Mid-pedicure the yacht takes a wake, your hand slips, and the guest's toe is bleeding. It is a small nick. It is also blood, on your implements, in a confined space, with another guest booked in forty minutes. What happens next is the difference between a professional and a genuine health incident.
Why This Is Serious
Nail and beauty tools break skin. Blood and body fluids carry blood-borne viruses — hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV — and dirty implements also transmit bacterial and fungal infection between guests. Cross-infection onboard spreads through a small closed population fast, and it is entirely preventable.
The Hierarchy
| Level | What it means | Use for |
|---|---|---|
| Single-use | Used once, then binned | Files, buffers, orange sticks, spatulas, pads, gloves — the gold standard |
| Sterilisation | Destroys all micro-organisms including spores (autoclave) | Any implement that can break skin: nippers, cuticle pushers, scissors |
| Disinfection | Kills most pathogens, not all spores | Non-porous tools, surfaces, bowls, the lamp, the trolley |
| Sanitising / cleaning | Reduces numbers; removes visible soil | Always the first step — you cannot sterilise a dirty tool |
Single-use where possible is the practical yacht answer: files and buffers are porous, cannot be properly sterilised, and are cheap. Bin them or label them to one guest.
The Routine
- Wash hands before and after every guest. Gloves where there is any risk of fluid contact — gloves are not a substitute for handwashing.
- Clean, then disinfect, then sterilise metal implements. An autoclave is the standard; if you have none, you are limited to single-use and to a proper chemical disinfectant, and you should say so honestly.
- Store sterilised implements sealed and dry until use.
- Disinfect the surfaces, bowls, trolley and the lamp between guests, and change the barrier.
- Foot spa or bowl: drain, clean, disinfect every single time. Standing warm water grows bacteria.
If You Draw Blood
- Stop the treatment.
- Put on gloves. Ask the guest to apply pressure with a clean dressing.
- Do not carry on with the same implements.
- Dispose of contaminated single-use items in a sealed bag; sharps to a sharps container.
- Clean the area, then disinfect it with a product effective against blood-borne viruses.
- Report it — to the chief stew, and to whoever holds medical responsibility onboard. Record it in the medical log and on the guest's record card.
- Advise the guest to watch for signs of infection and to see a doctor if any appear.
Never hide a cut. A concealed injury that becomes an infected toe on a charter is a far bigger problem than an honest apology on the day.
Your Own Protection
Hepatitis B vaccination is standard for people who handle blood in a professional context. Cover your own cuts with a waterproof dressing before you work.
Onboard Notes
- Single-use where possible. Files and buffers do not get reused between guests.
- Clean before you disinfect; disinfect before you sterilise.
- Drawn blood: stop, glove, dispose safely, disinfect, report, log.
- No sterilisation capability means no skin-breaking work. Be honest about it.
- Preparatory study only. Nothing here qualifies you to treat a guest. Beauty and nail work requires an accredited vocational qualification and professional insurance.