Will Your Salon Pass the Inspection?

Will Your Salon Pass the Inspection?

Manicures and pedicures are the most popular services in beauty salons across the country. Recently, 20/20, Good Morning America, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Oz, and Redbook Magazine sent alarming messages regarding safety and precaution when choosing professional salons and spas for those luxurious, and beneficial for feet health, services. I found two articles in my nail magazines dated May 2013, and November 2013, which clearly verbalize what are mandatory rules to ensure safety of the clients. Below are a few common violations listed in the May 2013 article.

Violation number one:

 Employing unlicensed individuals. This is mandatory that all beauty salon employees, esthetician, massage therapists, nail technicians and hair dressers must carry specific license that must be renewed every 2 years. License must be displayed by the technician’s station, some states require passport picture attached to the license. Nail technician can do manicures, pedicures, leg massage from foot to knee, is also entitles to wax leg from foot to knee. Other waxing and massages are not within the scope of their practice.

Violation number two:

Dirt or debris build up throughout the salon and other indication the salon isn’t clean and in good repair. Very often checking the bathroom, gives indication of how clean the salon is.

Violation number three:

Failure to fully clean the foot baths.

Let me quote on that subject from an article in a November 2013 nail magazine:

Whirlpool pedicure spa: Clean all visible debris from the spa with soap and disinfected brush, rinse with water, refill with clean water and appropriate amount of hospital grade disinfectant, circulate for 10 minutes, drain, rinse with water, and dry with paper towel.

Pipe-less pedicure spa: Drain water, remove impeller, foot plate, and other removable parts. Scrub with soap, water and disinfected brush. Rinse and replace removable parts, refill basin with water and hospital grade disinfectant and recirculate for 10 minutes. Drain, and wipe dry with a paper towel.

Pedicure bowl (with no jets, impeller, etc.): Drain water and clean all inside surfaces with soap, water, and disinfected brush. Rinse and refill with water. Add proper amount of hospital-grade disinfectant and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse, and dry with a paper towel.

Many states require also display of foot bath cleaning logos. Some salons like Renu Day Spa, chose simple foot bath with disposable liners, the most popular system on the market is Belava.

Violation number four:

Multi – use implements and tools not properly cleaned and disinfected prior to use on a client. There are two kinds of tools commonly used in nail salons, non-porous (made of hard material or metal, plastic, glass) and porous (like cloth or wood). Non porous are usually items are generally multi use but in between uses you must clean and disinfect them. Some states require mandatory use of autoclave to complete the disinfecting procedure. Renu has one.

Violation number five:

Re-using one use items. Porous items like nail files, manicure sticks, and wax sticks, cannot be fully clean or disinfected. Therefore, they must be disposed after every single use, preferably in a covered bin.

Violation number six:

Technicians failing to wash their hands or having client washing her/his hands before the service. This is one we’ve seen too many salons guilty of. The manicure or pedicure soak as the first step of the service does not count as hand washing. At Renu we sanitize our client’s hands and feet with state approved sanitizer and the technicians wear single use gloves, those are latex free.

Violation number seven:

Unlabeled containers.

Violation number eight:

Possession of MMA. In the early 1970’s, MMA (methyl methacrylate) monomer was the main ingredient in many acrylic liquids. However, in 1978, the FDA found MMA to be unsafe to use in nail products due to the variety of health risks (including skin allergy and permanent loss of the nail plates) and because the resulting enhancements are too rigid (which can cause the natural nail to break). Plus, MMA-based enhancements care so difficult to remove that their removal generally results in damage to the client’s nails plates. So why, more than three decades later, are some salons still using MMA? In general, it’s because these unsafe products are cheaper!

We hear very often about “three-free” nail polishes. Most of the reputable brands on the market like Essie, OPI, CND, and Zoya, are not only “three but “five free”; those ingredients can cause abnormal development in babies.

Formaldehyde, leading to cancer. Toluene, leading to cancer and reproductive problems. Camphor, knowing to cause irritations. Formaldehyde resin.

So when you compare prices try to find out what you pay for. You get what you pay for! Sometimes you don’t even get what you pay for.