[Bacterial contamination of hair washing liquids]

To determine the extent of contamination by bacteria of hair-washing shampoo and rinse used professionally at barber shops and hair-dressing saloons, quantitative isolation of bacteria were performed by using a total of 39 samples of shampoo and rinse fluid obtained from 17 facilities. It was found that a maximal number of 1 x 10(7)/ml colony forming units/ml of bacteria were isolated from 60.7% (17 out of 28 samples) of the shampoo and 45.5% (5 out of 11) of the rinse. Gram-negative bacilli were the predominant strains (87.9%) involved in bacterial contamination and the major isolates were Serratia marcescens (43.3%, most frequently isolated), Pseudomonas cepacia, P. fluorescens, P. aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae, all which are widely recognized as nosocomial-infection causing pathogens. These results indicate hair-washing liquids for professional use are contaminated with a great number of gram-negative bacteria, being possible causes of nosocomial infections, and much attention should be paid to the sanitation and cleanliness of the shampoo and rinse for hair-washing.