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Avoid Triggering Allergies with These 5 Simple Steps
Allergies triggered by beauty ingredients have ended the careers of many stylists. Sustain Beauty Co. offers some simple tips for protecting your largest organ--your skin--and healthily sustaining careers.
by Su Clark
January 31, 2025
Randy Cutler
3 min to read
One of the Cutler Salon locations in New York City.
Randy Cutler
Every beauty professional knows someone tragically forced to abandon their career because of allergies triggered by the salon environment. It could be adverse reactions to the gel used in nails or product fragrances, or the colorants in hair dye. Repeated exposure to chemicals can accelerate cause skin sensitivity, which can then develop over time from an itch to extremely painful cracked, weeping skin that never gets better.
Patch-testing for clients is recommended by all manufacturers to protect from anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that can be life-threatening. But not all reactions are immediate and dramatic, and protecting those delivering the service is neither mandated nor prioritized, leaving the choice to the individual, who may feel compelled to sacrifice safety for their client’s results, especially during December’s busy holidays.
“Every day professionals are exposed to chemicals linked to harmful side-effects. They risk it because they love their job and many also believe it won’t happen to them,” says Valorie Tate, founder of Sustain Beauty Co, which researches and supplies products and tools that prioritize wellness for stylists in the salon. “While we can’t eliminate all chemicals, we can take steps to help protect ourselves and others.”
Consider wearing gloves even during the shampoo service to protect the natural skin barrier. These Cutler Pro biodegradable nitrile gloves are available at sustainbeauty.co
Randy Cutler
Partnering with hairdresser and successful salon owner Rodney Cutler, Sustain Beauty Co is now offering his Cutler Pro biodegradable nitrile gloves while, at the same time, educating stylists about the importance of protecting their largest organ - the skin. The Sustainable Salon Checklist, published and updated by Sustain Beauty Co, focuses on wellness and protecting yourself in the salon. The full checklist is available for download on the SBCo website but a snapshot of advice regarding allergies is:
Train and educate stylists on wearing gloves even during shampoo services to protect the natural skin barrier.
Protection cream should be readily available throughout to protect and restore skin.
Damp towels for drying hands should be regularly replaced with dry ones or single-use towels like Scrummi towels so that hands can be dried thoroughly.
Gentle, fragrance and dye-free hand wash should be on or close to basins so the team can rinse chemicals off their hands immediately.
Replace cleaners with non-toxic cleaning products such as those from The Salon Guys.
Consider low-to-no-tox products for professional and retail.
Improve ventilation throughout the salon and trap fumes and powders in airtight color mixers.
It’s important to both model the behavior and ensure it’s as easy as possible to protect everyone. Providing salon-specific versions of nitrile gloves help stylists follow a safety mandate as they fit like a second skin to reduce desensitization, and have features made for the stylists’ daily routine like a long cuff to avoid leaks at the basin. Even better Cutler Pro are biodegradable, which is great for those who are unable can’t recycle them reliably.
The Cutler Pro gloves are now available anywhere you shop with Sustain Beauty Co, including sustainbeauty.co, where stylists and salons can set up an auto-ship or purchase one-time and text to order when they need to replenish. It means you can make gloves the last thing you think of when you are wearing them, when you dispose of them, and when you need to replenish them.
Learn more about the latest glove technology offered by Cutler Pro and order at sustainbeauty.co
About SBCo: Sustain Beauty Co was born with the mission to help identify authentic, credible and environmentally responsible brands that put stylists at the forefront of their purpose. All Sustain Beauty Co products must: 1) Reduce the footprint of consumables in our industry. 2) Empower artists to create beauty responsibly.3) Protect the stylist and the environment equally. 4) Come from ethical sources and responsible manufacturing facilities.
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