruments.

I wish you well...

Jesse

[raubre]

Shouldn't the health department do inspections of these places like they do with restaurants?

[Hopes]

The worst people can get at a barber is lice and elementary school is where lice spreads the most. Maybe the health department should inspect elementary schools. Seriously, how many people have you heard of who caught lice at the barber? I've never heard it. And I know barbers refuse service to people with lice. As soon as they see it, they send the customer away. I'm sure they use pesticide immediately after the infested client leaves because they're business owners, not idiots. Now, nail salons and beauty salons that do manicures and pedicures are a different story entirely. You can catch worse than lice at those places!

[Sealtite]

I don't understand why any man would feel the need to go to a barber. I've been cutting my own hair for several years, and once I got over the initial fear of what I was doing, it turned into an easy routine. Now I've always got a fresh haircut, it's free, and I don't have to make an appointment, drive there, wait, etc. I'll never have a bad haircut again, nor will I ever pay for it again as long as I have use of my hands, for lack of a better way to put it. Get your mind out of the gutter.

[PeterRabbit]

Dan died in 1992. He might be known as the worst barber in history with the most fake trophys in the shop.

Dan Cercone Barber Shop, Bloomfield

[raubre]

Originally Posted by Sealtite

I don't understand why any man would feel the need to go to a barber. I've been cutting my own hair for several years, and once I got over the initial fear of what I was doing, it turned into an easy routine. Now I've always got a fresh haircut, it's free, and I don't have to make an appointment, drive there, wait, etc. I'll never have a bad haircut again, nor will I ever pay for it again as long as I have use of my hands, for lack of a better way to put it. Get your mind out of the gutter.

It's very hard to cut your own hair! It doesn't come out symetrically balanced.

[rhondee]

Originally Posted by tranceFusion

However, I have been having some scalp irritation recently and it got me thinking - they really don't seem to clean anything in there. The last time I went in I paid attention and it seems clear that nothing gets cleaned.

If you're happy about the guys and the quality of service you receive, but yet squeamish about the cleanliness, I suggest bringing your own comb for the barber to use on yourself.You can always say that the shop's implements are too abrasive on your scalp- or whatever. I have seen clients do that who feel the same way you do and with no offense taken by the stylist.

Did you see jars of Barbicide and was it evident that was in active use at each station? Did the barber take a fresh comb out of a jar to use on you? I know you said you saw combs and razors with hair on them but doesn't mean they would not be sanitized at all. It is against the law for a Barber or Stylist to work on any client with lice or broken and open skin. I have never heard of lice outbreaks in salons or barbershops and is probably a rare occurrence if it does happen,they are much more prevalent in elementary /preschools.

I used to work as a shampoo girl when I was in my late teens, I had to provide my salon owner proof from my doctor that I was free of any infectious disease. I admit it was a very high end salon ( hey, it's how I paid my way through college!) and for the most part, the artists working in the salon biz are conscientious, caring, giving and very civic-minded people. They are some of the coolest people I have ever worked with in my entire life! They care about, and take great pride in, their creations as well as the quality of their work. I think you're still pretty safe visiting the barbershop.

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by raubre

It's very hard to cut your own hair! It doesn't come out symetrically balanced.

I beg to differ. It's pretty easy for me. I use two mirrors, take my time, and have a relatively down-pat system. I used different length clippers and everything....just like a barber would do. It's not just an "all one length" simple cut or anything.

[tranceFusion]

Originally Posted by Hopes

The worst people can get at a barber is lice and elementary school is where lice spreads the most. Maybe the health department should inspect elementary schools. Seriously, how many people have you heard of who caught lice at the barber? I've never heard it.

I'm not really trying to catch lice, but you could also get ringworm, staph infections, or hepatitis, especially if you get nicked by scissors or a straight razor, or have your own sores on your head from a wide variety of possible causes.

Originally Posted by Sealtite

I beg to differ. It's pretty easy for me. I use two mirrors, take my time, and have a relatively down-pat system. I used different length clippers and everything....just like a barber would do. It's not just an "all one length" simple cut or anything.

Anyone can make their hair shorter, sure. If you want any kind of layering, blending or tapering, and nice lines around the back, ears, and burns done with a straight razor, I don't see how you are going to get the same quality of you are fumbling with a mirror in one of your hands as if you go to someone who does it all day for a living.

Originally Posted by rhondee

Did you see jars of Barbicide and was it evident that was in active use at each station? Did the barber take a fresh comb out of a jar to use on you? I know you said you saw combs and razors with hair on them but doesn't mean they would not be sanitized at all. It is against the law for a Barber or Stylist to work on any client with lice or broken and open skin. I have never heard of lice outbreaks in salons or barbershops and is probably a rare occurrence if it does happen,they are much more prevalent in elementary /preschools.

I looked at a few of the stations and only one of them had a couple of canisters of what seemed to be a colored santiizing solution. However, I watched the guys repeatedly pick up the same sets of equipment between customers... They don't even sweep the floor very often in there, you just walk through the hair from the last customer to get to the chair. And the entire counter has a layer of hair over it.



So does anyone go anywhere that is sanitary AND does a good job? I wouldn't mind going somewhere in the East End, downtown, or the North Hills areas. Thanks!