Thread: blade antiseptic

We only use mannequins for perms relaxing and weaves. Because we are in Detroit pretty much all the students are there on a Pell grant so the school doesn't receive any funding until the students hit 500 hours therefore nobody has any tools to work with until we hit the 8 week mark. kinda sucks that things work out that way but it can be a good thing to have a strong understanding of bacteriology and sanitation before we service customers.

are barber schools common throught the US? I have only seen or heard of cosmetolegy schools. If there are barber schools out there then heck yea!

Originally Posted by mrmaroon

are barber schools common throught the US? I have only seen or heard of cosmetolegy schools. If there are barber schools out there then heck yea!

mrmaroon,

Yes they are. There are even several in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.

After I do a face shave I will hang my razor over the Barbicide jar with the blade in the Barbicide for about 5 minutes. I then take it out and clean it with hot soap and water and then put a little oil on it. I have done this for years now and never had a problem with my blades or with passing along an infection to a customer.

What I don't do.... is leave my razors or any tools for that matter in Barbicide for any prolonged length of time. Barbicide over time will destroy anything you leave in it. I have seen many Barbers leave their tools in their Barbicide jar for days and weeks on end and then complain that it destroyed everything. Not a good idea.

Avatar and Detroyt...I have been following your progress on here and it sounds like you are both doing well. When I am in Detroit this spring I will stop in for a haircut and see how you do...lol. PM me if you have any questions.

Originally Posted by red96ta

residual bioburden

I'm dropping this one at the next party to impress the ladies!

Like a few others I don't really understand the concern with germs on a personal razor. If you are really concerned just start a 7 day rotation, very little will survive on a clean dry surface past 4 days. My general procedure is to rinse the blade in hot water and wipe it down well to make sure it is thoroughly dry then I give it a few passes on the strop, it straightens out the edge, transfers a small amount of the natural hide oils to the razor and the friction/heat will ensure the edge is completely dry thus avoiding most oxidation.

As we all know it's not one's own germs that one needs to be worried about, it's the germs of others which are of concern. The solution is really rather simple: don't share shaving tools; buy your own new razors and brushes and other stuff. You'll be safe and our vendors will be overjoyed.

I use my OCDs in worries about other things like did I wash the orange before I peeled it? Was the water hot enough and did I use the right soap? Should I have soaked it in lye first?

I asked a doctor who is a straight razor enthusiast about liquid sterilants a while back...He commented that metal blades are, by nature, easy to disinfect with many possible approaches; bleach, alcohol, boiling water, etc but he warned me to be carefull not to damage the scales. He also stressed that you need to make sure the blade is cleaned of any gross contamination before disinfecting it.

For myself, the only real concern I have is on recently aquired blades (unknown history) where I will try to kill off as much as possible. With my daily use blades I figure they are being thoroughly washed every day with soap and water, which makes them cleaner than most things that I am likely to cut myself with!

It seems more logical to me to adopt the philosophy that I am likely not planning to cut myself while shaving, and my post shave skin treatment includes an antiseptic/disinfectant rinse anyway(whether its alcohol in bay rum, or witch hazel, or just an alum block rub) and if I do nick myself then any nicks/cuts would be cleaned/disinfected right away (isopropyl alcohol). The shallow nature of most razor nicks would seem to suggets that they are easier to safely and properly clean than say a poke from a dirty nail, pin, staple etc.



One point that I wonder about is the idea that isopropyl alcohol is bad for the scales... One of my other hobbies is vintage pinball machine repair/restoration and isopropyl alcohol is the solvent of choice in that field for removing grime/dirt from old varnished/laquered/painted/bare wooden surfaces with minimal damage.

pure isopropyl alcohol (as in 70-90%) can be very drying on natural materials like bone, horn, or ivory. While its great for cleaning a variety of things, I would be very cautious of its use on scales that you are unsure of. I dont have a clue what it might do to celluloid scales.

I have been told (but this could be wrong) that in New York state, straight shaves can only be given if there is no strop, or brush, or blade being used on more than one person.

Last time I got a NY shave, it was lather from a can, and disposable straight blades, and when I asked, was told thats how it is.

Anybody have any other info on this?