Reply To: Sharing of Nail Polish between residents in Aged Care Facilities

Hi Jithin,

Great question.

This topic would come under beauty guidelines rather than specific to aged care practices. Irrespective of the setting the guidelines could be used. In Victoria, the
Infection prevention and control guidelines for hair, beauty, tattooing and skin penetration industries can be used: https://www.health.vic.gov.au/infectious-diseases/notices-about-scope-of-registration-and-client-information-sheets.

On pg 60, it states that application brushes: Reusable if product is not capable of harbouring or supporting growth or microorganisms (for example, nail polish, light cured gels, nail primers). Hence, nail polish is not considered a transmission risk and can be shared use.

There are IPC beauty practices that should be considered during application:
Standard precautions
Do not share polish with clients showing signs of nail infections.
Discard contaminated or deteriorated products.
Single person use if known nail, cutical infection – Monitor and label polish bottles.
Include nail polish practices in beauty hygiene policies.

Hope this helps.

Regards Carrie