12 Things Your Nail Salon doesn't Want You to Know Part1
Your nails create big beauty salon business. Spending anywhere from $10 - $45 a pop for a manicure and $15 - $50 for a pedicure (not
including tip), your weekly or monthly salon visits are costing you precious pampering dollars. No wonder it's a six billion dollar a year
industry.
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to see the 11 things your nail salon doesn't want you to know now.
As you can imagine, the money you spend on these little luxuries is very important to the salon industry, meaning they will do whatever it
takes to keep you coming back for more. While sometimes "whatever it takes" is going above and beyond excellent service,
cleanliness and technique, it can also mean cutting corners and deceiving the salon layman in order to keep costs down and business booming.
And not to totally scare you, but what's supposed to be a luxurious treat, can sometimes turn into your worst nightmare -- think skin eating
diseases and infections. While yes, millions of women get manicures each year and don't experience any serious or life-threatening side
effects, you'd be naive to believe that it could never happen to you. Nail salons that have been insufficiently cleaned or performed bad
sanitization practices, as well as ones with inadequately trained nail technicians, could be a breeding ground for bacteria and a dangerous
place for you to "unwind."
This is why we went straight to the pros who know -- nail technicians and a podiatrist in order to uncover the secrets nail salons don't
want you to know. Read on to learn how to save money at the salon, your nails and possibly your life.
You are always at riskPodiatrist Dr. Robert Spalding, author of "Death by Pedicure," states that "at this
time, an estimated one million unsuspecting clients walk out of their chosen salon with infections -- bacterial, viral and fungal." And
no matter which salon you go to, there is always a risk of infection. He claims that in his research "75 percent of salons in the
United States are not following their own state protocols for disinfections," which includes not mixing their disinfectant solutions
properly on a daily basis, not soaking their instruments appropriately, and using counterfeit products to reduce costs (for example Windex
substituted for Barbicide), says the doctor. And the problem is that there is no way to really "verify an instrument has been properly
soaked and sterilized," without watching the process.
They don't turn customers awayLike most businesses, most nail salons won't turn away paying customers, which means that people who are sick,
have nail infections or foot fungus are being worked on next to you instead of being referred to an appropriate medical professional.
Dr. Spalding says that the greatest danger of the nail salon is "The transmission of infection from one client to another." And
with "millions of people whose immune systems are compromised by diabetes, HIV, cancer, hepatitis and other infective organisms"
booking services offered in nail salons, many are dangerously susceptible to infection, warns the doctor.
They swap and dilute bottlesIn her long history as a nail technician, celebrity manicurist Jin Soon Choi, owner of Jin Soon Natural Hand and
Foot Spas in New York City, says she has heard of many salons filling expensive lotion bottles with a cheap generic lotion. That way the
salons can charge you more for the manicure by claiming to use prestige products, but in reality are just deceiving you.
Similarly, she says that some salons will dilute nail polish bottles that have become clumpy from old age or from too much air exposure with
nail polish remover. This action compromises the quality of the polish, which will make the formula chip easier once on your nails. To
ensure the life of your color and to protect any possible germ.
Just because there is no blood, doesn't mean you haven't been cut"Breaks in the skin can be microscopic or highly visible," says
Dr. Spalding. They can either come in with the client via "cuts, scratches, hangnails, bitten nails, insect bites, paper cuts, split
cuticles -- or be created in the salon," he says. "Nail techs using callus-cutting tools and nail nippers, files, cuticle pushers,
and electric burrs and drills, can and do scratch and nick skin," sometimes drawing blood and sometimes not. But just because no blood
is visible, doesn't mean these "portals of entry" aren't susceptible to infective organisms, the doctor advises.
If you've ever had your nails filed and it momentarily feels "too hot in the corner for even a second," then you've had the
surface layer of your skin broken -- leaving it open for infection.
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