How we clean our tools between clients

Every client at Kaththi gets thirty minutes in the chair. What most people do not see is the five minutes after they leave, when the barber cleans the station before the next person sits down. Here is exactly what happens, in order.

First, the razor. Every razor service uses a new single-use blade, opened from its paper wrapper in front of you. When you leave, the used blade is snapped out of the holder and dropped into a sealed sharps box, which is collected for safe disposal. The steel holder is wiped with disinfectant.

Then the clippers and trimmers. The barber brushes out the hair, removes the blade guard and sprays the blades with a disinfectant made for clippers, which also cools and oils them. Plastic guards go into a tray of disinfectant solution for ten minutes and are dried on a clean towel.

Scissors, combs and brushes are washed with soap, dried and placed in the UV cabinet beside each chair for at least fifteen minutes. Each barber owns two sets of combs and scissors, so one set is always clean while the other is in the cabinet. Finally, the chair and station. The headrest and armrests are wiped down, the floor is swept and a fresh paper strip goes around the next client’s neck under a washed cape. Towels are used once, then washed hot every night. If you ever want to see any of this, just ask. Selvam is proud of it.