The Disadvantages of a Manicurist

Know the risks before your next visit to a nail salon.

Going to a manicurist is a ritual for many women. The pampering can be downright addicting, and nothing compares to seeing your short, bitten nails transformed into glistening talons. There's more to nail salon visits than pampering and a nice color, though. You could be putting your wallet and your health at risk.

Cost

Getting your nails done once a week at $15 a pop may not seem like much, but that's $60 a month, which adds up to $720 a year. If you pay for artificial nails, you may be spending more than $1,000 a year. That kind of money will buy music lessons for a child, a new laptop or a luxury weekend vacation.

Toxic Fumes

That distinctive aroma that nail salons have is a mixture of chemicals, some of which are known to be toxic. Two of these chemicals are benzene and methyl chloride, which have been shown to cause breast tumors in laboratory animals, according to The Stanford Report. Other chemicals include acetone, which can damage the central nervous system, and toluene, which has been linked to liver and kidney damage.

An Asian Health Services study reports that 62 percent of women develop a health problem after they start working in a nail salon. Whether breathing fumes occasionally causes health problems remains to be seen, but it just might be a risk you want to avoid.

Risk of Infection

The disinfectant that nail salons use may not kill every harmful microorganism, according to the Langone Medical Center at New York University. You don't know what health problems the client before you has. Fungal infections and warts are fairly common and can spread easily. Nicks and cuts are common in salons and can lead to infection by Hepatitis B and C viruses.

Damage to the Nail

Having your nails done by a manicurist can cause them to become misshapen due to infection---not the effect you're looking for. Both the application of artificial nails and regular manicures can cause the bed of the nails to become infected. The risk arises whenever cuticles are pushed back too far, the cuticle is cut or another customer passes on an infection to you.

References

• Stanford Report: Survey Takes Snapshot of Nail Salon Workers
• University of Massachusetts Lowell: Research Exposes Health Hazards in Nail Salons--Roelofs Leads Study with Viet-AID
• New York University--Langone Medical Center: Can Salons Spread Infection?
• University of Michigan Health System: Fungal Nail Infections