Edited by: TJVNews.com
Now that summer has finally arrived and we are either heading off on vacation or sending the kids off to camp or just relaxing at home, we all want to spruce up our appearance. After all, summer calls for lighter and more breathable footwear such as open toed sandals or others of that genre.
In order to keep our feet well-groomed and prepared for the public gaze, many of us opt to have a pedicure at our local nail salon or spa.
The problem is, however, that not all nail salons and pedicurists are the same. While looking and feeling good is beyond wonderful, one must take into account health and hygienic concerns. If we’ve learned anything over the last two years in dealing with the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic it is that it is better to avoid health hazards than to casually dismiss them.
According to experts, when you opt to have a pedicure done, the pedicurist needs to take several measures to ensure that sanitary conditions are upheld.
The first matter concerns the foot basin that the pedicurist uses. According to a 2018 article on Insider.com, Oprah Winfrey’s personal pedicurist, Gloria Williams told the publication that if a customer walks in and the technician/pedicurist places their feet in a water basin that is not lined, that could very well be a tell-tale sign of the establishment’s general lack of hygienic concern.
Williams told Insider that lining the basin protects your feet from cross-contamination. Plus, it’s also required by law in most states. If you see an unlined foot basin, maybe it’s best to go to a different place, according to the Insider report.
According to an article on the footbypody.com web site, foot baths, when not properly cleaned with disinfectant between customers, can be an easy way for bacterial and fungal infections to spread. If you have any cuts or grazes on your feet or lower legs you should be especially careful not to let them come into contact with the potentially dirty water.
Customers at salons often see their technician taking their nail tools such as clippers and nippers from a jar of blue sanitizing solution. According to Williams that could also be a bad sign. She added that the tools should “come from a packet – a sanitized packet.”
If a customer is suffering from a fungal infection, it can spread throughout a salon’s clientele by the use of the same equipment across customers when filing and shaping one’s nails. The footbypody.com web site advises that one can avoid these risks by bringing along with own tools to the salon or checking they come from a new sealed pack.
Another matter to keep an eye out for according to the footbypody.com site are untrained beauticians. They can be unaware of the dangers of poorly trimmed toenails and can actually increase your chances of developing ingrown toenails if they trim the nails too short or shape them incorrectly.
In terms of sanitization, Williams also told Insider that If someone at the spa or salon drops a towel on the floor and still uses it anyway, that is a major red flag that this place does not adhere to basic standards of cleanliness.
As for how the technician foes about the finger cleaning process, Williams said “It should be done with an orange wood stick or a disposable cleaning brush,” Williams told Insider. “Not a reusable one.”
Williams also added that the technician should not have too much nail polish on the brush. She told Insider, “If the polish is running, that’s another sign you’re not going to have the best mani or pedi.”
She also touched on the issue of the polishing itself. Williams said that customers be cognizant of whether the technician is putting on a base coat before applying the nail polish. She also advises that a top coat of polish be put on for a quality manicure or pedicure.
