Hairdresser & Beauty Salon PPE Legal Requirements

To stay in line with the new government regulations in the UK, hairdressers and beauty salons must ensure that their staff wear a face visor or goggles as well as a Type IIR face mask. Salons must cleaned more often and customers will also have to wear their masks inside. Keep your work place, employees and customers safe and help stop the spread with our recommended hairdresser and beauty salon PPE.

Important Information about PPE for hairdressers and beauty salons

Wearing PPE all day, every day, when you are not used to it can be uncomfortable if you don’t purchase the right products. In addition, not all products meet the regulations so make sure what you are purchasing is certified before purchasing PPE to ensure that you remain compliant. All the products on this page meet the government requirements for both PPE for hairdressers and PPE for beauty salons. Here are a few tips:

Type IIR Face Masks

Type IIR face masks are medical-grade, certified face masks – not all ‘surgical’ looking face masks are the same or provide the same protection so be sure that you order genuine Type IIR face masks (all the face masks on this page are genuine, certified Type IIR face masks that are ideal for hairdressers and beauty salons). There are several options available:

• Disposable Type IIR face masks – These are one time use face masks that need to be replaced every 3-8 hours. They cannot be reused.
• Washable Type IIR face masks – With over 53 million disposable face masks going into landfill in the UK every day, washable Type IIR face masks give you the same protection and are certified but as they are washable they are better for the environment.
• 3M 1863A Type IIR face masks – These face masks are for professional use, designed especially for all day wear. They are made for comfort as well as protection. These are disposable and more expensive but handy to have a few in case your other masks are aggravating your skin.

Face Visors & Goggles

Employees of hairdressers and beauty salons will also need to wear a face shield or goggles as well as the mask. Look for anti-fog products, like the ones on this page, so that your vision is not impaired as you breath. Employees will likely be wearing their face visor or goggles all day, five days a week so comfort is critical. We have two different types of visors; one that fits around the head and the other that you wear like sunglasses. We would recommend getting both types so you can rotate wear as this will be the most comfortable. If you prefer googles to visors, goggles should be polycarbonate safety spectacles or the equivalent (all the goggles on this page are compliant). Reusable eye protection should be cleaned regularly with alcohol wipes or disinfectant.