First off, let's start this entry by telling you how important salons are in the United States. There are over 900,000 of these businesses as of 2008 and is expected to grow by 31% in 2018. Sure, running one may look kind of easy, however, there are several laws and requirements imposed by states as way to regulate these businesses and make sure that the services they offer are of good quality, safe and sanitary. These laws however, vary in each state, so it is important to know them even before thinking of setting up a salon.

Staff. Make sure that the staff you are hired have licenses to practice salon services. These include estheticians, nail technicians and cosmetologists. They must have attended beauty school and are at least required to finish the number of hours for training. Cosmetologists are required to finish fifteen hundred hours, estheticians six hundred and nail technicians three hundred. However, rules vary per state so be sure to check the law book covering salon operations. In some states, retraining is required after each year. Lastly, make sure that your beauticians display their licenses in their work stations as it is required to do so.

Sanitation and Safety. These two should be the top priority of every of every salon, with customer satisfaction a distant third. Bacteria is pretty much everywhere in a salon, so it is important to clean regularly. When handling a client, make sure that he or she has been cleaned and disinfected (or at least the part of the body where he or she will be treated) before treatment. Foot baths must be cleaned after each use, not doing so would make it into a waterhole filled with bacteria. Nail kits for manicure and pedicure must be cleaned, sanitized, disinfected and sterilized after each use. They require hospital grade sanitation since they make come into contact with open wounds and body fluids, which may potentially result into infection. Also be sure to inform your staff not to subject customers to pedicures if they had shaved their legs a day before. Lastly, don't forget the basics, see to it that they wash their hands before and after every treatment and make them clean up after themselves.

Treatments. Be sure to check if there are certain treatments that are illegal in the state you are operating on. The most notorious of which is callus shaving which is outlawed in most states. This ultimately results into open wounds which are pretty much prone to infection. Also outlawed are ear stapling and permanent makeup. Some customers are allergic to properties that make up chemicals used in the salon. The most common can be found in hair dyes, nail polish and facial creams.

Toxic substances. Did you know that nail polish is an inherently toxic substance? Well, it is made of nitrocellulose, so there you go. But don't fret, it's completely safe unless you drink it or whatever. However, it's fumes may cause someone to faint, so make sure to store them in a safe area and equip your nail technicians with surgical masks just to be safe.

Lastly, if you abide to all the regulations imposed, then your business will surely run smoothly, safely and efficiently. 

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