Barbershop hygiene: what the rules require
The rules require every instrument that may come into contact with blood to be single use or sterilised between clients, alongside disinfected surfaces, clean linen for each service and a written cleaning protocol on the premises.
gelisted editorial team · Updated 15 August 2026
The short version
- The razor blade must be new and unwrapped in front of the client.
- Combs and clipper heads are disinfected between clients.
- Towels and capes are changed for every service.
- The premises must hold a first aid kit and a written cleaning protocol.
In a service involving a blade and skin, hygiene is not presentation. It can be checked in 10 seconds from the chair, and everything relevant is in plain sight.
What the rules require
Establishments carrying out activities with a risk of contact with blood are subject to health and hygiene requirements set nationally and developed by each region. In a barbershop that means single use or sterilised cutting material, disinfection of reusable instruments, clean surfaces, a sharps container and staff trained in hygiene.
| Item | Requirement | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Razor blade | single use | every client |
| Combs and scissors | disinfection | between clients |
| Clipper heads | cleaning and disinfection | between clients |
| Towels and capes | clean | every service |
| Work surface | disinfected | between clients |
| Sharps container | available | permanent |
| Immersion time in disinfectant | 10 to 30 minutes | per product |
| Autoclave sterilisation | 121 °C for 15 to 20 minutes | reusable material |
What you can see from the chair
The blade being unwrapped in front of you. The container of disinfectant where combs and scissors sit. The change of cape and towel at the start. The floor being swept between services. And the barber's hands, washed or gelled between clients. Five signals that require no questions and are observed while you sit down.
The numbers behind the protocol
Immersion of instruments in disinfectant takes 10 to 30 minutes depending on the product, and autoclave sterilisation runs at 121 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. A shop with 3 chairs and 40 services a day therefore needs 2 or 3 complete sets of combs and scissors in rotation to comply without cutting corners. That is why the number of tools visible on the counter is itself informative.
If a small cut bleeds, the correct protocol is a glove, clean gauze and a single use haemostatic product, never a shared alum block.
Why it matters
Microscopic cuts are common in close shaving and outline work, even where the client notices nothing. That contact with blood is the reason the rules treat cutting instruments as they do in other sectors carrying the same risk. With correct material the probability of transmitting an infection is very low, and with shared unsterilised material it stops being so.
Frequently asked
+Must the blade be new?
Yes. All cutting material must be single use or sterilised between clients.
+And combs and clippers?
They must be cleaned and disinfected between clients, with reusable tools sitting in disinfectant.
+Can I ask about it?
Yes, naturally. In a shop working properly the answer comes immediately.
+What happens if there is a cut?
Glove, clean gauze and a single use haemostatic product, never a shared alum block.
+What must the premises hold?
A sharps container, a first aid kit, a written cleaning protocol and clean linen for every service.
Sources
- 1Boletín Oficial del Estado, BOE (August 2026)
- 2Ministerio de Sanidad, Gobierno de España (August 2026)