Do Blow Dryers Actually Spread Coronavirus?

Salons are starting to open their doors — but your appointment may look a little different.
* Bay Area Salons may not be re-opening until mid-July

Here’s What Experts Say About Salon Safety

• Hair salons are beginning to open after being closed for several weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Connecticut recently banned the use of blowf dryers in hair salons due to safety concerns. The ban has since been reversed.
• We spoke with an infectious disease expert and salon owners about how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during hair appointments.

Salons have been closed for months due to the coronavirus pandemic, but as states slowly start reopening, businesses are grappling with the safest way to open their doors. After all, a stylist and client can’t stand six feet away from each other and salons are often small, enclosed spaces. A new concern that’s also recently popped up: Can services like blow drying spread germs?

Recently, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced that local hair salons could reopen on May 20, but they would not be allowed to use blow dryers. He later reversed the restriction.

So, what’s the deal? We spoke with an infectious disease expert to break down the risks of heading back to the salon, as well as stylists to find out what they’re doing to keep clients safe.

Back up: How does the novel coronavirus spread in hair salons?

COVID-19 can spread in hair salons the same way it spreads anywhere: “The number one way coronavirus spreads is through respiratory droplets from someone who is sick,” says Michael A. Ben-Aderet, M.D., infectious disease specialist and associate medical director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

And while viruses can’t grow on surfaces, Dr. Ben-Aderet says they can persist on certain surfaces for a particular amount of time. One study found that the novel coronavirus can survive up to three hours in the air, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard, and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.

So, touching a surface that is contaminated “with secretions or mucus membranes from a sick individual and then touching your face can make you sick,” he explains, adding that “it’s important to remember that viruses need to grow in a person.”

Still, Center for Disease Control and Detection (CDC) maintains that this isn’t thought to be the driving force of COVID-19 transmission, as viruses need hosts to replicate. After no human contact, the virus will eventually die on the surface—it’s just that experts aren’t exactly sure how long that takes.

Can blow dryers really spread coronavirus germs?

The thinking behind this makes some sense, but there isn’t any concrete data to back it up. A blow dryer does have the potential to spread contaminated air around a room, Dr. Ben-Aderet explains—but again, there needs to be an infected person around. “Unless someone coughs into a hair dryer and that spreads the droplets, it’s very unlikely,” he says.

As for the device itself? “I think it would be unlikely for a hair dryer to be contaminated with coronavirus,” he adds.

The CDC says that “it is unknown how long the air inside a room occupied by someone with confirmed COVID-19 remains potentially infectious.” However, bigger, well-ventilated rooms “will help shorten the time it takes respiratory droplets to be removed from the air.”

How can hair salons prevent the spread of COVID-19?

Safety standards for hair salons will vary according to state, but there are some precautions salons can implement to keep their clients healthy.

When possible, it’s important to ensure that people entering the salon aren’t currently sick. One way to do this is to screen clients before appointments to make sure those who are sick reschedule if they have a fever, cough, or shortness of breath, Dr. Ben-Aderet suggests.

He adds that “hair salons should minimize the amount of people in a room by having people wait outside and not come in until their scheduled appointment.” Then, hair stylists and clients should wear face masks, practice good hand hygiene, and avoid touching their faces.

How U.S. hair salons are reopening

Because small businesses like hair salons have taken financial hits, we wanted to hear from salon owners about how they planned to open back up.

For Suelyn Farel, CEO of Julien Farel Salon and Spa in New York City, it’s all about safety. “The biggest challenge will be to ensure that our customers and employees feel safe to come into our salon and spa,” she says. “It is a business where people come in close proximity to each other, so with the correct protective gear and measures, we hope everyone will be confident that we are as super-clean.”

She says “no one can enter the business without a mask and having their temperature taken. We’re taking extreme measures—like putting handbags into plastic bags and handing out individually wrapped wipes to each client for their phone/glasses.”

Crystal Witz, owner of Vintage Rose Salon and Spa in Placer County, California, plans to install a hospital-grade air purifier into her salon. Surfaces will be frequently cleaned, too. “All salon chairs, hair washing stations, hair drying chairs and styling tools will be disinfected between each client,” she says. “Hand sanitizing stations will be placed at each entrance to the salon.”

Mario Solis, owner and founder of The Hair Studio, will not allow guests of clients into the hair salon to enforce social distancing measures.

Dawn James, master stylist at Salon Concepts, says she’s had to cut back on business to compensate for social distancing. “I’ve extended my working hours, so I only work with one client at a time,” she says.

All stylists said that they would continue to provide blow outs at the end of their clients’ appointments, unless the government restricts them from doing so or the client declines.

“Although I cannot speak to the epidemiological risks in blow drying, I can speak to the happiness I see in clients’ eyes when they see their hair freshly done and styled,” James says. “I would hope that if blow dryers spreading germs caused serious alarm, there would be that kind of data out there well before the pandemic occurred.”

You can find the full article at Prevention