Clean beauty tools are crucial for optimal performance, and they can help prevent infection when accidents occur. Whether it's razors, scissors or clippers, having clean tools reduces the risk for you and your client. Lya Navarra, sales promotion manager of the Sam Villa brand offers some advice on the proper sanitation of brushes, combs, shears and thermal tools.

Brushes: Remove hair, clean and sanitize everyday.
Use a brush cleaner designed with hard, wide-spaced, angled teeth on one end and longer bristles or wire on the other end. Use the wide toothed end of the cleaning brush to rake through each row of bristles and pull up and out to remove tangled knots and hair at the base of the brush.

Use the denser, longer bristled end of the cleaning brush and opt for Redken Hair Cleansing Cream to help cleanse away styling aid residue.
 
Store in dry sanitizer.

Combs: Clean and sanitize everyday.
Combs do not need to be left in liquid sanitizer overnight, it actually can breakdown the comb's material.

Use the denser longer bristled end of the cleaning brush (or even a toothbrush) to wash away styling aid residue.
Sam Villa Cleaning Brush

Soak in liquid sanitizer for no longer than 10 minutes.

Shears: Clean and oil everyday.
Use rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball to remove styling aid residue.

Hold shears with tips pointing down with the blades open at a 45-degree angle. Put a couple drops of shear or clipper oil at the pivot point, open and close shears and let them sit over night.

In the morning, hold the shears in a downward position and open and close the shears. The oil from the night before will flush out the hair that gets built up in the pivot point of the blades.

Thermal Tools: Clean after every use.
Hardened styling or cutting aid residue can build up on flat irons and curling irons. The extra residue can snag and pull hair, roughening up the cuticle.

To clean a flat iron, start with an iron at room temperature. Then use a towel moistened with water to wipe plates clean. A Q-tip may be handy to get into the small crevices of the appliance. For stubborn buildup use rubbing alcohol and then wipe clean with a damp towel.

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