Double Dipping
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Yes. It’s as nasty as it sounds, but can you always identify it?
Like when that chick at the party grabs a chip and dips it in the salsa, bites half the chip off and dips the same damn slobbery chip back in the salsa. Now no-one else can savour the salsa dip; done gone and ruined it for errryone.
Or the hot rod at the bar who goes in for a handful of nuts, eats them all, licks the yummy seasoned salt off his fingers and then goes back in for more. Are you really expected to eat from those nuts? Maybe. But if you take some time to think about what just happened you probably wouldn’t.
Double dipping can happen in the Spa as well, or at someone who offers spa services.
Lets talk about that good ole wax pot. Now I love me some waxing; Gets all the hair removed in one whack, don’t have to deal with it for a good couple weeks.
So you’ve made your appointment to wax the little fuzzies off your upper lip. No-one even knows that you have hair up there but the fact that YOU can see it is good enough reason for you to get them removed. I’n mad at ya’.
You walk into your spa, greet the receptionist, link up with your esthetician, riiippp…, pay for your service, tip your girl/guy who did an excellent job, and then you are off to catch up with your hot lunch date; 15 minutes flat you are out of there.
Only that in about a week or so, you notice some irritation or bumps on your lip.
Hmmmmmmm….
What you didn’t know was that just before you arrived, the Spa performed another waxing service – a brazilian bikini wax, in the same treatment room you had your lip wax done. Same pot of hot wax, same pallet stick.
Are you getting that picture?
All the bacteria that was present around that frowsy genital (we don’t really have any idea now do we) now in contact with your upper lip, and backstroking the the wax pot with the peewbs. Fantastic.
Suppose the individual had an STI, or worse? Suppose it was that time of the month?
Spas don’t always discriminate. We are in a recession, money is money. But even if the person was clean as a whistle and in great health, is that really acceptable practice?
Disgusting.
Waxing sticks are disposable. They are wooden, porous and cannot be disinfected.
Good practice dictates that Spas do not double dip in soft-wax services. That means, if a spa chooses to use the same wax pot for different services, it MUST discard the waxing stick after each, single dip. ie it should follow the following procedure:
- Dip the clean wax stick into the wax,
- Wipe it on the area to be waxed
- Throw the used stick in the garbage
- Remove wax and hair from the skin with fabric or paper sheets.
- Repeat steps as often as required to complete entire area.
- Remove any wax residue from skin using suitable product
- Disinfect area with a suitable product, to reduce any bacterial action and soothe irritation or keep potential irritation at bay.
A lot of wax sticks?
Sure. But that’s why the service isn’t free.
Expensive?
Well, it will certainly add some to a Spas operating expense. Alternatively, just one wax stick can be used per client and the entire pot of wax can be changed after each client. The wax stick option doesn’t seem so expensive now does it?.
It’s a minimal expense in the grand scheme of health.
You get what you pay for; It’s what differentiates the good spas from the excellent ones.
You can’t protect yourself from EVERY bacteria on the planet, so that’s more reason to keep your health and nutrition in check. The body is constantly fighting against bacteria, which is probably the reason why more people aren’t seriously affected by popular unhygienic practices such as soft-wax double dipping.
Don’t be a statistic. For all that is sanitary in this world, take a look around and take the necessary precautions regarding your health.
Just eww.
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Supernova
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Related GC post:
HAIs: Infections anyone?
nice!
[Reply]
Yeah. Things can get really ‘hairy’ in the wax pot!
[Reply]