Thread: Another Question on "Sanitation" and/or "Sterilization"

I know this has been brought up by others in the past (or similar questions) But I was wondering if there are any "Germoligists" around
I just came back from a festival, where I had a number of people ask me to practice my skills at shaving on their faces. I enjoy providing this experience to those who have never experienced a real shave.

But this time, I had a person request a shave, who informed me that they were also positive for Hep-C

I was not worried about contacting it from performing the shave, Being informed allowed me to take precautions. But after the shave, I put that razor, that brush, (used cream, not soap so that was not an issue THIS time) and that strop away.

What steps, if any, would be proper for sterilizing these items? Is worrying about the brush and strop going to an extreme?

I dont have barbaside, so what might be suitable "around the house" items that are suitable to accomplish this goal? Alcohol? Listerine? Peroxide?

Time is one sure solution. Hepatitis will live a long time on surfaces but not forever. I think it is something like a month on a surface such as steel. As long as there was no blood contact there are no worries. A nick or maybe a weeper might be cause for concern. There are some cleaning solutions such as madacide that kill the hep virus among others. Might be more expensive than you would want to spend for infrequent use. Put the razor in a drawer and forget about it for a couple of months.

Go get some Barbicide its cheap, read the label and do it right.
Toss the brush, store the strop for a year in a dry window sill.
Just MO.
Dont ask a hairdresser about barbicide btw, two of them told me how to mix it, both incorrect according to the bottle.

Originally Posted by Magpie

I know this has been brought up by others in the past (or similar questions) But I was wondering if there are any "Germoligists" around
I just came back from a festival, where I had a number of people ask me to practice my skills at shaving on their faces. I enjoy providing this experience to those who have never experienced a real shave.

But this time, I had a person request a shave, who informed me that they were also positive for Hep-C

I was not worried about contacting it from performing the shave, Being informed allowed me to take precautions. But after the shave, I put that razor, that brush, (used cream, not soap so that was not an issue THIS time) and that strop away.

What steps, if any, would be proper for sterilizing these items? Is worrying about the brush and strop going to an extreme?

I dont have barbaside, so what might be suitable "around the house" items that are suitable to accomplish this goal? Alcohol? Listerine? Peroxide?

Barbicide is not too expensive and even a smaller size of the concentrate will last a long time. Your shaving brush should be for you alone and they can be sterilized with barbicide but is may discolor and stain but better to be safe. The razor itself should be sterilized going from person to another and that is easy. If your razor is sterilized before going to the strop you never have to worry about it.

Jimmy, I know most viruses don't last too long on the outside but other germs and harmful bacteria can encapsulate and last for a very long time. Get the barbicide and the sterilizing jar, it looks very cool in the shave den. Just my 2c.

Being a pro tattooer for a couple of decades, and having recently been required to take the blood borne pathogen course to get licensed, ( something new in FL ..... they need money) I know a little about this topic. Barbicide is something I routinely used when I used to ..... for over 10 years.... shave customers with a removable blade straight razor. The stuff solidifies on whatever you put in it and will leave crystals on your beloved razor if you leave it in the mix for days and don't take it out and rinse and wipe it down. I forget what the jug says but it should be changed like every day or every other day. Like a teaspoon to a quart or so. Like I say, been years since I used it. I consider it a waste of money unless you're a pro barber and want to impress your customers and have something to stick your combs in. YMMV.

Say u buy antique razors from antique shops what would u use to clean and sanitize so u don't have to worry

The surest biocide is heat, but in the case of a straight you'd have to make sure it's slow enough to not cause microfissuring (microscopic cracks at the grain boundaries). Because the edge is so much thinner than the spine & heats up faster it'll expand more quickly, and contract faster than the rest of the blade. You'd also have to have scales that can handle the temps, which your regular plastics won't, they'd have to be something like bone, horn or a metal. It'd be a lot of trouble, but you'd never doubt its effectiveness. Your more traditional chemical biocides are likely best for most people.

Originally Posted by KenWeir

The surest biocide is heat, but in the case of a straight you'd have to make sure it's slow enough to not cause microfissuring (microscopic cracks at the grain boundaries). Because the edge is so much thinner than the spine & heats up faster it'll expand more quickly, and contract faster than the rest of the blade. You'd also have to have scales that can handle the temps, which your regular plastics won't, they'd have to be something like bone, horn or a metal. It'd be a lot of trouble, but you'd never doubt its effectiveness. Your more traditional chemical biocides are likely best for most people.

What kind of temps are you thinking Ken?

That's why jurisdictions have regulations about using razors and brushes and other such things and it's one of the reasons why straights aren't used these days.

Yes, you know about the guy with hep C but what about all the others you shaved? Hopefully you didn't use the same gear on all those people right?

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

That's why jurisdictions have regulations about using razors and brushes and other such things and it's one of the reasons why straights aren't used these days.

Yes, you know about the guy with hep C but what about all the others you shaved? Hopefully you didn't use the same gear on all those people right?

When doing tattoos ..... there will be blood .... we assume everyone is a possible risk. I would guess the same assumption should be made when working on anyone if exposure to their blood is a possibility. Especially for an amateur shaver .