What was the first thing that popped in your mind when you read that title? Swear words? I'm thinking more along the lines of how much you brag about what you use to clean in the salon and how you use it. What are your state requirements? Do you meet the bare minimum of what the state asks you to do? Do you go beyond that?
With COVID-19 now is your time to SHINE literally and figuratively. Different states and countries have all reacted differently along each step of the way. The one consistent factor seems to be that salons are the bad guys. The spotlight is on us as this horrible hotbed of bacteria and infection just waiting to happen and it is really unfair, unflattering and frustrating. That is what also makes it our moment to show them what we are made of. Now is when you set yourself apart with your character and cleanliness coming through in person and on social media.
Create fun Insta-worthy shots of your disinfection products and let clients know about what you use and why. I use the hashtag #sanitationsunday and post something in my Instagram and Facebook stories on Sundays about sanitation. Mine is usually geared towards nail professionals, gear yours towards clients! I've made heart shapes in my disinfection tray with tools, boomerangs or videos with wipes, use your imagination and education to have fun with it!
Post a selfie with your favorite disinfectant and add a caption of why you use it or what it does. Let clients know different things about it. The active ingredient, if it's safe, even educate them about contact time. So many of my clients have been shocked to learn what contact time is and how long they should be wiping things down with their wipes at home to keep the surface wet and actually get it disinfected. Educating them about what you do at the salon now benefits them at home. Those things that went in one ear and out the other before have become important to them so use your platform wisely.
Someone scrolling through their feed might not stop and read the caption on a jug of disinfectant, even if you are explaining that it is so effective it's one step away from sterilizing. If you have an autoclave, post that bad boy. Add some flowers and it captures the eye long enough for just a touch of text to make it in so make the text count or better yet put the text in the photo as a story! You can also use this as salon decor to encourage questions and conversation about your practices. I had a diabetic in my chair for the first time this week that was so excited to see I used HLD8 and when I told her I would only use the tools once, wash them with soap and water, then they would be going into the HLD8 she was ecstatic. She admitted the place she went before faked sterilizing by using the plastic bags and never sealed them and she saw them reused without being cleaned.
We have literally been gift wrapped the platform to show off our best practices. Are you ready to step up and be clean on your social media? Let your character shine through, you are a survivor that can rise up to any challenge with a smile! You know how to clean a salon backwards and forwards beyond what regulations require and you're not afraid to brag about it tastefully with cool pictures! Join me in the #sanitationsunday hashtag and let's show the world that the nail industry can move forward, rise to the occasion with a smile, and our social media is clean, our salons are clean, and Our. Time. Has. Value!