Salon Disinfectant Recommendations
What disinfectant should a salon use?
In the US, a salon should use an EPA-registered disinfectant whose label shows bactericidal, fungicidal and virucidal activity, used exactly as the label directs. If blood is involved, Texas requires a hospital-grade or tuberculocidal product, or a strong bleach solution. Rules are set by each state's licensing board, so they vary by state. For the UK or EU I found no salon-specific rule in the sources I checked. There, a disinfectant for tools and surfaces is a "PT02" biocidal product under the biocides regulations.
Approach: I read the published salon hygiene rules from the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology and Texas TDLR. I also checked the EPA's disinfectant lists and the GB (HSE) and EU (ECHA) registers of authorised biocidal products. I did not check the other US states' boards.
What the two state boards require
| Situation | California | Texas (16 TAC Chapter 83) |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptable product | EPA-registered, with bactericidal, fungicidal and virucidal activity (CA fact sheet) | An EPA-registered bactericidal, fungicidal and virucidal disinfectant, or a chlorine bleach solution mixed as the rule sets out (§83.100(4)) (TDLR rules) |
| Tools that can go in liquid | Clean first, then fully immerse. Keep the solution covered and change it per the label or when cloudy. Label the container "Disinfectant Solution" | Clean first; disinfectant on dirty items "become[s] inactivated and ineffective". Immersion solutions "must be prepared fresh daily" (§83.101(a)) |
| Shears and electrical tools | Spray or wipe with the same type of EPA-registered disinfectant | Wipe and disinfect before each client (§83.102(e)) |
| Foot spas | Not covered on the pages I opened | EPA-registered disinfectant after every client; deeper cleaning daily and every two weeks; written records kept for at least 60 days (§83.108) |
| Blood or body fluid | Not covered on the pages I opened | "EPA-registered hospital grade disinfectant, a tuberculocidal disinfectant", or a 10% bleach solution. Immersed tools stay 5 minutes in the bleach (§83.111) |
| Banned | n/a | Formalin (formaldehyde) fumigants (§83.112) |
Texas sets three bleach strengths, all made with household 5.25% bleach (§83.100(1)):
- Low level (100-200 ppm): 2 teaspoons per gallon of water, soak at least 10 minutes.
- High level (1,000 ppm): 1/3 cup per gallon, soak at least 20 minutes.
- Blood clean-up (5,000 ppm): 1¾ cups per gallon.
Bleach must be mixed daily and stored away from monomers, alcohol and other chemicals.
Choosing a US product
- The EPA publishes lists of disinfectants by tested organism. Two match salon needs:
- Each entry gives the EPA registration number, active ingredient, contact time (how long the surface must stay wet), whether it is a spray, wipe or concentrate, and surface type. Most are for "Hard Nonporous" surfaces only. Porous items such as buffers and emery boards are thrown away under both states' rules.
GB and EU
- PT02 covers "Disinfectants and algaecides not intended for direct application to humans or animals". An instrument disinfectant is listed on the EU register under that type, for example in France [3].
- A salon should buy a product listed as authorised in its own market: the HSE register for Great Britain, or the ECHA/national register for EU countries.
- Neither register lists any product described specifically for salon, beauty or nail use.
If you tell me your state or country, I can pull that jurisdiction's salon rules and search the relevant register for products by active ingredient.
Can salons spray tools instead of soaking them?
Only for some tools, and not as a full replacement. California and Texas both allow spraying for certain items, such as shears and electrical tools. Both still require full immersion for most other tools that can safely go in liquid. Texas also requires every tool listed below to be immersed at the end of each day, even when spraying was allowed between clients.
Approach: None of the regulatory registers I can search hold state cosmetology board rules. So I read the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology disinfection fact sheet and the Texas TDLR health and safety rules (16 TAC Chapter 83) directly.
California (Licensee Fact Sheet 2, rev. 03/2024)
- Default is immersion. Tools "must be totally immersed" in an EPA-registered disinfectant with bactericidal, fungicidal and virucidal activity. The solution must be covered and changed as the label says or when it is cloudy or has debris in it.
- Shears are the exception. After removing debris, washing and rinsing, you "spray or wipe" them with the same type of EPA-registered disinfectant, used as the label directs.
- The fact sheet names no other tools that can be sprayed instead of immersed.
Texas (TDLR Health & Safety Rules)
- General rule (§83.101(a)): "Some disinfectants may be sprayed on the instruments, tools, or equipment". But "in all cases the disinfectant must be used in accordance with the manufacturers' instructions". In practice, spraying only counts if the product's label allows it.
- Hair tools (§83.103):
- Between clients, tools must be wiped with a towel and "sprayed with" an EPA-registered bactericidal, fungicidal and virucidal disinfectant, or a high-level (1,000 ppm) bleach solution. This covers combs, picks, shears, razors, clippers, guards and perm rods.
- At the end of each day, those items plus brushes and sectioning clips must be scrubbed and then disinfected by "complete immersion" in that disinfectant or high-level bleach.
- Immersion container (§83.102(h)): a container big enough to fully immerse tools "must be used" for combs, brushes, scissors and other equipment that can safely be immersed.
- Electrical equipment (§83.102(e)): if it can't be immersed, it "must be wiped clean and disinfected" before each client.
- Washable nail items (§83.106(f)): after brushing off debris, items such as buffer blocks, porous files and pumice are "sprayed with" the disinfectant or high-level bleach. If one has touched broken or unhealthy skin, it must be thrown away.
- Metal nail tools (§83.106(c)-(d)): pushers, nippers, clippers and the like must be cleaned, disinfected "and sterilized or sanitized" after each client. The rule does not say whether that disinfection can be by spray.
- Spraying is not allowed for:
- Electric drill bits: "complete immersion" between clients, then sterilization (§83.107(c)).
- Portable whirlpool jets: "completely immersed for 5 to 10 minutes" (§83.108(j)(3)).
- Blood-contaminated non-porous tools: an EPA hospital-grade or tuberculocidal disinfectant used per its label, or total immersion in 10% bleach for 5 minutes (§83.111(c)).
- Hair weaving (§83.110(d)): needles, combs and hair clips "must be sprayed with a disinfectant before use."
Whichever method a state allows, the product label still governs. Spraying only counts as disinfection if the label lists a spray use and the surface stays wet for the full contact time the label gives. If you tell me your state, I can look up its board rules.