Dos and don’ts of pedicure hygiene: The signs to look out for in a nail salon

Let’s be honest, even if you’ve had hundreds of manicures and pedicures, nail salon hygiene can still feel like the Wild West.

There’s really no way to know if the salon you’ve booked into is using clean tools or has an increased risk of infection – or what the potential risks are of going to a salon that doesn’t practice proper hygiene.

Doctor of health science Vincent Candrawinata told nine.com.au there are some key things to look out for when choosing a nail salon.

The first tip: Never assume a salon is hygienic because it appears clean, even if the nail technicians open up a new set of tools for every client.

“As someone who worked in a microbiology lab for a number of years, just because it’s sealed does not prove sterilisation. You need to make sure the tools have been sterilised,” Candrawinata said.

“A lot of people feel bad asking, but I really do think we shouldn’t be embarrassed for asking that. We’re protecting ourselves, and that’s really the only thing you can do because you’re not going through the salon with a microscope.”

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Another thing to look out for is whether a salon uses a disposable plastic liner in their foot baths.

“The jets [in the bath] and the plumbing means there’s pipes and areas bacteria may hide in, so having that plastic liner actually helps as an additional measure to minimise risk,” he said.

Red flags pop up for Candrawinata when nail techs push or cut the cuticle back too far.

“Cuticles are actually naturally a self-defence mechanism against infection. I understand it looks better, but cutting it too deeply could cause micro-bleeding which could increase the risk of infection.”

Candrawinata said the infections you can contract from the nail salon can range from mild to very serious.

“We’re talking about a bacterial infection, a fungal infection, there are also bacteria that can live within your tissue that wouldn’t affect you immediately,” he said.

“With fungal infections, you’re thinking things like pain, redness, swelling. There are also more scary things, like hepatitis B or C, which are [passed on through] blood-to-blood transmission from the sharp tools.”

In Australia, Hepatitis infections are rare. However, Candrawinata said there’s a bigger risk of contracting those sorts of infections when getting pedicures or manicures overseas, due to different hygiene standards.

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“Majority of the cases of nail infection that I know of anecdotally actually happen to people when they are on holiday and they get their nails done.”

In Australia, there is no legal requirement for nail technicians to be trained.

While a Certificate III in Nail Technology is preferred in big salons, there is nothing stopping a self-taught nail tech from opening their own business and taking on clients.

Owner of Lady Nadia beauty salon, Nadia Eizadi, said going to someone who is formally trained significantly lowers your risk of infection.

“When you’re self-taught, you’re not always educated properly. Being a nail tech is so much more than just painting nails, formal training gives you a foundation in our anatomy, infection control and product safety,” she said.

“A lot of nail technicians, if they’re not trained well, will over-file or over-drill nails, they might over-cut your cuticle. Any kind of bleeding is terrible.”

Eizadi added that hygiene goes far beyond a clean surface appearance.

“It’s knowing how to clean [tools], how to disinfect them and how to sterilise them because they’re all different things,” she said.

“There are obviously some really talented self-taught techs out there, but talent doesn’t guarantee safety.”