Most at-home beauty treatments and self-applied products contain small amounts of chemicals that could be considered dangerous. However, they have generally been extensively tested which means they aren’t harmful in a single-use amount.
But this changes in a beauty salon environment… (Cue: ominous music!)
Unlike single applications at home, in a beauty salon environment, these products are used over and over again in the day, evaporating and creating harmful vapours and fumes.
If not properly extracted and ventilated at the source, these fumes accumulate in the confined space, leaving salon workers, beauty technicians, and (to a much lesser degree) their clients to bear the brunt of those contaminants.
What Salon Products Contain Harmful Chemicals?
Almost everything!
- Hair dyes and bleaches
- Hairstyling products and permanent wave solutions
- Shampoos
- Peroxides
- Brow and lash tints
- Chemical peels
- Wax solvents
- Keratin treatments
- Nail enamels and hardeners
- Nail polishes, nail polish removers and solvents
- Nail tips and wraps
- Acrylic and gel nail systems
- Cleaning products and disinfectants
These are just some of the products that you can expect to contain harmful chemicals. The chemicals can harm you through both short-term and long-term contact, or through the fumes they release.
What do we mean by long-term contact?
We mean multiple times over a long period of time.
Here’s the thing:
If you’re applying these products without personal protective equipment (PPE) over and over again, you run the risk of prolonged skin exposure.
Most of these chemicals release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the form of fumes. If the fumes aren’t extracted, you inhale them when you breathe. Long-term exposure could affect your respiratory tract and lungs. Some of them are also known carcinogens.
In fact, even excessive contact with water over the years can lead to dermatitis!
What about short-term contact?
Short-term contact is hazardous in case of very harsh chemicals, like those found in cleaning products. However, even milder chemicals can be harmful if they come in contact with your eyes.
Let’s consider another scenario. You were working with a pair of scissors or pins that came in contact with a chemical. If you jab yourself with those, that can be a potentially dangerous short-term contact, depending on the chemical.
Now, protective gloves normally shield you against physical contact, both long-term and short-term, but fumes and dust can be a little more insidious.
So what are the chemicals that are commonly found in beauty salons and what are their effects?
Common Chemicals Found in Beauty Salons
Here are some of the chemicals that you will find in beauty salons.
- Formaldehyde
- Methyl Methacrylate and Ethyl Methacrylate
- Dibutyle Phthalate
- Solvents like Acetone, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, Xylene, and Toluene
- Styrene
- Trichloroethylene
- Diethanoamine (DEA)
- Sodium Lauryl Sulphate / Sodium Laureth Sulphate
- Parabens
- Naphtha
- Propylene Glycol
- Ethylene glycol
- Ammonium Persulfate
Effects of These Common Chemicals Found in Beauty Salons
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is also known as Methanal, Methyl Aldehyde, or Methylene Oxide. This chemical is found in nail hardeners, nail polishes, and keratin hair straighteners. It can cause breathing problems, wheezing, and coughing due to throat irritation. If it comes in contact with the skin, it may cause rashes. It will also severely irritate the eyes and nose on direct contact. Long-term exposure to Formaldehyde can cause dermatitis and even cancer.
Methyl Methacrylate (MMA)
Another chemical that irritates the mucus membranes (snot and phlegm… disgusting, but very important!), MMA can cause difficulty in breathing, tightness in the chest, and throat irritation. It also irritates the eyes and nose. Breathing the fumes can cause headaches and confusion. If you’re pregnant, long-term exposure to MMA can cause birth defects. It can also cause loss of smell as well as asthma. This chemical is found in artificial nails.
Ethyl Methacrylate
Just like MMA, Ethyl Methacrylate is also found in artificial nails. This chemical irritates the skin, causing rashes on eyelids, face, and neck. Inhaling its fumes can cause coughing and shortness of breath, followed by difficulty in concentrating.
Dibutyl Phthalate
Dibutyl Phthalate is commonly found in nail polish and is known to cause eye and skin irritation. It is also a known reproductive toxin that causes birth defects with long-term exposure. Also, it can cause nausea and dizziness with even short-term exposure.
Acetone
Acetone is an essential ingredient in nail polish removers, and is also found in hairsprays. Direct contact with it can lead to eye and skin irritation. Inhaling the vapours will irritate your throat and make you dizzy.
Methyl Ethyl Ketone
Methyl Ethyl Ketone is another organic solvent that releases noxious fumes. It can cause headaches and nausea, dizziness, and irritability.
Xylene
In addition to being mildly toxic, Xylene fumes are also flammable – another reason why they should be extracted! When inhaled, these fumes cause headaches, dizziness, weakness, irritability, vomiting, and impaired reaction time.
Toluene
Another solvent present in nail polish, nail glue, hair dye, and wig glue, Toluene is a chemical that makes its presence felt with even moderate exposure. Even little exposure to its fumes can cause confusion, tiredness, weakness, and a feeling of being drunk (not the good kind!).
It also leads to memory loss, nausea, and loss of appetite. You could experience hearing loss and colour vision loss as well. A high concentration of Toluene fumes can cause unconsciousness and death. Its long-term effects include liver and kidney damage, birth defects, and pregnancy loss.
Styrene
Commonly found in hair extension glue and lace wig glue, Styrene can cause trouble concentrating and tiredness along with vision problems. It is also a carcinogen.
Trichloroethylene
Although Trichloroethylene is found in the same products as Styrene, it causes a few more health issues. It leads to eye and skin irritation, along with headache, nausea, dizziness, and confusion. With constant exposure over time, it can lead to liver damage, kidney damage, dermatitis, and long-term double vision.
Diethanolamine (DEA)
DEA is used as a foaming agent. It can cause allergic reactions, irritation of the eyes as well as skin, and is carcinogenic.
Sodium Lauryl Sulphate / Sodium Laureth Sulphate
This chemical is very common in shampoos and can cause eye irritation as well as scalp irritation.
Parabens
Parabens are found in a wide range of products, including shampoos, moisturisers, shaving gels, spray tanning solutions, makeup, and toothpaste. While not toxic, they mimic Oestrogen, leading to disruption of normal hormone function. Though parabens have been found in breast cancer tissue, there is no real evidence that they actually cause breast cancer. But, we say, why take the chance?
Naphtha
Naphtha is not immensely dangerous in small quantities, even though the fumes are flammable. However, it can deposit heavy metals on the skin, which irritate and may cause cancer. It also irritates the eyes, skin, and nose, leading to dermatitis. Inhaling the fumes can cause drowsiness.
Propylene Glycol
This petrochemical is used in lotions and creams as an emulsifying agent. However, since it’s an alcohol, Propylene Glycol can speed up the skin’s ageing process, making it sag. It may also cause allergic reactions, with a possible outcome of long-term exposure being liver and kidney damage.
Ethylene Glycol
Ethylene Glycol is a reproductive toxin, often found in disinfectants and cleaning solutions. It can cause headaches if inhaled, and eye and nose irritation on contact.
Ammonium Persulfate
Ammonium Persulfate is found in hair bleach and can cause eye, skin, and nose irritation. Inhaling its fumes can cause shortness of breath and coughing. Long-term effects of exposure to this chemical are asthma and dermatitis.
In addition to these chemicals, salon workers are also regularly exposed to dust, including the dust generated through nail filing and skin buffing.
How Can Salon Workers Protect Themselves from Harmful Chemicals?
Salon workers should always use personal protective equipment to protect themselves from direct exposure to these chemicals. Proper ventilation also prevents fumes from building up in the room.
There should also be proper at-source fume and dust extraction systems to ensure that the Harmful Fumes and Airborne Dust are extracted from your breathing zone. In fact, at VODEX, we offer a wide range of localised fume and dust extraction solutions for beauty salons. View our range or get in touch with us if you need specialist solutions.
