Infection Prevention and Control in Personal Services Settings

Personal services settings provide non-medical procedures designed to enhance a person's appearance or sense of well-being. These services can include:

• Hair styling and barbering
• Facials and skin care services
• Make-up
• Eyelash/eyebrow tinting and eyelash extensions
• Nail services (manicures and pedicures)
• Tanning
• Hair removal (laser, electrolysis, sugaring, threading, waxing)
• Massages
• Piercings (body and ear)
• Micropigmentation
• Tattooing

Effective on July 1, 2018, the Ontario Regulation 136: Personal Service Settings came into effect.  This brand new regulation sets out the requirements that owners and operators must comply with to offer safe services and reduce the risk of infection to the public and personal service workers.

Public Health Inspectors will continue to conduct regular inspections of personal service settings to monitor for infection prevention and control issues and compliance with Ontario Regulation 136/18. The new regulatory requirements align with the former Infection Prevention and Control Best Practices for Personal Service Settings (2009) guidelines from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, and therefore many of the requirements will be similar. A key difference between the guidelines and the regulation is that Public Health Inspectors are able to issue provincial offence tickets and impose fines if operators are not in compliance with the regulation.

Owners and operators have a legal responsibility to ensure that they and their employees understand and comply with the requirements under Ontario Regulation 136/18. Some of the requirements of the regulation include:

• Record keeping
• Cleaning and disinfecting or sterilizing of equipment
• At least one sink used only for hand washing
• If reusable equipment is used, at least one sink, that is not the hand wash sink
• Notification to the Health Unit at least 14 days before:
• Opening a personal service setting;
• Offering additional services at a personal service setting; or
• Starting construction or renovation of a personal service setting

Planning a Personal Service Settings?

In accordance with the Ontario Regulation 136/18 Personal Service Settings – Section 3, all personal service settings are required to notify the Medical Officer of Health at the Porcupine Health Unit of their operation, provision of additional services, and reconstruction or renovation at least 15 days prior.

Any person who wishes to open, provide additional services, or renovate a premises is required to complete and submit a Planning a Personal Service Settings? form and include a detailed floor plan.

Special Events

If you are planning to operate at a special event in the community, you must notify the Porcupine Health Unit no later than 15 days prior to the event. Applications can be emailed to inspections@porcupinehu.on.ca or dropped off at your local health unit office.

Special Event Application- Personal Service Settings (link to application)

Your public health inspector will review your application and explain the health regulations that are in place to help prevent any infection control issues and ensure compliance with Ontario Regulation 136: Personal Service Settings. We look forward to working with you toward a safe and successful event.

Resources for Personal Service Setting Operators

Infection Prevention and Control Guidebook

Personal service workers can request their copy of this great resource from their Public Health Inspector or by contacting their local office of the Porcupine Health Unit.

Personal Service Settings E-Learning Course

Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has a Personal Service Settings E-Learning Course offered as an online e-learning course. The online course is offered FREE of charge. Upon completion, participants will receive a certificate of completion that lists all completed modules. At this time, the course is only available in English and Vietnamese. A notice will be shared with personal service setting operators once the course is made available in French.

Additional resources, including disinfectant tables and signage, can be found on Public Health Ontario’s website (available in English only).

Any questions or concerns from the public are welcome and can be directed to a Public Health Inspector at 705-267-1181 or 1-800-461-1818 and by email at inspections@porcupinehu.on.ca.