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Getting a snazzy new haircut poses an increased risk of contracting a viral disease, should clippers be ill sterilised.
This is according to a recent study that analysed the risk of contracting blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis B (HBV) and HIV/Aids. The research was conducted in Cape Town by professors and industry professionals at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
“Bleeding from the popular clean-shave chiskop haircut was recently reported as prevalent in South Africa, a country with 6.9 million HIV-infected people,” reads the Blood and virus detection on barber clippers study published in the SAMJ Research journal in April.
The researchers tested 50 clippers from 50 barbers in Gugulethu, Bonteheuwel and Langa to investigate the prevalence of clipper contamination with blood, HIV and HBV.
The study was intended to look specifically at the clean-shave haircut as it was the most popular cut requested and the most likely to cause bleeding.
One clipper from each barber was collected and replaced directly after it had been used for a clean-shave haircut.
While each clipper was rinsed, it was not sterilised.
Of the clippers collected, 42% were positive for the detection of blood, and 8% were positive for hepatitis B.
The findings further indicate that the clippers from Bonteheuwel had a higher prevalence of blood contamination at 72%, compared to 33% of those from Langa and Gugulethu.
The authors further indicated that research into the sterilisation of the clippers should be carried out and investigate if the clean-shave hairstyle is an independent risk factor for HIV, HBV and hepatitis C virus infections.
“Public education on individual clipper ownership should be advocated for clean-shave and blade-fade haircuts,” the findings continued.
While no HIV was found during the study, the presence of blood increased the risk of contracting the virus significantly.
With this in mind, barber health and safety has been put in the spotlight with causes aimed at improving safety at barbershops.
This is according to Warren Theunis, chairperson of the Western Province Barbers’ Association.
He says the association notes with concern the lack of compliance and with the increased risk of poor hygiene and diseases, they have set out to train and upskill barbers across the province with the help of the Skills Education Training Authorities (Seta) programme.
“We have done a lot as the association to combat these kind of outbreaks but now we have intentionally put together a health and safety workshop for all the barbers in the industry,” says Theunis.
“We find the majority of the barbers in the Western Cape are not qualified.
“We probed this and that helped us get a bit of funding from the skills development Seta and we launched a skills development project that got 67 out of 70 barbers qualified in the province.”
The collective council have signed an agreement that sees barbering fall under hairdressing and within the scope of the National Bargaining Council for Hairdressing, Cosmetology, Beauty and Skincare.
“This means the shops must be registered. All of this comes to a regulated industry. Without regulation there is no clear path for the industry.”
Since the move to a more regulated industry is on the cards, Theunis says the industry will be able to thrive as seen in examples such as New Zealand and the USA.
Getting a snazzy new haircut poses an increased risk of contracting a viral disease, should clippers be ill-sterilised.
This is according to a recent study that analysed the risk of contracting blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis B (HBV) and HIV/Aids. The research was conducted in Cape Town by professors and industry professionals at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
“Bleeding from the popular clean-shave ‘chiskop’ haircut was recently reported as prevalent in South Africa, a country with 6.9 million HIV-infected people,” reads the Blood and virus detection on barber clippers study published in the SAMJ Research journal in April.
The researchers tested 50 clippers from 50 barbers in Gugulethu, Bonteheuwel and Langa to investigate the prevalence of clipper contamination with blood, HIV and HBV.
The study was intended to look specifically at the clean-shave haircut as it was the most popular cut requested and the most likely to cause bleeding.
One clipper from each barber was collected and replaced directly after it had been used for a clean-shave haircut.
While each clipper was rinsed, it was not sterilised. Of the clippers collected, 42% were positive for the detection of blood, and 8% were positive for hepatitis B.
The findings further indicate that the clippers from Bonteheuwel had a higher prevalence of blood contamination at 72%, compared to 33% of those from Langa and Gugulethu.
The authors further indicated that research into the sterilisation of the clippers should be carried out and investigate if the clean-shave hairstyle is an independent risk factor for HIV, HBV and hepatitis C virus infections.
“Public education on individual clipper ownership should be advocated for clean-shave and blade-fade haircuts,” the findings continued.
While no HIV was found during the study, the presence of blood increased the risk of contracting the virus significantly.
With this in mind, barber health and safety has been put in the spotlight with causes aimed at improving safety at barbershops.
This is according to Warren Theunis, chairperson of the Western Province Barbers’ Association.
He says the association notes with concern the lack of compliance and with the increased risk of poor hygiene and diseases, they have set out to train and upskill barbers across the province with the help of the Skills Education Training Authorities (Seta) programme.
“We have done a lot as the association to combat these kind of outbreaks but now we have intentionally put together a health and safety workshop for all the barbers in the industry,” says Theunis.
“We find the majority of the barbers in the Western Cape are not qualified. We probed this and that helped us get a bit of funding from the skills development Seta and we launched a skills development project that got 67 out of 70 barbers qualified in the province.”
The collective council have signed an agreement that sees barbering fall under hairdressing and within the scope of the National Bargaining Council for Hairdressing, Cosmetology, Beauty and Skincare.
“This means the shops must be registered. All of this comes to a regulated industry. Without regulation there is no clear path for the industry.”
Since the move to a more regulated industry is on the cards, Theunis says the industry will be able to thrive as seen in examples such as New Zealand and the USA.
Regulation means the barbers will have set out career paths, better benefits including a pension and salaries.
“We have asked the national council to give us the opportunity to figure out how we would become compliant as barbers. The legislation states that if you want to be registered you must have a qualified person. That is good and bad. It upskills the industry seeing at least one qualified guy per four chairs meaning the level of service will be a higher standard,” says Theunis.
The workshop will focus on health and safety, understanding the legislation and how to register their businesses.
“We do not want to see barber shops being forced to close because they are not compliant,” he says.
The Barbers’ Association together with the National Bargaining Council and the EOHCB will be hosting a series of info-sharing workshops across the Western Cape, starting on Wednesday 8 August. These workshops will be co-hosted by the parties mentioned above and will also serve as registration points for the respective industries. “With the health and safety issue and the regulation we want to have barbers who attend these sessions know who the relevant role players are and what they need to do.”
They will host six sessions across the province in the northern and southern suburbs, and the CBD, between August and November.
The collective agreement negotiated between the parties to the Council of the Employers’ Organisation and Trade Union was published in the Government Gazette, 20 October 2017 (No. 41187).
Theunis says regulation will be a positive for the industry.
“I welcome regulation because without clear direction we will not attract youngsters to the industry. With regulation comes benefits and not only commission based. There was not really a career. They would say it may stifle the growth of the small guy but it may is not. It is not out of reach and will assist the small guys too,” he says.
Getting a snazzy new haircut poses an increased risk of contracting a viral disease, should clippers be ill sterilised.
This is according to a recent study that analysed the risk of contracting blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis B (HBV) and HIV/Aids. The research was conducted in Cape Town by professors and industry professionals at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
“Bleeding from the popular clean-shave ‘chiskop’ haircut was recently reported as prevalent in South Africa, a country with 6.9 million HIV-infected people,” reads the Blood and virus detection on barber clippers study published in the SAMJ Research journal in April.
The researchers tested 50 clippers from 50 barbers in Gugulethu, Bonteheuwel and Langa to investigate the prevalence of clipper contamination with blood, HIV and HBV.
The study was intended to look specifically at the clean-shave haircut as it was the most popular cut requested and the most likely to cause bleeding.
One clipper from each barber was collected and replaced directly after it had been used for a clean-shave haircut.
While each clipper was rinsed, it was not sterilised. Of the clippers collected, 42% were positive for the detection of blood, and 8% were positive for hepatitis B.
The findings further indicate that the clippers from Bonteheuwel had a higher prevalence of blood contamination at 72%, compared to 33% of those from Langa and Gugulethu.
The authors further indicated that research into the sterilisation of the clippers should be carried out and investigate if the clean-shave hairstyle is an independent risk factor for HIV, HBV and hepatitis C virus infections.
“Public education on individual clipper ownership should be advocated for clean-shave and blade-fade haircuts,” the findings continued.
While no HIV was found during the study, the presence of blood increased the risk of contracting the virus significantly.
With this in mind, barber health and safety has been put in the spotlight with causes aimed at improving safety at barbershops.
This is according to Warren Theunis, chairperson of the Western Province Barbers’ Association.
He says the association notes with concern the lack of compliance and with the increased risk of poor hygiene and diseases, they have set out to train and upskill barbers across the province with the help of the Skills Education Training Authorities (Seta) programme.
“We have done a lot as the association to combat these kind of outbreaks but now we have intentionally put together a health and safety workshop for all the barbers in the industry,” says Theunis.
“We find the majority of the barbers in the Western Cape are not qualified. We probed this and that helped us get a bit of funding from the skills development Seta and we launched a skills development project that got 67 out of 70 barbers qualified in the province.”
The collective council have signed an agreement that sees barbering fall under hairdressing and within the scope of the National Bargaining Council for Hairdressing, Cosmetology, Beauty and Skincare.
“This means the shops must be registered. All of this comes to a regulated industry. Without regulation there is no clear path for the industry.”
Since the move to a more regulated industry is on the cards, Theunis says the industry will be able to thrive as seen in examples such as New Zealand and the USA.
Regulation means the barbers will have set out career paths, better benefits including a pension and salaries.
“We have asked the national council to give us the opportunity to figure out how we would become compliant as barbers. The legislation states that if you want to be registered you must have a qualified person. That is good and bad. It upskills the industry seeing at least one qualified guy per four chairs meaning the level of service will be a higher standard,” says Theunis.
The workshop will focus on health and safety, understanding the legislation and how to register their businesses.
“We do not want to see barber shops being forced to close because they are not compliant,” he says.
The Barbers’ Association together with the National Bargaining Council and the EOHCB will be hosting a series of info-sharing workshops across the Western Cape, starting on Wednesday 8 August. These workshops will be co-hosted by the parties mentioned above and will also serve as registration points for the respective industries. “With the health and safety issue and the regulation we want to have barbers who attend these sessions know who the relevant role players are and what they need to do.”
They will host six sessions across the province in the northern and southern suburbs, and the CBD, between August and November.
The collective agreement negotiated between the parties to the Council of the Employers’ Organisation and Trade Union was published in the Government Gazette, 20 October 2017 (No. 41187).
Theunis says regulation will be a positive for the industry.
“I welcome regulation because without clear direction we will not attract youngsters to the industry. With regulation comes benefits and not only commission based. There was not really a career. They would say it may stifle the growth of the small guy but it may is not. It is not out of reach and will assist the small guys too,” he says.
Getting a snazzy new haircut poses an increased risk of contracting a viral disease, should clippers be ill sterilised.
This is according to a recent study that analysed the risk of contracting blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis B (HBV) and HIV/Aids. The research was conducted in Cape Town by professors and industry professionals at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
“Bleeding from the popular clean-shave ‘chiskop’ haircut was recently reported as prevalent in South Africa, a country with 6.9 million HIV-infected people,” reads the Blood and virus detection on barber clippers study published in the SAMJ Research journal in April.
The researchers tested 50 clippers from 50 barbers in Gugulethu, Bonteheuwel and Langa to investigate the prevalence of clipper contamination with blood, HIV and HBV.
The study was intended to look specifically at the clean-shave haircut as it was the most popular cut requested and the most likely to cause bleeding.
One clipper from each barber was collected and replaced directly after it had been used for a clean-shave haircut.
While each clipper was rinsed, it was not sterilised. Of the clippers collected, 42% were positive for the detection of blood, and 8% were positive for hepatitis B.
The findings further indicate that the clippers from Bonteheuwel had a higher prevalence of blood contamination at 72%, compared to 33% of those from Langa and Gugulethu.
The authors further indicated that research into the sterilisation of the clippers should be carried out and investigate if the clean-shave hairstyle is an independent risk factor for HIV, HBV and hepatitis C virus infections.
“Public education on individual clipper ownership should be advocated for clean-shave and blade-fade haircuts,” the findings continued.
While no HIV was found during the study, the presence of blood increased the risk of contracting the virus significantly.
With this in mind, barber health and safety has been put in the spotlight with causes aimed at improving safety at barbershops.
This is according to Warren Theunis, chairperson of the Western Province Barbers’ Association.
He says the association notes with concern the lack of compliance and with the increased risk of poor hygiene and diseases, they have set out to train and upskill barbers across the province with the help of the Skills Education Training Authorities (Seta) programme.
“We have done a lot as the association to combat these kind of outbreaks but now we have intentionally put together a health and safety workshop for all the barbers in the industry,” says Theunis.
“We find the majority of the barbers in the Western Cape are not qualified. We probed this and that helped us get a bit of funding from the skills development Seta and we launched a skills development project that got 67 out of 70 barbers qualified in the province.”
The collective council have signed an agreement that sees barbering fall under hairdressing and within the scope of the National Bargaining Council for Hairdressing, Cosmetology, Beauty and Skincare.
“This means the shops must be registered. All of this comes to a regulated industry. Without regulation there is no clear path for the industry.”
Since the move to a more regulated industry is on the cards, Theunis says the industry will be able to thrive as seen in examples such as New Zealand and the USA.
Regulation means the barbers will have set out career paths, better benefits including a pension and salaries.
“We have asked the national council to give us the opportunity to figure out how we would become compliant as barbers. The legislation states that if you want to be registered you must have a qualified person. That is good and bad. It upskills the industry seeing at least one qualified guy per four chairs meaning the level of service will be a higher standard,” says Theunis.
The workshop will focus on health and safety, understanding the legislation and how to register their businesses.
“We do not want to see barber shops being forced to close because they are not compliant,” he says.
The Barbers’ Association together with the National Bargaining Council and the EOHCB will be hosting a series of info-sharing workshops across the Western Cape, starting on Wednesday 8 August. These workshops will be co-hosted by the parties mentioned above and will also serve as registration points for the respective industries. “With the health and safety issue and the regulation we want to have barbers who attend these sessions know who the relevant role players are and what they need to do.”
They will host six sessions across the province in the northern and southern suburbs, and the CBD, between August and November.
The collective agreement negotiated between the parties to the Council of the Employers’ Organisation and Trade Union was published in the Government Gazette, 20 October 2017 (No. 41187).
Theunis says regulation will be a positive for the industry.
“I welcome regulation because without clear direction we will not attract youngsters to the industry. With regulation comes benefits and not only commission based. There was not really a career. They would say it may stifle the growth of the small guy but it may is not. It is not out of reach and will assist the small guys too,” he says.
Getting a snazzy new haircut poses an increased risk of contracting a viral disease, should clippers be ill sterilised.
This is according to a recent study that analysed the risk of contracting blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis B (HBV) and HIV/Aids. The research was conducted in Cape Town by professors and industry professionals at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
“Bleeding from the popular clean-shave ‘chiskop’ haircut was recently reported as prevalent in South Africa, a country with 6.9 million HIV-infected people,” reads the Blood and virus detection on barber clippers study published in the SAMJ Research journal in April.
The researchers tested 50 clippers from 50 barbers in Gugulethu, Bonteheuwel and Langa to investigate the prevalence of clipper contamination with blood, HIV and HBV.
The study was intended to look specifically at the clean-shave haircut as it was the most popular cut requested and the most likely to cause bleeding.
One clipper from each barber was collected and replaced directly after it had been used for a clean-shave haircut.
While each clipper was rinsed, it was not sterilised. Of the clippers collected, 42% were positive for the detection of blood, and 8% were positive for hepatitis B.
The findings further indicate that the clippers from Bonteheuwel had a higher prevalence of blood contamination at 72%, compared to 33% of those from Langa and Gugulethu.
The authors further indicated that research into the sterilisation of the clippers should be carried out and investigate if the clean-shave hairstyle is an independent risk factor for HIV, HBV and hepatitis C virus infections.
“Public education on individual clipper ownership should be advocated for clean-shave and blade-fade haircuts,” the findings continued.
While no HIV was found during the study, the presence of blood increased the risk of contracting the virus significantly.
With this in mind, barber health and safety has been put in the spotlight with causes aimed at improving safety at barbershops.
This is according to Warren Theunis, chairperson of the Western Province Barbers’ Association.
He says the association notes with concern the lack of compliance and with the increased risk of poor hygiene and diseases, they have set out to train and upskill barbers across the province with the help of the Skills Education Training Authorities (Seta) programme.
“We have done a lot as the association to combat these kind of outbreaks but now we have intentionally put together a health and safety workshop for all the barbers in the industry,” says Theunis.
“We find the majority of the barbers in the Western Cape are not qualified. We probed this and that helped us get a bit of funding from the skills development Seta and we launched a skills development project that got 67 out of 70 barbers qualified in the province.”
The collective council have signed an agreement that sees barbering fall under hairdressing and within the scope of the National Bargaining Council for Hairdressing, Cosmetology, Beauty and Skincare.
“This means the shops must be registered. All of this comes to a regulated industry. Without regulation there is no clear path for the industry.”
Since the move to a more regulated industry is on the cards, Theunis says the industry will be able to thrive as seen in examples such as New Zealand and the USA.
Regulation means the barbers will have set out career paths, better benefits including a pension and salaries.
“We have asked the national council to give us the opportunity to figure out how we would become compliant as barbers. The legislation states that if you want to be registered you must have a qualified person. That is good and bad. It upskills the industry seeing at least one qualified guy per four chairs meaning the level of service will be a higher standard,” says Theunis.
The workshop will focus on health and safety, understanding the legislation and how to register their businesses.
“We do not want to see barber shops being forced to close because they are not compliant,” he says.
The Barbers’ Association together with the National Bargaining Council and the EOHCB will be hosting a series of info-sharing workshops across the Western Cape, starting on Wednesday 8 August. These workshops will be co-hosted by the parties mentioned above and will also serve as registration points for the respective industries. “With the health and safety issue and the regulation we want to have barbers who attend these sessions know who the relevant role players are and what they need to do.”
They will host six sessions across the province in the northern and southern suburbs, and the CBD, between August and November.
The collective agreement negotiated between the parties to the Council of the Employers’ Organisation and Trade Union was published in the Government Gazette, 20 October 2017 (No. 41187).
Theunis says regulation will be a positive for the industry.
“I welcome regulation because without clear direction we will not attract youngsters to the industry. With regulation comes benefits and not only commission based. There was not really a career. They would say it may stifle the growth of the small guy but it may is not. It is not out of reach and will assist the small guys too,” he says.
