Nails, Smells, Profits And The Risks To Public Health

In an industry that is not regulated, the so-called beauty and nail salons springing up in every high street and shopping centre can be a risk to public heath. Think products in beauty and nail salons are safe? Well, think again!

Here, a trained and experienced beauty industry worker writing under the pseudonym, Tina Lawrence; gives Unionsafety the low down on the risks to the health and welfare of both employees and customers. Her message? Think twice before parting with your money, you may end up with far more than you bargained for:

Keeping in the spirit of Halloween, I’ll start with an analogy. You know when you look at a Halloween costume and you think “That chainsaw looks like a chainsaw but it doesn’t function as one”? Well the same applies to the masks that these employees are wearing.

Sure, they may look sturdy and clinical but I can tell you with confidence that although they may look the part, I promise you that’s as far as it goes. I know this because when I was training as a Nail Technician a few years ago I walked into class and complained of the stink (the one you’ll have witnessed if you walk past some nail bars).

The tutor gave me a mask to wear (maybe in good faith, maybe believing in a placebo effect, maybe trying to fob me off. Who knows) and low and behold, that intoxicating chemical smell that swirls around your nose and throat still didn’t go away.

Sure, it may have meant that I was exposed to less dust when filing a nail extension but I suspect the impact was marginal. Besides, the mask is very uncomfortable to breath through for any prolonged period of time (bearing in mind that doing just one good set of nails should take no less than forty five minutes).

If you are NVQ (or the recognised equivalent) trained as a nail technician, you will know the following:

*A mask does not offer any real protection from fumes and dust if carrying out treatments for prolonged and frequent periods of time.

*In all fairness, you get the fumes when working with acrylic. You don’t get them when working with gel. If you work with acrylic you need to be willing to work in a well ventilated room where a window is open or you have overhead filters. If you can’t get hold of these you should be willing to invest in a quality gel product where such fumes won’t be encountered.

The problem is that in my experience and observation, a lot of employers are either unwilling to invest in appropriate ventilation if they want to work with acrylic and if they do decide to use gel to avoid the fumes in the first place then buying cheap brands on ebay imported from South East Asia do not have the product formulations that come with health and safety in mind (which is why a lot of people have allergies to gel products. The only brand that is hypoallergenic is CND (Creative Nail Design, the makers of Shellac) but that is one of the higher end products and the price of such investment comes with it).

Which, brings me to my next point. The use of the word Shellac.

This is an old one now amongst people in the industry. Long story short is that training and investing in the official product is costly and it requires you to charge prices that, sadly, are just not competitive against cowboys and consumers who know no different.

My point is that if you see a set of Shellac nails being offered for much less that £12 to £15, it is reasonably likely that it is a young person just starting out in business who needs to learn or the case may be that, like many uneducated people in the industry, they will call any old gel product Shellac and charge a low price for the service to entice people in.

As a consumer, you should know that no kind of bargain is worth risking one hell of an allergy for. Added to that, the number of untrained people carrying out nail treatments and using a drill overzealously on the natural nail is also common and indeed, very dangerous.

It’s a long winded story in many ways but the point is, if you think that your beauty treatment is a bargain, you need to ask yourself about the corners that are being cut to the product and service, and the possible health implications.

Not only this but there are unethical things that could be happening from an employer/employee perspective also. If they can charge next to nothing for a set of nails using gel and/or acrylic, I would advise that if you’re paying much less than £15 for the service then you have to ask yourself, how are they making enough money to even pay their employees properly.

As well as looking after your own interests, there is an element of needing to think about whether you are sponsoring an employer that functions ethically. I shall write about this more in another instalment.

If you walk past somewhere where employees are wearing masks and the smell from the establishment knocks you back within seconds, avoid it. If someone says they are using shellac at a cheap price, avoid it. If someone goes near your natural nails with a drill or you feel any pain during your treatment, walk away. Contrary to a lot of ignorance surrounding a nail treatment, it should not hurt. It should not be unpleasant.

I reiterate that, both with regards to customers and employees.

Look for the signs people, they are (literally!) there.

Source: Unionsafety

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