It’s time to get smart about your nail salon choices

Welcome to BeautyTech.Info Blog. We are dedicated group of Nail Professionals who’s goal is to educate those of you who currently patronize nail salons, are thinking about getting nail services, or even had a bad experience you want to understand or learn more about.

This is the real deal from the people who use these products all the time, the chemists who research and devolope these products. If these products were unsafe do you really think companies like CND, OPI, Essie and more would risk their entire empire using products that were unsafe? Yes there are some nail products being sold and used that are NOT safe. As you will learn in the artcles in this blog, generally speaking the operators (I hesitate to call them nail technicians) and shops (I also hesitate again about calling these places salons or spas) that use these products remove the labels or put the products in unmarked jars and bottles.

The first question you need to ask is, “What brand are you using?”. If they can not tell you – leave. The second question is, “How do you sanitize and disinfect your implments and spa tubs?” (if they have any) – if they can’t tell you – LEAVE. If you continue the appointment and the operator causes you pain – LEAVE. Period – no other comment, just leave.

 

In response to “Fitness Magazine” Oct 2010 issue pg 43

Hello!

I am writing to ask that you consider printing fact based information on nail services vs. fear based information :o)  It is important to understand that UV-B is considered by many to be more potentially damaging to skin than UV-A, which is why nail lamps rely on special UV bulbs that contain internal coatings designed to filter out most of the UV-B light.  A person receiving nail services involving a UV lamp is exposed to more harmful UV rays walking to their car than in a nail service.  I do not see any of the so called doctors recommending that people avoid these nail services also recommending that they wear gloves while driving, which exposes them to the more harmful spectrum of UV rays.  Nor do any of the researchers have a control group that wears gloves at all times with the exception of being in the UV lamp which makes the study itself flawed and biased. It is important that the public make educated decisions about safe nail care, but it is detrimental when the actual truth is rarely provided.  Please feel free to peruse this important FACT based study done by an independent research lab on UV lamps in nail services.

 http://www.schoonscientific.com/downloads/UV-Nail-Lamp-Facts.pdf

Just say NO to pain with your nail services!

Nail with Damage from Electric File

So, you’re sitting at a manicure station having your nails done, and your nail tech picks up the electric file (or drill, as some people think of the ubiquitous nail salon tool) and goes to work on your fill. Everything’s peachy until suddenly– IT BURNS, PRECIOUSSSS! IT BURNS! Fire shoots through your hand and up your arm from your abused nail plate, and your immediate reaction is pure reflex: you pull your hand away.

Right? You don’t just sit there and let that “nail tech” keep hurting you, do you?

Unfortunately, too many women are allowing exactly that. I see the proof every time I work on a new client, a refugee from a non-standard salon, and see three, four, or more “rings of fire” on the nail plate—you know, those red, half-circle lines that show through your pretty pink and white enhancements?  Each one of those lines marks the 30 minutes or so that you sat, willingly, while an unskilled “nail tech” inflicted burning pain on your poor digits. And I have to ask, WHY?

In Response to “16 deaths per day”

In Response to “16 deaths per day”, “Want a Toxic Manicure”, “Safer Salons for San Francisco”, “Why I Stopped getting Manicures”, Sick for Beauty, Protect Nail Salon Workers” and more listed at  http://16deathsperday.com/press/ 

Should you come across this article or choose to view it, you need to be aware of some REAL facts surrounding this “press”. The “organization” behind this particular blog is NOT interested in prmoting the beauty salon/nail salon industry. The information presented is full of falsehoods, half-truths and misleading information. They are only concerned about their organization.

Responses from highly respectible sources in the professional beauty industry.

Do UV Nail Lamps Emit Unsafe Levels of Ultraviolet Light?

Three Experts Rebut Claims that UV Nail Lamps are Unsafe for Skin..

Plain and simple – NO – these lamps used in the salon to cure gel nails are NOT harmful to the salon patrons. Several very recent reports have shown up online, on TV, in your local newspaper discussing the dangers of the UV nail lamps. These reports are full of doom and gloom, trying to persuade you to believe UV nail lamps are causing skin cancer left and right around the world. These reports are simply not true, their information presented was either biased or outright in error.

Please take the time to read this very thorough report presented by 3 of the leading scientists to the nail section of the beauty industry to hear what they have to say.

http://tiny.cc/lyb45

I just got those special “Solar Nails”

Well maybe you did not get anything as special as the nail technician lead you and your wallet to belive. This article is extremely long, but very important for every woman and man who patronizes salons for nail services to read. If you have read some of the news articles here or at www.beautytech.INFO about the damage done, in some cases permanent, to consumers, you owe it to your health to be more informed. Nail services is not simply a beautification process, it involves the use of chemicals which could cause you harm if not properly applied.

I got Acylic or Gel nails – now what??

Artificial Nail Extensions involves a trade-off:
In exchange for having consistently beautiful nails, you must visit your nail technician regularly. You must also use greater care to protect your nails from damage or breakage more carefully than you did in the past before you had the nails applied.

Many people receiving Artificial Nails have ideas about the care, maintenance and possible damage to your natural nails. Your nail technician has been carefully trained in all aspects of nail care. The information provided here should be discussed with your personal technician.

HAIRDRESSERS GET CLIPPED BY CLIENTS WHO DON’T TIP

Tipping Guidelines from Dear Abby

DEAR ABBY: I’m writing in response to “Curly in Chesterfield, Mo.,” who asked for guidelines on tipping hairdressers who rent their stations and keep 100 percent of the fees they charge. “Curly” was of the opinion that tipping is only for people who work on commission.

Are nail drills safe?

Yes. As with any type of machine, nail drills are safe when properly used by trained technicians. It is not the machine that is dangerous, it is the improper use by the operator that creates a potential for damage. There are electric file training classes available in each state for licensed professionals, and some states are now requiring a certificate of completion of an electric file course before a technician is permitted to use one in a salon.

Is my nail technician sanitary?

A professional nail technician should demonstrate to you during services that they are providing client protection to you. They should explain what steps they take to sanitize and disinfect their implements, and what type of disinfecting products they use.

Should I be Concerned About Acetone?

The long and short of it is NO. Acetone is one of the safest chemical professionals use in the salon. There have been a few “scare tactic” & sensationalism news reports to the contrary recently.

Here is what an expert in the professional nail industry has to say in response:

Totally scientifically misleading and unfair. The fact that Acetone dissolves styrofoam  [as Dr. Oz demonstrated on his TV show recentl] has no bearing on whether it harms nails or not, because they are different substances. Water dissolves sugar easily, but does it dissolve your nails? Of course not. Really, it’s a completely false comparison.

Acetone is the safest and greenest of all the polish removers; all the substitutes either produce significantly more photochemical smog (eg, ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone), or, are more dangerous to people (eg, methyl acetate).

Facts About Salon Nail Polish Products For Consumers

Prepared by
Nail Manufacturers Council
of the Professional Beauty Association

What Is In Salon Nail Polish Products?

Brands compete with each other to make the best polish, with the right balance of ingredients to be safe, good-looking and long-lasting. The specific formulas are guarded as trade secrets, but they all are combinations of:

What to Look Out for in a Nail Salon

INTA/NMC Consumer Guidelines

Watch for any of the following in a salon. If you see any of the following violations of these INTA/NMC cleanliness criteria, we recommend that you leave the salon and find another place for service or insist they follow these procedures.

In Response to UV Dryers at Nail Salons May Cause Aging, Skin Cancer

Harold Shipman who is credited with 250 plus kills was a Doctor (General practitioner) who was probably the worst serial killer in the world.

Does this mean that all doctors are evil and we should not believe what they say? No. On the flip side of that some doctors prefer to practice in fear rather than facts. Not fear of them as a person, but fear of things that they can sensationalize to get their 15 minutes of fame.

Response to: Nail Salon Cancer Warning?

In response to: Nail Salon Cancer Warning? – Video – FoxNews.com

Dear Dr. Manny,

I watched your report on “Nail Salon Cancer Warning” and would like to inform you about how incredibly misleading it was. A client placing her hands and nails under a UV lamp to dry polish presents a extremely doubtful, minimal risk of developing skin cancer. Of course, the title of the report is “Nail Salon Cancer Warning” which would scare people into watching because they get their nails done, only to find out, that the report is pure speculation. The doctor in your report states that at 2-3 minutes per visit, twice a month, over a 10 year period presents risk. I’d like to point out that over the next ten years there is a risk I could be hit in the head and killed by falling space debris, but obviously, not likely.

This story was not factual and when you extrapolate numbers over a 10 year period numbers can be manipulated in any direction the person chooses.

Tell me about Gel Manicures

Some salons advertise Gel manicures and charge extra for them when indeed all you are getting acrylics or a “glue & powder application” with a UV dried top coat. See: What’s the Difference? for more information. http://beautytech.info/qa/qa11.htm

When the application is complete each nail is wiped with a cleanser solution, and you are done. Your nails are rock hard, shiny and you can immediately dig in your purse for your cars keys!

The term Gel Manicure has been hanging around the nail salon for several years now, but in 2010 the term took on a slightly different meaning.