A nail salon or nail bar is a specialty beauty salon establishment that primarily offers nail care services such as manicures, pedicures, and nail enhancements. Often, nail salons also offer skin care services. Manicures are also offered by general beauty salons, spas and hotels. People who work at nail salons are usually called "nail technicians or manicurists or 'Nailists' (the well-known appellation of nail technicians in Vietnam, Japan and some Southeast Asian countries)."
Nail salons offer a variation of options for nail care. This includes acrylics, silk or fiberglass wraps, French manicures, polish, pedicures, etc. Some nail salons are offering one-stop beauty services. In addition to nail services, these one-stop nail salons offer facial treatments, waxing, and skin care.
Generally, those working in nail salons are called nail technicians. In some areas throughout the UK and USA, districts require nail technicians to have formal, state recognised qualifications in order to be able to grant licenses to the salons. Also nail salons have always been mainly for women, but since then men have become more distant from them.
Currently, the industry estimates that almost 40% of nail salon technicians in the US are Vietnamese women. The highest density of Vietnamese nail technicians is in California, where it is roughly 59%-80%.
Typical responses by workers when interviewed were:
"We know chemicals are dangerous, the owner tells us to wear mask"
"Says that chemicals are harmful so always need to keep the ventilator on and close lids, covers of chemicals surely."
*"Because I am young and pregnant and I don't want to breathe in the dust and chemicals – I'm afraid that it might affect my child later on"
The following table is taken from the survey ''Results from a Community-based Occupational Health Survey Of Vietnamese-American Nail Salon Workers''. It lists the chemical ingredients found in nail salon products and associates them with potential health effects. ''Note that this is not an exhaustive list of all chemical compounds found for all nail products.''
| { | class="wikitable" |
|---|
| ! Nail products !! Common chemical ingredients !! Potential health effects | - | Nail polish | ethyl acetate | irritation eyes, skin, nose, throat; dermatitis | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| butyl acetate | irritation eyes, skin, upper respiratory system; headache | |||||
| - | ||||||
| ethyl alcohol | irritation eyes, skin, nose; headache, CNS syndrome; cough; liver damage; anemia; reproductive effects | |||||
| - | ||||||
| isopropyl alcohol | irritation eyes, nose, throat; CNS syndrome, headache; dry, crackin skin | |||||
| - | ||||||
| acetone | irritation eyes, nose throat; headache; CNS syndrome; dermatitis | |||||
| - | ||||||
| methyl ethyl ketone | see above | |||||
| - | ||||||
| toluene | irritation eyes, nose throat; headache; CNS syndrome; dermatitis; dilated pupils, lacrimation; anxiety, muscle fatigue, insomnia; paresthesia; liver, kidney damage | |||||
| - | ||||||
| xylene | irritation eyes, nose, throat; headache; CNS syndrome; corneal damage; dermititis; reproductive effects | |||||
| - | ||||||
| dibutyl phthalate | irritation eyes, upper respiratory system, stomach; reproductive effects (fetotoxic) | |||||
| - | ||||||
| nitrocellulose | unknown | |||||
| - | ||||||
| tosylamide/formaldehyde resin | dermatitis | |||||
| - | ||||||
| titanium dioxide | lung fibrosis; potential occupational carcinogen | |||||
| - | ||||||
| nail polish removers | acetone | see above | ||||
| - | ||||||
| ethyl acetate | see above | |||||
| - | ||||||
| butyl acetate | see above | |||||
| - | ||||||
| artificial nails | ethyl methacrylate | irritation eyes, skin, nose, throat; allergic contact dermatitis; respiratory sensitizer (asthmagen) | ||||
| - | ||||||
| methyl methacrylate | same as ethyl methacrylate | |||||
| - | ||||||
| butyl methacrylate | same as ethyl methacrylate | |||||
| - | ||||||
| methacrylic acid | irritation eyes, skin, nose throat; allergic contact dermatitis | |||||
| - | ||||||
| methyl ethyl ketone | see above | |||||
| - | ||||||
| Nail tips adhesives | ethyl cyanoacrylate | irritation eyes, skin, nose, throat; allergic contact dermatitis | ||||
| - | ||||||
| artificial nail removers | acetone | see above | ||||
| - | ||||||
| N-methyl pyrrolidone | dermatitis, reproductive effects | |||||
| - | ||||||
| acetonitrile | irritation eyes, nose throat; asphyxia; nausea, vomiting; chest pain; CNS syndrome; convulsions; in animals: liver, kidney damage | |||||
| } |
There are organizations and coalitions such as the National Healthy Nail and Beauty Salon Alliance that address these worker rights and exposure issues nail technicians face. These movements provide the platform for conversations about environmental justice.