Switched my stance on using alcohol based sanitizers between clients

Had a client last month with a weird fungal reaction I couldn't clear up for 3 weeks straight, finally realized my usual soap and water routine wasn't cutting it for stubborn stuff. Now I'm using alcohol spray between every single person, anyone else had something take way too long to figure out like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant7281mo ago

I read somewhere that alcohol based sanitizers can actually be less effective on certain fungal spores compared to bleach based solutions, which is why a lot of medical offices use both. A buddy of mine who does nails says she keeps a separate bottle of diluted tea tree oil for clients with known skin issues because alcohol dries them out too much. Sounds like you found the hard way that soap and water alone doesn't always cut it for the weird stuff. Good on you for switching it up though.

taylor_fox1mo ago

Wait, hold up. You're giving tea tree oil way too much credit here. It's not a regulated sanitizer, it's an oil that can actually leave residue behind and cause reactions in some people. That's a huge liability for someone doing nails. Bleach based solutions are hard on surfaces but they aren't exactly gentle on human skin either, and medical offices use them on hard surfaces, not on people's hands. Alcohol based sanitizers have been tested and approved by the FDA for killing germs on skin, including most fungi. The real issue is that no single method works for everything, but saying alcohol is less effective than bleach on skin is just wrong. Bleach can burn you and ruin your clothes, it's not a practical hand sanitizer. And soap and water does kill most things if you scrub long enough, the problem is people don't wash for 20 seconds correctly. You're basically comparing apples and oranges with that tea tree oil comparison.