Health and safety in hair salons during the Covid-19 situation: A cross-sectional study in a semi-urban district in Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: Since the COVID-19 crisis in Thailand, the need for salons to have impeccable hygiene and client-hairdresser monitoring heightened. Due to scarce research on the COVID-19 preventive measures taken by hairdressing salons in semi-urban locations in Thailand during the pandemic, this study aimed to evaluate the standard of hair salons in preventing COVID-19 disease transmission in a semi-urban district in the northeastern region of Thailand.

METHODS: Using the purposive sampling method, data were collected from 22 Hair Salons. Data collection tools were a self-completed questionnaire designed into different sections to obtain information on demographics, work conditions and environmental health standard compliance according to guidelines set by the Thai Ministry of Public Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive analyses were done, such as mean, standard deviation, and frequency.

RESULTS: The mean age of our respondents was 41.82 (±8.18) years, more than half were females (63.6 %). Most of the criteria assessing beauty salon standards according to Department of Health guidelines were passed, with all of the salons passing the lighting evaluation and mostly passing the heat and electric shock protection system evaluation, but the implementation of guidelines for preventive measures during the COVID-19 epidemic, according to Department of Health guidelines, suggested non-compliance by most hair Salons.

CONCLUSION: Beauty salons should implement and strictly adhere to guidelines according to Department of Health standards. Training or education sessions regarding the prevention of infectious disease transmission should be conducted, as hairdressers should be motivated to comply with health and environmental health standards for both salon staff and clients' confidence. Further research should also be done on the behaviours associated with health risks in beauty salons at the national or border-nation level.