Ebola and You.

Hiya people,

We are in another season of something alien to us , we have had about the anthraxs , bird flus and the rest of them. I honestly thought this was going to pass  alas it still here with us – the almighty Ebola Virus.

I am pretty sure that it is no longer news about the outbreak of deadly Ebola virus , trust me  it is scary. In the three countries affected by the outbreak —Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea — more than 1,300 people have been sickened by the virus and more than 700 have died.

I am more concerned about how vulnerable we Makeup Artist are. I can’t overemphasize the importance of stocking up on alcohol, hand sanitizers and brush cleaning essentials to prevent the spread. I did a little bit of research and here are some of the things I discovered.

The Ebola virus (its name comes from the Ebola River in Zaire, site of the first known outbreak) causes an illness known as hemorrhagic fever. It is characterized by aches, fever, abdominal pain, organ failure, and uncontrolled bleeding. A person who has Ebola is contagious for up to 21 days. Spread of the infection occurs by direct contact with body fluids. There is no known cure, and half or more of those who develop Ebola virus disease die from it.

• Prevention
1. Frequently wash your hands with soap and water, or use alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60 percent alcohol when soap and water aren’t available.

2. Avoid buying or eating meats sold in local open markets.

3 Avoid sweaty crowd where you rub on each other, due to overpopulation – like commuter buses, labour jobs, and places of worship with maddening crowd and little ventilation. Most especially avoid local burial ceremonies where the cause of death is not known

4. If you can, avoid traveling around for now till the scourge is contained.

5. And sadly, if you feel any of the symptoms like unexplainable high fever, bleeding, quickly quarantine yourself/ separate yourself from your families and friends while you go on a massive fluid intake, to save other people around you.

6.Avoid contact with infected people. In particular, caregivers should avoid contact with the person’s body fluids and tissues, including blood, semen, vaginal secretions and saliva

Follow infection-control procedures. If you’re a health care worker, wear protective clothing, such as gloves, masks, gowns and eye shields. Keep infected people isolated from others. Dispose of needles and sterilize other instruments.

More preventive tips for Makeup Artist
Make sure you sanitize your hands frequently. Dettol Hand sanitizer or any other brand.

Use isopropyl alcohol of 90% or greater to sanitize any tools including tweezers, scissors and lash curlers. Be sure the alcohol has evaporated before using the tool on the client.

When working with a client, use a spatula to place lipstick or gloss on a palette and apply with a lip brush. If you need to apply directly from the bullet, sanitize the lipstick with isopropyl alcohol of 90% or greater and remove the top layer by wiping with a tissue.

Sanitize makeup pencils by sharpening them between clients. A spritz of alcohol and sharpening in between applications will comfort your clients as well. Do not forget to clean your sharpener each time too.

Keep disposable wands in your kit for mascara application and never double dip the wand. Mascara is one of the highest risk products.

Create your own sanitizing spritz in an empty spray bottle. A fine mist of alcohol of 70% or greater can also work but be careful it does not compromise the texture of the product. Let the alcohol evaporate from the product to be most effective.

Clean brushes in between every client with brush cleaner or alcohol.

Qtips – great for a applying concealer or foundation over an open wound. Also you can dip into loose powder to set.

Never use the same sponge on more than one person

Sanitize, clean and wipe all tools and products in front of your client to make sure they know you are hygienic and follow health and safety precautions and procedures ,you owe it to the different people you are working on to practice good hygiene and reduce the spread of germs  and infection.

You can get Brush Cleaning Essentials from Giftys Daughter Studio

25A Toyin Street Ikeja Lagos.08033368927 and 08051654105

And also HEGAI &ESTHER 99%ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL

21/25 ,Akinsanya Street, Taiwo Bus Stop Ojodu Berger.08073218937 and 08035806183

Please keep safe,
Hugs and kisses,
Misidreads