Health and Beauty Campaign for Eastbourne Businesses

Download useful resources and tools for your business from our Health and Beauty awareness campaign from the council's Environmental Health Officers.

Advice to Help Your Business

Our Health and Beauty Campaign aims to raise awareness and provide information to our local health and beauty businesses in Eastbourne.

Use the links from this page to find useful information on the following topics:

• Tattooing, piercing, acupuncture and electrolysis - registration and byelaws

• Sunbeds and tanning salons

• Fish pedicures

• Lasers

• Nail bars

• Hairdressers

Self Assessment Survey Sent to Local Businesses

The council has sent a self assessment questionnaire to all our businesses involved in the beauty sector. The questionnaire focuses on the risks associated with the relevant treatments on offer and how these risks are controlled.

A circular letter with the self assessment survey was sent to businesses in November 2012. You can download a copy of the letter and questionnaire in PDF format below.

Avoiding Injury and Ill Health in Beauty Businesses

Advice and simple health and safety precautions can help prevent incidents which in some cases can cause significant injury or ill health. Preventing such incidences helps businesses remain profitable and keeps beauticians employed in the careers they love and have trained hard to qualify for.

• All non-medical skin piercers, tattooists, Electrolysis’s and Acupuncturists in the town are required to be registered with the council and to observe byelaws relating to the cleanliness and the hygiene of premises, practitioners and equipment

• The provisions of the Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 came into force in April 2011 and prohibits the use of commercial sunbeds by under 18 year olds.

• Since 1 October 2010 providers of Class 3b and 4 lasers are no longer required to register with the Care Quality Commission due to deregulation. Local council Environmental Health departments are now the regulators for laser treatments including class 3b and 4. Recent HSE Guidance for duty holders on The Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations (AOR) identify the potential harm to workers, including blindness and burns to skin. Key control measures include the provision of specialist advice, PPE, design of treatment rooms, training and information and the monitoring and enforcing of control measures.

• An increasing number of establishments are offering Fish Pedicures. Fish pedicure involves the use of living fish, and therefore conventional methods of sterilisation and disinfection are not applicable as these will kill the fish. For guidance on managing the public health risks go to the Health Protection Agency website using the link from this page.

• Nail technicians are at a higher than average risk of developing work-related dermatitis and work related asthma. Chemicals found in nail care products and the artificial nail dusts generated, can seriously damage the health of employees.

• It is estimated that over 45 per cent of hairdressers suffer from dermatitis which equates to approximately 50,000 individuals due to the chemicals and water used. Dermatitis is difficult to recover from fully once developed and can lead to technicians having to find alternative employment. Trainee staff in the hairdressing industry are at particular risk due to the significant proportion of ‘wet work’ duties they undertake.