WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FILE DISINFECTION

SOFT TOUCH OPEN LETTER

This is an interactive letter between Soft Touch and the Licensed Nail Technician worldwide. The intent of this "open letter" is to advise you, educate you, and solicit your opinions and thoughts regarding a scenario in process that requires definition and exposure.

Two years ago we started receiving calls from Nail Technicians within the State of California in stress because they were being "CITED" by State Board of Cosmetology Inspectors. The citations were being imposed for nail file hygiene.

We must give the California State Board of Cosmetology credit for aggressively addressing salon hygiene however and wherever it applies. The mass media has exposed on numerous occasions poor hygiene practices in Nail Salons to the discredit of our industry. This exposure should be viewed a positive force that is helping to stimulate standards of hygiene in the nail salon environment which in turn creates needed consumer confidence!

We responded to our customer's distress by contacting The California State Board of Cosmetology to discover what we could do or had to do to help our customers, the Professional Nail Technician, to prevent further citations.

The Cosmetology Board posed to us the question: "We require Proof that a nail file or foot file can indeed be "Disinfected" before we can allow the re-use of said nail file on a consumer. Straightforward Question - Issue - Challenge!

The task was forthright and we had to figure out the solution from start to finish without guidance. This seemingly simple challenge took us nine (9) months to conclude. We stayed the course and developed the benchmark disinfecting criteria.

The challenge dictated we work and interact with an accredited F.D.A., E.P.A., and Niosh registered Medical Laboratory with undisputed credentials to discover and create a procedure to "Disinfect" Nail Files. In the beginning neither we nor anyone else was sure a nail file could indeed be "disinfected" to required standards. We submitted our final laboratory results after months of trial and error to the State of California and were awarded the benchmark approval! An Industry first! We agreed to identify for State Inspectors those files that could be disinfected with the printed mark "Disinfectable™." Furthermore we agreed to place where applicable on our packaging "Disinfecting Instructions." We are proud of our months and months of effort. We subsequently presented our data to every State Board of Cosmetology in the Union suggesting they adopt this initial disinfecting procedure for the good of the client and the good of our industry.

Every maker of Nail Files has the identical opportunity and challenge to test their product for disinfecting and submit their evidence in proper form to the State of California for approval!

There are those who are fighting this issue, we will not speculate the "why" although we know it is a costly task and some nail files will not withstand immersion in a high level disinfectant.

We conclude this open letter with this simple question then answer, "why did we undertake this challenge in the first place?"

For the Nail Technician

We would appreciate your comments and opinions regarding this matter, they will be helpful to the forces in this issue. If you have any feedback please send us an email softtouch@rudolphinc.com

Thank you,
Soft Touch

The following page will show you our benchmark Laboratory report! This clinical evaluation was conducted by one of the largest independent accredited laboratories in the world. The Laboratory is FDA, CDC, Niosh, and EPA Certified.

Again, we leave you with this question that we have posed to every State Board in the Union accompanied by our evidence: If a disinfected nail or foot file is more hygienic than a brand new nail or foot file, we submit only two courses of action:

1. Nail and Foot Files can be disinfected and re-used.

2. Nail and Foot Files must be disinfected before first use.

"Anything else is illogical!"

STUDY OF DISINFECTION OF RUDOLPH INTERNATIONAL NAIL FILES IN LIQUID DISENFECTANTS

Work Order No.:	9934-01890
Date Performed:	October 12, 2001
Performed For:	Rudolph International 1150 Beacon Street Brea, CA 92821

RESULTS

FILE	ORGANISMS/FILEAFTER 10 MINUTES	ORGANISMS/FILEAFTER 1 HOUR
Control	37,000,000	37,000,000
1	4,400	6,000
2	3,100	6,200

Discussion:

The test shows a reduction of organisms of 99.99% after 10 minutes exposure in Disinfectant "A and B" and a reduction of 99.98% after 1 hour in Disinfectant C". The difference in the counts is statistically small. The effectiveness of the two agents is approximately the same for the exposure periods used.

Conclusion:

The Rudolph International Nail Files can be disinfected with the Disinfectant "A and B" or Disinfectant "C" at the exposure times tested, and should provide a very low bacteria count, but sterility cannot be guaranteed. The State Boards require products to be "disinfected” not rendered “sterile” as required in operating room environments – hospitals.

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this testing was to determine if Disinfectable™ Rudolph International nail files can be disinfected by immersion in Liquid Disinfectants.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Solutions:

Bacteria:

A 600-milliliter beaker was filled with a sterile phosphate buffer, and viable microorganisms were added:

 

Disinfectant "A and B": B =Counter Attack	Following the bottle instructions, ½ Ounce of concentrated Disinfectant "A and B" was added to 1 gallon of water.
Disinfectant "C":	Following the bottle instructions, ¼ Ounce of concentrated Disinfectant "C" was added to 32 ounces of water.
Neutralizing Buffer:	A sterile buffer solution used to take equipment swabs. The Buffer contains various agents to inactivate common sanitizers, including the active ingredient in Disinfectant "A and B" and Disinfectant "C".

Procedure:

1. Five Nail Files were placed in the beaker of Bacteria and allowed to soak for 1 minute.

2. The Nail Files were removed from the bacteria solution and one of the files was analyzed as a control, 2 were placed in Disinfectant "A and B" and two were placed for 10 minutes and 2 were placed in Disinfectant "B" for 1 hour.

3. Each Nail File was removed and placed in a sterile bag containing 100 milliliters of Neutralizing Buffer. The bag was closed and shaken.

The solution in the bag was tested for the presence of viable Organisms.