Your HEALTH in the BEAUTY INDUSTRY Part 2 of 3

Your Health in the Beauty Industry.

COPD and the Beauty Salon   Part 2 of 3

To continue, the late 60’s and into the 70’s styling had some real changes thanks to Vidal Sassoon and other forward-thinking companies like Redken. Giving us a whole new healthier selection of salon products for both stylists and our clients. 

Hair cutting became the focus and hair condition was most important to this new concept as hair had to swing and for that it had to be healthy.

Hairdressing moved from the hooded dryers, rollers and backcombing to the handheld blow-dryers.

Cutting was now practiced best on wet or damp hair and this reduced the particulate hair fibers from flying around minimizing the amount we inhaled. Unfortunately, back then, hairdryers used an asbestos core in the barrel and we now know what the asbestos fibers did to our lungs. Laws then passed banning this practise but how much damage had been done? Many of us started to think about our physical issues including those related to hands, shoulders, wrists, and backs. As well manufacturers improved some of the ingredients used in liquid products. Looking back not all these new technologies were perfect. You may recall some of the NANO technologies introduced were the trend but had a downside for stylists and our environment.

Many hairbrushes at this time evolved from boar bristles to nylon types much like the Denman D3, it was the #1 brush for all and still is for some when blow-drying. Dressing hair with rollers moved to styling with a brush for curling, smoothing and anything in between which meant more effort was needed to style hair.  Many brush manufacturers had no concept of a healthier design in hairbrushes though “talked the talk but never walked the talk.”  As we all know issues like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome being just one of the many issues we still endure today.

Choosing the right tools is important and no one can do that work for you. A preventative approach is the best to have a healthy and happy life and long career.

Finally, I must say it is an interesting chair I now sit in looking back, information through sharing is key to helping yourself navigate your career.

Part 3 The 90’s and beyond.