A lot recently, there have been lots of talk on social media and a host of other platforms about the possibility of a person getting the hepatitis infection or some other dangerous disease from getting an ordinary manicure.
As a result of this disturbing topic going viral, many people have decided to file their nails and apply polish by themselves, while some others have decided to brave it out and continue visiting nail salons that they assume can they can trust with their manicure.
As expected, the truth about this issue has found its place somewhere in the middle – you just have to find a nail salon where the staff or owner is not only concerned about how beautiful their work appears at the end but are also dedicated to following every safety rule necessary.
I have gone around town to find out what conditions are right for getting a good and safe manicure and also when you should walk away right at the entrance of the saloon so that you do not risk getting an infection.
1. Watch out to see if a bag with tools is opened in front of you
The proper sterilisation of manicure tools is usually done in a papercraft package in many countries, and the technician must open this package in front of you.
The bag should possess a tiny square indicator which should be grey colour initially and turn light-brown tinge or dark-pink after sterilising (the colour would be determined by the method of sterilisation which is either done by dry air or by steam).
This cleaning the technician does is how they prove to you that their equipment is cleaned from any kind of bacteria left over from previous customers are now very safe for use.
2. Wooden sticks and napkins should be disposed after one use
All consumables used for manicure should always be disposable. That is a major reason why pay close attention to how the technicians make use of wooden sticks and napkins in the nail salon.
All used sticks should be tossed into a particular waste container, and preferably they should be broken in half before it is disposed.
Sometimes, because a salon is trying to save money, they would put an ordinary towel under the client’s hands so that they can just shake off the dirt when they are done and reuse it for the next person. This is a violation of safety rules, but most people are not aware. Each customer should be attended to with a special napkin.
3. A good manicure should not be done in less than one hour
Before you get your nails done, make sure to ask the technician how much time it will take for them to get the procedure performed. If you get a response of about 30 minutes or even 45 minutes, you should be worried about your safety and go hunting for a better nail salon.
A classic manicure is meant to take about an hour, with 40 minutes taken up by the shaping of the nails and the removal of cuticles and another 20 minutes dedicated to polishing the nails( carefully degreasing, applying the base colour, apply two layers of nail polish and finally a fixer).
However, the process can be done faster but the chance that our manicure won’t appear so great after a week is high. A manicure done correctly should stay on your nails and still look great even when your nails start to grow.
4. A good nail technician will not polish your nails with cheap nail polish
If you ever see an offer for a cheap manicure, always make sure to ask the technician what quality or kind of materials they will be using.
A base on which anybody applies a cheap nail polish can make your nails over dry. Due to the high acid content of these products, it can soak deep into your nails and plate and cause damage to its structure.
When that happens, you may notice that your nails will begin to stratify after a few of these procedures. To avoid any kind of damage to a client’s nails, all products used in a nail salon should be high grade and worth the customer’s money.
5. Both the technician and the client must be protected from exposure to chemicals
Many of the materials used for nail modelling come with a strong and unpleasant smell not forgetting the fact that the acrylic dust that is generated from the filing off of old layers of coating can cause damage to your health.
For this reason, the table used for manicure must be equipped with a ventilation system. Also, the entire salon should have a common exhaust woodworking.
While you sit and wait for your turn, pay attention to how the technicians attend to the other customers – it is vital that they keep all chemicals far enough from their clients and also put on a respiratory mask.
6. The nail technician should only perform manicures on healthy nail and hands plates
If you notice that a technician isn’t paying any attention to visible nail disease or small scratches on the skin of your hands, you should be very alarmed and even upset.
Technicians who have a reputation to protect will never take the risk of working with injured hands. When they notice that a potential client has any form of injury they would advise such a client to get treatment before they can proceed to offer their services.
It is best to refuse the services of a nail salon where no attention is paid to the health of a client’s nails before services are rendered no matter how affordable you think their services are.
The reason you should be bothered is that no matter how sterilized their utensils are, there is a high chance of getting a fungus infection or some other kind of unpleasant disease.
7. Technicians must be able to work with chemicals and also use their tools professionally
Trimmers, scrappers, various kinds or cutters, synthetic polymers, acetone, and acrylates and so many other things are used for the beautification of your nails. It is important to ensure that the technicians in the nail salons you patronise can handle these tools confidently.
If you are uncomfortable with how a technician handles a particular tool, never be too shy to ask for a certificate to prove that the technician attended a training on how to handle the tools he or she works with.
Also, all the workers in a salon should get instructed by the manufacturer of the products they use on how to work safely with the chemical materials. Also, before you start using any chemical product, it is important to test for allergic reactions.
8. A technician must be able to organize and maintain a neat and well-arranged workspace
The reputation of any nail salon is partly a reflection of the organization of their manicure table and the neatness of their staff. Before any technician attends to a new customer, they must dispose of all used gloves and clear their work area of all forms of dirt.
After the cleaning, the technician should proceed to wash both hands properly with an anti-bacterial soap before attending to the next client. This is not about paranoia but taking care to make sure infectious disease stay at bay.
9. There should be no pile of old magazines stored in a salon
This might sound unexpected, but magazines that have been given to clients to look at over a long period could be home to a large number of bacteria.
Therefore it is advised that these magazines are disposed off after the expiration of an issue. Or to be safer, go to the salon with your own book or magazine.
