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Operator Services

If you are a customer go to electrolysis for customers

Electrolysis

printable fact sheet for operators

What is the health risk? 

Instruments and equipment used for electrolysis can become contaminated with blood or body fluids carrying diseases such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV or other infectious agents such as bacteria or fungi.

You do not have to see blood or body fluids on instruments for an infection to occur.
Clean and disinfect or sterilize instruments between clients.
Both the worker and the client can develop or spread an infection during electrolysis.

  • Thoroughly wash your hands before and after each client using liquid soap and warm water and disposable paper towel.
  • New, single-use, disposable gloves must be worn for each client and discarded after each client.  Wash hands before and after using gloves.
  • Once the procedure has been completed, immediately discard used needles into a labeled sharps container.  Never overfill, empty or touch contents of a sharps container.
  • Do not discard sharps into the municipal garbage. Sharps containers must be picked up by a licensed biomedical waste hauler.
  • Get vaccinated.  The Hepatitis B vaccine is strongly recommended.
  • Needles must be pre-packaged, sterile and single-use. Needles can never be reused, even on the same client.
  • The heat produced by the current passing through an electrolysis needle is not hot enough to sterilize the needle.
  • Clean the skin with an antiseptic, such as iodine, using a clean disposable swab.
  • Tweezers used to insert needles into the electrolysis instrument must be cleaned using soap and water and disinfected using a high level disinfectant, such as a bleach solution consisting of 1/4 cup of bleach to 2 1/4 cups of water. Allow tweezers to soak in the solution for 10 minutes between each client.
  • Tweezers should not be used to remove ingrown hairs; single use sterile needles should be used to expose ingrown hairs and then tweezers can be used to pull the hair.
  • Tweezers used to pull hair should be cleaned using soap and water and disinfected using an intermediate level disinfectant, such as 70% isopropyl alcohol and given 10 minutes contact time, after each client.
  • The epilator cord should be covered with a non-absorbent single-use cover. The cover must be changed between clients and the cord must be cleaned with soap and water and then disinfected with an intermediate level disinfectant, such as 70% isopropyl alcohol, between each client.
  • Headrests, worktables and beds should be cleaned and then disinfected with a low level disinfectant, such as 1tsp of bleach with 10 cups of water and given 10 minutes contact time, after each client.
  • Keep records of accidental blood and body fluid exposure records for five years and on-site for a minimum of one year.
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Revised: Wednesday July 19 2023

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