If you are like most people in Los Angeles, you likely view your time spent at beauty or nail salons or at tattoo parlors as a time to relax and be pampered. While most salons and parlors comply with the state’s regulations governing them and are safe, some salons and parlors do not. In some cases, patrons at beauty and nail salons or at tattoo parlors may suffer serious injuries or infections because of the owners’ failures to follow safety and hygiene regulations for their businesses. People may also suffer injuries due to the negligent or reckless actions of their operators. If you have suffered an injury or contracted an infection that you believe was caused by the actions of your cosmetologist, esthetician or tattoo artist, an experienced personal injury attorney in Los Angeles may work to recover damages to compensate you.

Causes and types of injuries at salons and tattoo parlors

There are several types of injuries that can happen at beauty and nail salons and tattoo parlors. Some of the most common causes include the following:

• Slipping and falling because of drinks spilled on floors, leaks and slick floor surfaces

• Trips over objects left on floors

• Shocks from unsecured electrical cords

• Chemical burns

• Wax burns

• Laser burns

• Allergic reactions

• Staph infections

• Bacterial and viral infections

• Scalp injuries

• Cuts and abrasions

People may suffer fractures in falls, burns, permanent scarring and disfigurement in salon accidents. They may also contract diseases and illnesses when the instruments are not properly disinfected, needles are reused, the ink is bad or their artists have active infections or diseases while they are working.

Regulations governing nail and beauty salons and tattoo parlors

Because of the risks of injuries and infections, nail and beauty salons and tattoo parlors are heavily regulated in California. The regulations are meant to keep the public safe when they go in for beauty treatments and tattoos. Salons and tattoo parlors are supposed to keep their premises clean. They must have covered waste bins to contain soiled gowns. Tattoo parlors must dispose of used needles in biohazard containers, and they are forbidden from reusing needles. Salon owners are forbidden from allowing estheticians or cosmetologists with active infections or communicable diseases from working on customers. All of the instruments must be disinfected after each customer in clearly marked solutions. When the combs and scissors have been used, they must be placed in marked containers showing that they are dirty so that the can be decontaminated.

Tattoo parlors are required under the Safe Body Art Act to obtain health licenses certifying that their facilities meet the required standards. They must also check their ink to make certain that it has not been recalled and that it is not expired. Tattoo artists must sterilize all of their equipment in autoclaves to prevent the spread of infection, and they are mandated to review the health histories of their customers before giving them tattoos.