A municipality inspector has claimed health standards are very low in beauty centers and salons in Jeddah.
“Hygiene and customer health are considered the beauty centers’ responsibility,” said Amani Mahmoud, supervisor at the authority’s department responsible for regulating commercial activities.
She added that inspectors visited 1,776 beauty centers and salons in Jeddah recently. They found that most of these salons did not maintain adequate health standards. Some of them were found to be using the same equipment on more than one person without sterilizing them.
Some beauty salon owners have decided to concentrate on providing a healthy environment.
They have enlisted the help of the municipality to organize periodic inspections of their premises to ensure health standards are being met.
“We are pleased to see a rise in health awareness among most Saudi and expatriate women,” said Nora Siddique, who owns Al-Anamel Al-Thahabiya beauty center in Jeddah.
“We are currently receiving a large number of women who make an effort to ensure that certain safety procedures are taken, with some even bringing their own sterilized tools from home,” she said, adding that they provide necessary training to employees.
She stressed that the basic safety procedures are a must for working in this field, especially when liquid products like creams, oils and water from showers are involved.
Mahmoud called on customers to be aware that health certificates are displayed in the salon. “The Jeddah municipality issue health certificates to our staff. Through these certificates, the customers can rest assured that their health is being taken seriously,” said Amani.
According to Mahmoud, beauty professionals who want to work at beauty centers are required to present a certificate showing that they have completed the necessary training course as well as one from the Ministry of Health approving the individual’s general health.
“This certificate ensures that at the time of testing, the individual was free from all infections and viruses,” she added.
During the past year, public and private sector organizations have launched training programs for women working in this field to stress the importance of applying certain safety procedures in beauty centers. These regulations have always been around, but fewer centers are applying it.
“We are launching several training courses under the supervision of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) for this kind of situation. In fact, it has become one of the most important courses trainees should receive,” said Siddique.
She pointed out that due to the current high demand, many beauty centers are employing anyone to work for a limited period, without any health checks, certification or training because in Saudi Arabia there is no such stated career as a beautician.
“We want the labor office, the municipality, and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to cooperate and define the rules and necessary certification for this career,” she added.
Arab News