Yes — but only after checking every product you plan to use, because nut-derived ingredients are everywhere in salon products and rarely obvious on the label. Sweet almond oil is the base of most massage blends. Shea and argan are tree-nut derived. Macadamia, walnut shell (a common exfoliant grit), and coconut appear in scrubs, hair masks, and cuticle oils.
The working rules UK therapists follow:
- Ask at consultation, not at the couch. "Any allergies, including food allergies?" — clients with nut allergies often don't connect them to beauty products, so ask directly whether nuts are a problem.
- Check INCI names, not marketing names. Almond oil appears as *Prunus amygdalus dulcis*, argan as *Argania spinosa*, macadamia as *Macadamia ternifolia*. If you can't confirm an ingredient list, don't use the product on that client.
- Severity matters. For a client who carries an adrenaline pen, treat this as a hard contraindication for any nut-derived product — including airborne exposure from scrubs being used at the next station. Know where their pen is before you start.
- Refined vs. unrefined is not a safe distinction to make yourself. Some highly refined oils contain negligible protein, but that is the client's and their GP's call, never yours.
If a reaction starts mid-treatment — itching, swelling, wheezing — stop, remove product with plain water, and call 999 if breathing is affected. Then record what happened and which product was involved.
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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