Most of them, with changes. The risk to a pregnant therapist is almost never the treatment itself — it's cumulative chemical exposure, prolonged standing, and poor ventilation. UK law expects you to assess and reduce those, not to stop working.
The legal bit. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (reg 16), once an employee tells you in writing she is pregnant, you must review the salon risk assessment specifically for her. If a risk can't be removed, the order is: alter her hours or conditions, then offer suitable alternative work, then suspend on full pay (Employment Rights Act 1996, s.66–68). Skipping straight to "take unpaid leave" is unlawful. Self-employed or chair-renting? No employer owes you that duty — you assess yourself, but COSHH still governs the products you handle.
Treatments to change first:
- Keratin / Brazilian blow-dry. The clearest one to stop. Many formulations release formaldehyde when heated, and HSE has enforced against salons over it. Reassign these.
- Acrylic and gel enhancements. Monomer vapour and filing dust. Use a source-capture extraction table, not a desk fan, or move to non-enhancement services.
- Spray tanning. DHA has not been assessed as safe to inhale. Don't perform without a properly extracted booth and a fitted mask.
- Colour and lightening. Fine with good ventilation, gloves, and no decanting of powder bleach in a closed room.
Also plan for: shorter runs of standing, seated work where possible, more frequent breaks and toilet access, and no lifting stock or wheeling heavy trolleys alone. Massage and body work are usually the first services a therapist drops in the third trimester on physical grounds.
Get the reassessment in writing and date it. If she later raises a grievance, the document is your evidence.
Every client, remembered — safely.
SAY-OS keeps each client's contraindications, allergies and history in one place, and flags them at booking — so the right call happens before they're in the chair.
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