Could beauty salon brushes be a potential candidate for transmitting bacterial infections?

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Microbiology, Medical Research Institute, Alexandria University, Egypt

2 Department of Microbiology and immunology Faculty of Pharmacy, October 6 University, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Brushes used in beauty salons to apply cosmetics should be clean and not contaminated with any bacteria, especially since they are used around the eyes, mouth and nose. If they are contaminated, then they could be a probable source of infection. This study aimed to assess the contamination status of the cosmetic brushes. One hundred brushes were collected from beauty centers, in Alexandria. They were stored in 5 ml Nutrient broth and then cultured on blood and MacConkey’s agar for bacterial isolation and identification.  All brushes (100%) were contaminated with bacterial isolates. Klebsiella spp. was the most frequently isolated bacteria. It was isolated from 84% of the brushes, followed by E. coli in 6%, and Bacillus in 10%. Both Klebsiella and E. coli are considered as potential pathogens. Due to this high contamination rate of the brushes, it’s highly recommended to give good care for cleaning and decontaminating these tools.

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