Educate yourself about Nail Services!
Nail Services have changed dramatically in the past 15 years!
This page is designed to educate the public on certain topics about the nail industry.
We are not doctors and you should consult your doctor for any questions pertaining to a service performed on your hands, feet or nails that may affect your health.
Last year U.S. women spent more than $5 billion on artificial fingernails, and the nail business appears to be booming right into the new century. But underneath that glossy veneer is a chaotic scene of unanswered health questions.
Quick discount Nail Salons using have been popping up all over the United States since the late 90's, offering low prices for services mostly from unschooled/unlicensed Nail Technicians. Before these "discount" Nail Shops opened up everywhere nail services were very expensive and purchased mostly by the wealthy. The sudden exposure of discount nail services offered to any income level customer created a new experience with no comparsion to past Nail techniques. These "discount" shops provide nail services to new nail customers that think that the way they do nails and the products used are the standard level of a nail service.
The alternative to discount nail salons are professional nail salons, but you will most likely pay more and you have to search to find them. The discount salons have made it hard for "old school" Nail Technicians to stay in business. Most of these "old school" Nail Technicians have almost all retired now. Many "old school" nail techs have changed careers because people are not willing to pay more for nail services when there are so many discount shops around offering cheaper prices. There are also very few Nail Schools left that teach Nail Services because there is a serious lack of Nail Care Instructors that have been correctly educated on Nail Service Procedures.
Check for licenses when you visit any salon, it is your right!
Licenses are there to let you know that the technician servicing you has been trained and tested by the State on passing knowledge testing about proper sanitation/disposal procedures along with anatomy, bacteriology, OSHA/EPA Standards, nail diseases and how to CORRECTLY perform nail care services. Salon and Technician Licenses always have to be posted in a easy to view area! Be careful some of these discount nail salons use "alias" so that you will not report their real name. When the state board comes to investigate the "reported" technician, they can say that he/she no longer works there and the tech has a "new" alias name. Make sure that you get the number off their license (it is in a box on their license). Take a picture of an employee servicing you with your cell phone to send to the state board. Some shops will not be happy about this but it is your right to ask for their license and they should be able to show it immediately. The state licenses Nail Technicians for your safety, if you don't check to ensure that they are, how can the State help you otherwise?
WHY DOES IT MATTER WHERE I GET MY NAILS DONE?
I believe many people that get their nails done think this. It is your choice to go where you want but as for myself, I would want to go to a place that has been tested in the proper sanitation when performing nail care services. This would let me know that I will not contract any viral diseases such as Hepatitis, HIV, MRSA, fungal infections, staph etc. Blood can be drawn during uncareful nail services, it is very serious on how these implements are cleaned afterwards. If a person doing your nails is making less than $10 an hour to perform a strenuous nail care service, it can give them less concern for sanitation procedures because they are too concerned about getting someone else in their chair to make more money. You get what you pay for! When you get a pedicure, that technician needs at least 10-15 minutes to clean all the equipment and tools properly afterwards. In a professional salon/spa you are paying for a Nail Tech's time to provide you with clean products/equipment to ensure your safety. You have the right to have a sanitary service, you have the right to have questions about products being used on you answered, if you have problems with a salon/spa sanitation issue you can click here to send a complaint to the Virginia State Board. If you are in another state contact your State licensing board. If these unsanitary salons are not correctly reported then they will continue to provide unprofessional care to other people!
WHY ARE THE NAIL PRICES YOU HAVE HIGHER THAN OTHER SHOPS?
First of all, you get what you pay for.
We do not use cheap products. Our creams & lotions are 100% Grapeseed Oil, unscented Vitamin E etc. We take our time during each service to give lasting results. We throughly sanitize our equipment to ensure your saftey.
As for "discount" nail shops: Most, not all, of these discount shops are run by the Vietnamese community that found an economic niche in the Nail business (that use to be run by mostly Americans) by offering nail services cheaper. Tippi Hedren helped Vietnamese refugees in the late 70s learn the trade to earn money in the US and found a path to success in the Nail Industry. The average salary in Vietnam is $1,054 a year. If they come to the US to do nails, a Vietnamese immigrant can make over 20 times their yearly salary. If you could work in another country for just one year and make 20-30 times your yearly salary, would you? Some of these shop owners/nail techs love the US, plan to stay here, live and pay taxes as US Citizens, raise a generation of Americans, but so many do not. That is why some leave suddenly, to go back home. Many of these Vietnamese immigrants come to the US to work in Nail Salons to earn a living through long hard working hours in order to send money back home to help family or to return to Vietnam after working (until their Visa's expire) to live a better life in their home country. Some of these workers do not have a license, if they are caught they will either go to another nail salon in another state or go back home to their country with the little bit of money they have made. Some of these immigrants are not paying taxes with the income that they earn from US customers, instead the money leaves the country to support the Vietnamese economy. As any employer knows, taxes are a big part of income and payroll. If employment taxes are not paid on an employee, it would help a lot to reduce our prices for customers.
We are US Citizens here at Sycamore Day Spa that pay employment taxes, county and state taxes. We have completed an education in our field that cost us thousands of dollars and years of education. We take our time at Sycamore Day Spa during our services. We spend 5-10 minutes preparing for your arrival and 10-15 minutes after your nail service is over, to properly clean and sanitize all the equipment. We do not just take the next person and improperly sanitize things. We want to stay in our field by avoiding unsanitary practices that can cause us to lose the licenses that we have worked so hard to get. Sycamore Day Spa uses reputable products that are approved by the FDA, we use top of the line creams and lotions during services to get the best results. We use lots of pricy disinfectants and sanitizers, many items we use are single use for maximum sanitation capability. We get paid for our education, our time and the quality of our services just like other many other Professional Spas & Salons out there competing against "discount" shops.
In Nail Services we do not use the illegal MMA nail product, MMA is cheaper than the EMA we do use as instructed by the FDA. We also do not use "powder gel" which is actually clear Acrylic. We use the actual sticky Gel which is more expensive to purchase than Acrylic.
SHOULD I BE IN PAIN WHEN I GET NAIL SERVICES?
No! You should relay all discomfort issues to the nail technician so that they can stop discomforting you. I don't understand why people go to some nail shops stressed because they know they are going to be in pain on the receiving end on an insensitive Tech. Nail services should be relaxing and you should not be expecting to receive pain. Sometimes if you have ingrown nails cleaning them can be painful, please tell the Nail Technician this so that they can adjust the service. There is an out patient procedure a Podiatrist can perform to help with ingrown nail pain. If you have open cuts on your feet from athlete's foot or cuts you should not be getting a pedicure, please go to your doctor for a treatment first. Some clients have Plantar Faciatis where a pain can be felt during a massage on the bottom of the feet, please consult your doctor about this as well. Other than these type of issues you should not feel pain.
WHAT IS THIS MMA and EMA I HEAR ABOUT?
Millions of women who paid for acrylic nail services in recent years may have been exposed unknowingly to the chemical, which has been blamed for nail deformities and other problems. Acrylic nails uses a powder mixed with a monomer liquid available as MMA (methyl methacrylate) and as EMA (ethyl methacrylate). Both products are currently used for acrylic nails but in the Professional Nail Salons only the Non-MMA (EMA) product is used. EMA is the safer product to use for human nail use.
MMA is considered dangerous for human nails and prohibited by the FDA to be a poisonous and deleterious substance, 28 states have banned this product from use in nail salons. The FDA did not pursue regulatory action, which left a door open for the issue to return in the future. Most people don't know about this issue in the nail industry and therefore don't understand why some shops charge half than other shops for nail services. Artificial Nail Products should sit on top of the nail, not dissolve and rip the nail. People are not complaining and therefore shops are getting away with using this product.
Unfortunately, MMA is still available because it used in the industrial production of items other than nails such as Plexiglas and Lucite. MMA averages $15 a gallon so discount shops purchase and use it to charge less for their nail services. MMA dissolves the nail upon placement and has no flexibility to break. When the MMA does break, it will break the natural nail with it causing severe damage to the nails. MMA is also very difficult to remove, it does not dissolve in the solvent designed to remove acrylic nails. MMA nails have to be drilled by a diamond or carbide bit to file because it is so hard, this can be damaging to your natural nails. MMA has a fruity odor compared to EMA that smells like nail liquid. Long term MMA absorbtion can cause pulmonary edema, brain dysfunction, loss of memory, dementia, nerve damage (especially in the fingers), shortness of breath, dizziness, birth defects such as spinal cord issues, severe allergic reactions, numbness, liver damage, etc. With a healthy immune system your body can clean out the MMA that is absorb through your nails and breathed into the lungs during application. We will not use these products on our clients and we do not want to breathe it in.
EMA was created as an alternative to MMA. EMA averages $200 a gallon. The product has been modified to be approved for use on human nails with added UV protection to prevent yellowing. This process of creating a safer product causes EMA to cost more than the cheaper MMA. This is one of the reason some nails salons charge more for their nail services. With care EMA nails stay on perfectly, you just have to leave them alone! No picking! We have been using EMA for many years and have had no problems with it. EMA acrylics sit on top of the nail so that if you hit the nail, the acrylic comes off, not your nail. Using EMA or MMA is your personal choice. Both EMA and MMA are not natural products. If you are interested in natural care I suggest regular Manicures every 2-3 weeks. If you have always gone to a discount salon you may not like how EMA Acrylic stays on the nails. EMA is not as hard and durable as the MMA Nail Acrylic that discount shops use and we will not use them on our clients because we care about their health and ours.
The biggest horror to me is that there is a generation of Nail clients that are getting use to the durability of MMA products regardless of the damage it causes to the natural nail. This should not be happening! When you hit your nail the artificial nail should come off, not half your natural nail. Oh to see, year from now, what the "newly discovered" news will be on the damage from this product to women!
HOW ARE ARTIFICIAL NAILS APPLIED?
Artificial Nails Application Procedure-For any type of enhancement to adhere better, some filing is recommended. There should never be blood drawn through the nail plate or really deep crevice lines created on the nail. The nails has to be very lightly scratched up then cleaned before application of any type of artificial enhancement. If applied and removed correctly, artificial nails do little damage to your natural nails. Under normal conditions, your natural nails will always grow back in the same condition they were in before the enhancements were applied. Enhancements won't improve your natural nails or make them "healthier". Regular manicures and proper diet is the optimal means to try to grow your natural nails. Even with that, inherited genes play an important role in the way your nails grow.
WHAT ARE ACRYLICS?
Acrylics-Very strong and durable. Long or short term commitment. A Fill-in service must be performed every 2-3 weeks to maintain them. Great for nail biters. Holds polish well. We use professional quality acrylic without the nail damaging chemicals that some low-end shops use (no MMA). I am always careful about not damaging your natural nails or causing pain during any service. You must fill them every 2-3 weeks to keep them looking nice. Do not pick at your nails to prevent lifting. Picking is the #1 cause of lifting nails. Just leave them alone until your fill. Don't ever push at the sides, pick at the back, seperate at the tip etc.
WHAT ARE GELS?
Gels-Clear like glass. Non porous and no odor to apply. Does not yellow like acrylics, great for tanners. About as strong as acrylics. Recommended for long term commitment. Can not be dissolved off like acrylics can, must be filed off or grow out to remove them. Minimal lifting, better with hands that stay in water a lot. If you are prone to lifting and get pseudomonas (mold) then using gels is your better option to avoid getting the green mold growth underneath the acrylics. DON'T BE FOOLED: Gel is always a gelly-like substance activated by a UV light, there is never any liquid or powder involved. A bit thinner than acrylic so it feels lighter on the nail. Useful for people with allergies to acrylic products. I use only professional quality gel product. A Gel Fill-in service must be performed every 2-3 weeks to maintain them.
HEAT-sometimes heat can be felt when you put your gel nails into the UV light to cure them during application. When sticky gel goes into the light the molecules have to find each other to lock in to place which causes the gel to harden. Gel brand's heat vary according to UV light strength. To avoid this heat, stick the fingers into the light very slowly to cause the molecules to move slower when trying to lock and harden. When the molecules move very fast from shoving your entire hand to fast into the UV light after gel is applied, you feel the heat.
HOW DO I CARE FOR MY ARTIFICIAL NAILS?
First, NEVER EVER pick at your nails! Second, ALWAYS lotion the hands several times a day to ensure flexibility in the nails and avoid dryness in the cuticles. Don't pry at the nails or loosen them at the corners. This is the number 1 cause of lifting and nails that don't stay on well. Cleaning products can modify how artificial nail product adheres to the natural nail and can cause lifting, so use gloves! Artificial Nail removal is not necessary for your nails to "breathe". Acrylics can get old looking (yellowing from repeated UV light exposure) so replacing them can improve the appearance of the acrylic. Most of the time a replacement of a "new set" shouldn't be more than twice a year. You paid money for these nails, take care of them!
WHY ARE MY NATURAL NAILS TURNING GREEN?
Sometimes a gap develops between the natural nail and the artificial nail. This gap will provide a area for water to enter and creat a moist, warm environment for bacteria and fungi to grow, usually creating the growth of Pseudomonas (mold). Avoid using cuticle oils if your nails are prone to lifting to prevent Pseudomonas. Cuticle oil is like miracle grow for pseudomonas. See your Nail Technician immediately to remove the nail. The color starts yellow, then light to dark green, then black. When removed it most likely leave the green tint iron compound by-product stain. Mold is not a human pathogen but please contact your doctor or Licensed Nail Tech if you think you may have Pseudomonas. Pseudomonas also thrives in dirt so wear gloves when gardening with artificial nails. Pseudomonas usually is not usually contracted by dirty tools, do not confuse it with the Nail Fungus that can be contracted by dirty tools. People who have their hands in water a lot can get Pseudomonas, for example restaurant dishwashers can get it.
WHY ARE MY ARTIFICIAL NAILS LIFTING?
Nails that curve inward sharply at the sides can be more prone to lifting at the edges of the nail tip so make sure you have regular fills and don't pick at them. I recommend using gels on these types of curved nails and moisturize the hands regularly with lotion! Nails that grow up from the skin of the the fingertip (ski jump nails) can cause air pockets in the middle of the nail during growth and may need an occasional replacement.
It is a nail technicians resposibility to repair/replace a nail that is lifting or has air pockets. In some discount shops they don't want to do this because they want you to come back with a broken nail to charge you for the repair. Again, you should be going to a reputable salon. At Sycamore Day Spa we don't charge for broken nails on our regular nail clients. We do charge for repairs on new clients or non regular clients.
WHAT DO I DO IF A ARTIFICIAL NAIL BREAKS?
If you have to glue a nail back on, make sure you coat both with alcohol, then dry to prevent bacteria from being trapped between the enhancement and nail, then see your nail tech as soon as possible. If you have a nail lifting at the back or on the sides dip the finger(s) into a 5% bleach solution for 3-5 minutes daily or dip the finger(s) into white vinegar for 3-5 minutes daily to destroy mold spores and prevent pseudomonas. See your nail technician as soon as possible to repair the nail. You paid money for these nails treat them with care. They are not tools.
WHAT ARE PINK & WHITE NAILS?
These types of nails are also known as forever french, white tips and permanent french. It is performed with white tips or white artificial product placed on the tip of the nails. It is permanent and will not chip off. It does grow out. It costs extra to have the white line placed furthur down the nail towards the cuticle when the nails grow. You can have this optional backfill service at a second or third fill in service. Do not be fooled by white paint airbrushed over acrylics, with a gel coating on top. That is not pink and whites and the white can chip off. Actual pink & white takes a lot of patience to drill down and replace which is why it costs more.
WHY DO SOME SHOPS USE THOSE BLADES TO CUT MY CALLUSES OFF MY FEET?
Why we don't use Credo Blades during Pedicures-The use of blades (Credo Blades) to shave off dead callused skin is illegal to use in a salon in almost every state across the US. The biggest reason for this is because of the increased chance of contracting a virus such as AIDS, warts or hepatitis. Blades are not sanitizable, they must be new and some nail shops are too cost effective to provide new blades for each service. Most states do not allow Nail Technicians to cut off living skin.
It may seem that some salons are doing you a nice favor by using a credo blade on your calluses but that is not the case. The underlying problem is that there are no certainties in gauging the thickness of any callused area which may lead to over shaving. It doesn't matter how much experience a technician may have with shaving calluses, you may be on the receiving end of an unfocused day. Shaving callused skin can produce open areas with an increase chance of contracting viruses.
Calluses are on your feet for a reason whether it is for dancing, running, standing, etc. You need those calluses and if shaved off you have to go through the process of growing them back but only now, deeper into skin nearer to the bone. Which can cause irritation later and possible surgery to remove it. I perform an effective pedicure by letting your feet soak to soften (some shops don't think it is cost effective to do this), I then smooth the callus down with a new file that you take home every time you receive a pedicure. Consult a podiatrist for any callus removal questions.
HOW DO I KNOW YOUR PEDICURE CHAIRS ARE CLEAN?
We exceed manufacturer recommendation and state board regulations on cleaning and maintaining my pedicure foot spas. We first drain the old water out. Scrub the chair with anti-bacterial soap. We fill the chair and flush the jets out with an approved disinfectant. We then spray the chair with a EPA registered sanitizer and let it dry. At the end of the day we soak the chair basin by running it with a disinfectant solution designed for pedicure chairs for 20-30 minutes. Before each pedicure we also add a skin safe sanitizing salt powder to the water. We also don't recommend shaving 24 hours prior to a pedicure service. If your pores are open and the pedicure chairs are not clean you can easily contract an infection (MRSA or M. fortuitum) from dirty chairs. Make sure that the nail place you go to rinses out their jets (if they have them) otherwise you are getting the backwash from the last pedicure into your water!
Click Here for a News Article about dirty pedicure chairs problems
LOCAL PODIATRISTS
Christopher Stewart 979-0456