Air Purifiers in Hair Salons
The levels of hygiene on premises like Hair Salons will obviously be very high but generally, that hygiene will apply to surfaces, implements and basins etc. It is the job of Air Purifiers to remove pollutants from the atmosphere itself.
Coiffeurs use a variety of products in the course of their normal routine work which might be regarded as pollutants in themselves. These would include the propellants which power the aerosols containing the fixing sprays, the sprays themselves, gels and other chemical and solvent based treatments.
The development of air purification can be followed over a period of some forty years. The first examples were clumsy, noisy and only marginally effective but the principal was seen as so beneficial for both homes and commercial premises that progress in both efficiency and usability was dynamic.
Modern Air Purifiers have been developed to meet the specific needs of most locations and environments including beauty parlors and hair salons. Nevertheless, the basic technology and principals behind them are same now as for the first prototypes - the polluted air will be drawn into the equipment by a fan, passed through a carbon filter where the pollutants are removed and then returned to the atmosphere. The principal objectives are achieved by the use of multi-stage filtering, and quite commonly, ionization of the air being returned to the room or office. Phrases used in technical specifications include pre filter, electrostatic, antibacterial, and photo catalyst.
Air purifiers that have been designed for hair salons contain activated carbon filters. The carbon filters help to trap offensive odors that could aggravate the staff as well as the clientele in the salon. This is the same technology that is used in the military gas masks that helps keep the military personnel safe from poisonous gases that they may be exposed to on the field. The adsorption process is where the chemicals that are given off from hairsprays, permanents, and hair dyes are adsorbed in the activated carbon filter and fresh clean air is then sent back out into the salon, protecting the clientele and staff from the hazardous fumes.
Removing matter such as tobacco smoke, dust and bacteria from the atmosphere are a part of the function of air purifiers as well. It must also be able to deal with chemicals and allergens. In the past too, the filtration process has been known to produce ozone which is a variation of oxygen harmful to the human respiratory system, this is of course counterproductive although this day and age, the purifiers have evolved not to produce ozone or at least not as much as previous units.
The differences between models start when they are designed for specific areas, for specific applications and, of course, for different sizes of areas to be treated. Design developments include multiple stage filtration, higher filter capacities and improved input and output flows, often facilitated by more powerful fans or impellers. When you are searching for the right air purifier, you should know exactly what types of potentially harmful particles you will want to rid the air of. For example for a hair salon you would be faced with many different types of chemicals such as permanent solutions, hair dyes, shampoos, conditioning treatments, bleaching kits, and the list could go on and on depending on what services that you would be offering. Also included on the list would be the obvious matter like the dust, the pollen grains which cause hay-fever, and any residual particles carried on clothing like pet hairs and general pollutants. In particular, the machine must be capable of neutralizing those chemical residues or emissions from the solvents and treatments that the hairdresser is using. Its principal objective must be to return, to the room, clean, sweet smelling air.
It is also a must that the air purifiers be very low maintenance, inexpensive to run, easy to move around and, most importantly, quiet in operation. The durability and usability issues are addressed with high quality, electronically controlled fans in light but robust cabinets. Many air purifiers come with remote controls and can be color coordinated to fit the decor of the hair salon. When looking for the right air purifiers for your hair salon, you should shop around and find the one that will help to protect you, your staff, and your clientele from harmful chemicals that they will be breathing in otherwise.
The air purifiers that we recommend for this application are the Austin Air HealthMate or the IQAir HealthPro. Both of these air purifiers have a lot of activated carbon with which to absorb chemicals.
