Even the nicest salons can practice less-than-stellar cleanliness procedures.
Love a good pedi?
fortuitum, an icky bug that can cause scarring boils on the skin.
Westend61 / Marco Govel
Fungal infections are another potential problem.
What’s more, recent media reports have uncovered serious salon infection issues.
A D.C. mansuffered a life-threatening bacterial infectionfrom a nail instrument puncture, and nearly lost a leg.
Even scarier, the potential, while considered really rare, is there for blood-borne diseases to be spread.
Are you now so freaked out you’reswearing off salon visits forever?
No need to neglect your nailsbut you should be proactive about making sure you’re safe.
Does the salon look spotless?
Clean surfaces are indicative of good hygiene practices overall.
Head into the ladies' room and check that it looks nice and sanitary.
You should also check the dates on magazine stacks, to see how often customer reading material gets tossed.
Old magazines are a mecca for germs if lots of fingers are flipping through their pages.
Are they wearing neat clothing?
(While youre peeping, check out her storage traythe tools inside should look totally clean, too.)
An alert technician is much less likely to do unhygienic work, or accidentally cut a customer mid-manicure.
“A lot of micro organisms are lingering within the jets of the whirlpool.
Pipe-free whirlpools are better.”
Some salons still reuse things like metal files, so you want to request single-use files and buffers.
Watch to ensure all disposable tools are thrown away immediately.
Bring your own instruments.
This eliminates any danger of getting an infection from a prior customer.
Another good practice: “Clean your own instruments at home beforehand, too.
Don’t shave your legs for 24 hours before your treatment.
Even if you dont think you nicked yourself, microscopic cuts can be easy entry points for infection.
Don’t be afraid to voice your concerns.
Then find another salon.
There are many great facilities out there that put their customers' health first.
