Now that you’ve officially met Beauty Brigade and owner Mandi, it’s time to talk about something that cannot be ignored, given the current status of the world. Let’s talk about the ‘Rona (aka: Coronavirus, aka: COVID-19). I know, I know…you’re sick of hearing about it, but actually we aren’t going to share details about the virus itself, as much as we are going to share information about our sanitation practices and procedures! We feel it is an important topic to cover given that we, as artists, are very hands on with our work!

So let’s start with the basics: masks and gloves. We may show up to your appointment looking like an ER doctor ready to scrub in for surgery, but better to be safe than sorry, right? All of our artists will wear masks during all makeup applications, hair styling, and other services. Gloves will be worn during any service that involves touching the face, and changed between each client. Our artists’ hands will be washed or sanitized between each service as well as between each client. We want you, our client, to feel safe too, and we will gladly take your preferences into consideration!

Aside from our masks and gloves, we also utilize disposable makeup applicators where we are able to. This includes disposable mascara wands, lip gloss wands, spatulas, sponges and Q tips. Beauty Brigade artists will use a different mascara wand EACH time they need to apply more product on a single client, once the wand has touched your lashes it cannot be dipped back into the product. The same applies to lip gloss wands, once the wand has touched a clients lips, it cannot be dipped back into the product and must be thrown away. Plastic or disposable spatulas are used to scoop cream, liquid, or loose powder products from their original container, onto a palette, so that the artist can dip a brush into the product multiple times. Once the product has been utilized, it must be thrown away and the palette will be sanitized with an alcohol wipe for the next client.

Sanitation is SO important right now(not that it wasn’t before)! Beauty Brigade uses several different methods of sanitizing for different products. When visiting BBHQ, clients can be sure that everything in the studio has been cleaned and sanitized before their arrival. This means that all surfaces, such as countertops or chairs, have been wiped with germicidal hospital grade wipes. All hair brushes, combs, and clips are sanitized with either barbicide wipes or soakings, in accordance to the criteria provided by the Barbicide Training for COVID-19. Our artists’ makeup brushes are sanitized between each client, with an exclusive brush cleanser. (Pro Tip: we prefer Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush cleaner)! We also wash our brushes with water and shampoo regularly- which you should be doing too to prevent bacterial build up!

I bet you’re sitting there wondering how we sanitize the actual makeup products though! Powder products such as eyeshadows, blushes, and packed powders are sprayed with a makeup sanitizer before and after each client. While products such as pencils and lipsticks can be sanitized by spraying them with rubbing alcohol and wiping them with a clean tissue. When cleaning lip pencils, BB owner Mandi prefers to use a tip she learned in her MAC Cosmetics days. “Dip, sharpen, dip”, which means you dip the pencil into rubbing alcohol, sharpen it, and dip it again-only then is it safe for your client and ready to use!

As you can see, Beauty Brigade takes cleanliness and sanitizing seriously! We think it is one of the most important practices we can do to help keep both our clients and artists safe. You can view our Coronavirus information below, along with some of our favorite sanitation products!