Hair salon hygiene requirements in WA: a practical freelancer checklist

Abby's take

What this means for the industry — and for independents

Industry impact. Consistent hygiene protects clients, professionals and the reputation of the wider industry. In shared, home and mobile settings, a documented system also prevents the dangerous assumption that someone else cleaned, replaced or disposed of an item.

For freelancers. Independent professionals often move between service, cleaning, laundry, stock and administration without a separate support team. A simple reset sequence reduces missed steps, makes supply costs visible and helps the business deliver the same standard on every working day.

What I'd do next

• Write a between-client reset checklist for hands, tools, linen, touchpoints, waste and the next clean setup.
• Check every reusable item against the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions and the current WA guidance relevant to the service.
• Create clearly separated clean, used and single-use storage so contaminated items cannot drift back into the working kit.
• Confirm in writing who supplies, cleans, tests and replaces every shared item in a rented or collaborative workspace.
• Audit laundry, sharps, spill-response and mobile-work procedures before the next fully booked day.

Watch-out. This is general business information, not legal, health or infection-control advice. Requirements vary by service, premises and local government, and skin-penetration services may be subject to additional rules.

Start by identifying the rules that apply to the actual service

Western Australia’s Department of Health publishes a guideline for the hairdressing industry covering practical hygiene matters such as hand hygiene, equipment, linen, waste and razors. Use the current version as a starting point, then check whether the exact services, premises and local government create additional requirements.

A conventional cut, colour or blow-dry does not create the same risk profile as a service that pierces skin or uses specialised equipment. Do not copy a checklist from another business and assume it covers everything. List the services you actually deliver, the products and tools used, where each service happens and what could come into contact with skin, blood, hair or bodily fluids.

Design one between-client reset that works on busy days

A reset should be short enough to follow consistently and detailed enough that nothing depends on memory. Build the time into the booking calendar. If a service is scheduled so tightly that proper cleaning always makes the next client late, the timetable—not the hygiene step—is the problem.

Keep the sequence visible during training or when working with an assistant. Review it whenever a tool, service or premises arrangement changes.

• Perform hand hygiene at the appropriate points before and after client contact.
• Remove used linen, disposable items and waste without placing them on the clean station.
• Clean reusable tools and touchpoints using the correct method for the item and service.
• Set out only the clean items needed for the next appointment.
• Check that containers, bottles and product surfaces remain clean and correctly labelled.

Keep clean and used tools physically separate

The clean comb beside a used brush can quickly become part of the same contaminated pile. Create separate, clearly labelled places for clean equipment, items awaiting cleaning and single-use supplies. Closed or protected storage is useful where dust, hair or splashes could reach prepared items.

Follow the manufacturer’s directions for cleaning and caring for clippers, guards, scissors, brushes, combs, bowls, tint brushes and electrical tools. One method will not suit every material. A product labelled as a cleaner is not automatically suitable as a disinfectant, and using a chemical outside its instructions can damage equipment or create a false sense of protection.

Use fresh linen and control the laundry journey

Use clean capes, towels, neck strips or other barriers in a way that prevents one client’s used material contacting the next client. Place used linen straight into a dedicated container rather than on a chair, bench or clean trolley.

WA health guidance recommends laundering routine linen with detergent using a hot wash above 60 degrees Celsius. It gives a different initial approach for blood-stained linen: start with a cool wash at 35 degrees Celsius or below before hot laundering. Check the current guideline, textile instructions and the risk of handling contaminated linen before setting the business procedure.

If laundry is transported home or off-site, keep clean and used loads separated during transport. A clean towel stored in the same open bag as used linen is no longer part of a controlled clean supply.

Treat razors, blades and sharps as a separate system

Where a service uses a disposable razor blade, use it for one client only and place it directly into an appropriate sharps container after use. Do not leave blades on the trolley, recap improvised covers or place them in general waste.

Position the sharps container close enough to use immediately, keep it upright and replace it according to its markings and the applicable disposal arrangements. Record who checks stock and collection timing. A shared workspace also needs a clear rule about whose container is used and who holds the disposal responsibility.

Prepare for small cuts and blood exposure before they happen

Even a routine hair service can involve a nick, an existing skin break or an unexpected incident. Keep an accessible spill and first-aid response, appropriate personal protective equipment and the correct cleaning products. Stop the service long enough to manage the situation safely rather than wiping the area and continuing around it.

Document the incident where appropriate, replace contaminated single-use items and clean reusable equipment and affected surfaces using the correct procedure. If exposure involves a worker or raises a health concern, obtain suitable professional advice promptly.

Clean the high-touch parts clients actually encounter

Sweeping visible hair is necessary, but it is not the whole reset. Map the surfaces touched by the client and professional during the appointment. Choose a suitable cleaning method for each material, allow any required contact time and avoid spraying chemicals around open products or clients.

Remove hair between clients and use waste containers in a way that supports tidy, contained disposal. Emptying an overfilled bin during a service is more disruptive than planning waste capacity at the start of the day.

• Chair arms, headrests and adjustment controls.
• Basin contact areas and taps.
• Trolley handles, mirrors and bench edges.
• EFTPOS terminals, tablets and booking devices.
• Door handles and shared bathroom touchpoints.

Protect products from contamination and misleading decanting

Dispense products without touching container openings to used tools or hands. Keep lids and pumps clean, store products as directed and check expiry, batch or opening information where relevant. If a product is decanted for legitimate working use, keep the required identity, safety and instruction information with it rather than relying on an unlabelled bottle.

Do not top up a partly used container unless the product instructions and hygiene procedure support it. Mixing old and new product can hide age, contamination or formulation differences and makes a recall harder to manage.

Make mobile and home services meet the same planned standard

Mobile work changes the environment, not the professional responsibility. Pack clean items in protected containers, carry a separate sealed system for used equipment and linen, and confirm access to suitable hand hygiene, lighting, power and waste arrangements before the appointment.

For a home-based setup, separate professional clean storage from household traffic, pets, food preparation and personal laundry. Use the Australian Business Licence and Information Service and the WA Small Business Development Corporation’s Business Licence Finder to check local approvals and permits for the real address and service model.

If a location cannot support a safe, clean service, reschedule or move the appointment. Convenience is not a reason to improvise a lower standard.

Clarify hygiene responsibilities in a shared workspace

A polished communal area does not answer who cleans a basin between clients, launders towels, tests electrical equipment, restocks protective supplies or disposes of sharps. Write down what the host provides, what the renter provides, which products are approved for shared surfaces and how an incident is reported.

Shared responsibility must still have named ownership. “Everyone keeps it clean” can mean nobody completes the task. The agreement should also explain what happens when equipment is damaged, a product is recalled or a renter’s procedure does not meet the documented premises standard.

Ask the practical questions before signing a chair agreement · Separate safety standards from commercial product rules

Audit the weekly system as well as the visible appointment reset

The daily reset manages immediate risk; the weekly audit catches slow failures such as worn equipment, low stock, damaged containers or a cleaning product that no longer matches the surface or tool. Keep records in the simplest form the business will genuinely maintain.

Use patterns to improve operations. If clean tools run out by mid-afternoon, increase the rotation or change the cleaning workflow. If laundry repeatedly returns late, the service schedule and supply level need attention.

• Review cleaning-product stock, labels, expiry information and safety directions.
• Inspect tools, electrical leads, storage containers and reusable protective items.
• Check the laundry flow from used collection to clean protected storage.
• Review sharps capacity, waste collection and incident supplies.
• Update the checklist after any service, equipment or premises change.

A useful hygiene standard should also support commercial confidence

Good hygiene is not a marketing claim to exaggerate. It is a basic operating system that helps the professional deliver reliably, explain the service environment honestly and price enough time and consumables into each appointment.

If you are comparing workspaces in Perth, bring the checklist to the conversation. Ask to see how clean and used items move through the space, what is included and where responsibility changes hands. The right environment should make a strong standard easier to maintain.

Check the systems behind your independent business · Book a private meet and greet

Common questions