The Professional Beauty Association Shares The Three Things You Need to Know Now About Salon and Spa Safety

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Sept. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With consumers expressing caution and concern heading back into reopened salons and spas, the Professional Beauty Association (PBA), the professional beauty industry's largest and most inclusive trade organization, is helping to identify the Three Things You Need To Know About Salon and Spa Safety to help ensure consumer education and confidence -- especially as we head into the fall and winter months.

Over the last six months, the PBA has actively led the beauty industry through each phase of the COVID-19 pandemic; including supporting licensed professionals  through its $1.5M Relief Fund, working tirelessly with various state governments on reopening guidelines and timings, providing salon reopening guidelines and training, and actively campaigning for relief legislation. The organization has an unparalleled understanding of how Covid-19 has affected salons and spas -- and their guests. Using those insights, resources, and its global partnerships, the PBA has developed guidance to help consumers feel confident going back to the salon and spa environment, while minimizing risk, and includes the following three things you need to know:

1. The professional beauty industry is one of the ONLY service industries that require cleanliness training in order to obtain a license. The beauty industry requires stringent training and an occupational license. Steve Sleeper, the PBA's executive director shares, "As part of their licensing program, cosmetologists and aestheticians are trained extensively in healthy and public safety, and must follow their state's strict infection control guidelines."  The professional beauty industry is a regulated industry, helping to ensure that safety is a key priority.
   
   
2. Extra measures matter. Look for salons and spas who are taking Covid-19 safety seriously. The PBA released  "Getting Back to Work Guidelines" that highlight protocols for Safe Salons and Spas, including such measures as temperature checks, sanitizer stations, and plexiglass dividers or social distanced chairs, as well as whether your state requires it or not, ensuring both staff and guests are wearing masks at all times. Note -- it's a two-way street: if  guests also approach salon and spa services with safety in mind, the risks are even further reduced.
   
   "The PBA wants salons, spas, service providers, and consumers to start to rebuild an industry devastated by the pandemic in the absolute safest way possible," shares Steve Sleeper. "It's going to take time, but with transparency, safety, and respect, the beauty industry will rebound, and consumers can feel safe, confident, and pampered again."
   
   
3. Look for GBAC STAR™ Facility Accredited Salons. If you're looking for a salon and/or spa that's gone above and beyond, seek out a GBAC STAR accredited facility. In an effort to create a standardized cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention protocol for the entire professional beauty industry, the PBA has launched a partnership with the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, and its GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation Program.  This partnership marks the first time the professional beauty industry is aligning on such a standardized protocol with a nationally recognized entity that will help clients feel safer than ever to enter a salon/spa.
   
   GBAC STAR is the cleaning industry's only outbreak prevention, response and recovery accreditation for facilities. GBAC STAR-accredited facilities, such as American Airlines, Hyatt Hotels, and the Javits Center, are able to demonstrate that correct work practices, procedures and systems are in place to prepare, respond, and recover from outbreaks and pandemics; providing salons and spas a standardized, high level measure of safety and cleaning best practices. Through this partnership, PBA is offering its members a discount on this annual accreditation to help create this industry-wide standardization and confidence for salons, spas, and their clientele.
   
   "The Professional Beauty Association is excited to partner with GBAC on instituting a recognizable cleaning and disinfection accreditation seal to ensure the health and safety of salons and spas, their staff, and clientele," shares Steve Sleeper. "Our goal is to help provide a resource for the industry to institute this nationally recognized standardization, helping to create the safest salon and spa experience possible."
   
   GBAC STAR accreditation means that a salon or spa has:
• Established and maintained a cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention program to minimize risks associated with infectious agents like the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
• The proper cleaning protocols, disinfection techniques, and work practices in place to combat biohazards and infectious disease.
• Highly informed cleaning professionals who are trained for outbreak and infectious disease preparation and response.

For more information on the GBAC program, visit: https://www.probeauty.org/membership-resources/gbac-star.

For more information on the PBA, visit: www.probeauty.org.

SOURCE Professional Beauty Association