A facial may include but is not limited to:
- washing the surface of the face and neck with a cleanser
- sloughing off dead skin cells
- massaging face, neck and scalp
- extracting blackheads and acne
- plucking or waxing of eyebrows.
What is the risk?
- Facials - especially those that include extractions - can be invasive procedures that carry a risk of exposure to blood or body fluids
- Exfoliation carries the potential for bacterial infection or contamination because it opens the skin's pores
- Extracting blackheads and acne can transmit bloodborne diseases if the instrument used is contaminated with infected blood. The extraction instrument is a two-sided (sharp on one side, looped on the other) metal object that is used to break the skin's surface and remove blackheads and pimples.
How can it be done safely?
- As with all aesthetic services, the tools used in extractions must be sterile
- Technicians must wash their hands before they perform any services and wear gloves during procedures. They should change and discard the gloves after each procedure
- All equipment that comes into contact with the skin such as high frequency tubes and brushes must be cleaned and disinfected
- Single-use, disposable equipment such as sponges, cotton swabs and applicators must be used where possible.
Aesthetics should not be performed on any broken skin surface--for instance, non-intact skin, cuts, abrasions or rash.
