Visit an eco-friendly nail salon
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Looking for a manicure and a dazzling new nail color, but don't want to do it yourself? Choosing an eco-friendly nail salon lets you get the pampering your crave without harming you, your manicurist, or the Earth.
Find it! Eco-friendly nail salons
Eco-friendly nail salons have emerged for those who crave beauty without the ugly side effects. To find a salon offering eco-friendly nail treatments in your neck of the woods, you may have to do some calling around. When you do, ask what chemicals are used (or not used, in this case) in their products. Toluene, ethyl acetate, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and formaldehyde are all chemicals to be avoided.
Another option is to check out Innersense, Spa Index, or pop into your local eco-friendly hair salon or day spa and see if manicures and pedicures are on the menu of services. Here are a handful of nail salons that specialize in green:
- Honey Nail Salon (Atlanta)
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There's been a lot of buzz around this eco-chic Atlanta nail salon, offering nail treatments using formaldehyde-, toluene-, DBP-, and cruelty-free polishes. Along with environmental concerns, safety, sanitation, and comfort are tip-top priorities. - Julep Nail Parlor (Seattle)
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Home of the meaningful manicure, Seattle's Julep Nail Parlor offers a range of nail treatments using paraben-free lotions and polishes without formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP. What's more, the salon boasts LEED-certified flooring, eco-paint, and shopping bags made from recycled paper. - Mani Pedi Cutie! (Hermosa Beach, CA)
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It's always open-toed shoe season in sunny Southern California, so whether you're a local or just visiting, stop by Hermosa Beach's Mani Pedi Cutie! and treat your toes (and hands) to some eco-elegant pampering. - Nova Nail Spa (San Francisco)
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Take a load off at Nova Nail Spa, San Fransisco's first nail salon to go green from head to, ahem, toe. All elements of the spa—from the pedicure seats to the flooring to the lighting—are energy-efficient, recycled, nontoxic, or rapidly renewable. The spa also uses natural botanical elements in manicure and pedicure treatments. - Priti Organic Spa (New York City)
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Priti Organic Spa—a green getaway for weary hands and feet in Manhattan's East Village—offers a range of manicures and pedicures that use organic creams and scrubs, formaldehyde-, toulene-, and DBP-free polishes, and polish removers made from soy. - Pure Nails (Austin, TX)
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This Austin house o' nails uses formaldehyde-free polishes and adheres to stringent sanitation standards.
Before you go
Eco-friendly or not, all nail salons should be licensed and follow established safety regulations overseen by state cosmetology boards. If you walk into a salon and catch a whiff of potent chemicals, it's probably not adequately ventilated.
Enhance your eco-impact when you leave by taking home disposable tools used to file, polish, and buff. If you need an emery board, for example, keep it as a salon souvenir. This will prevent it from entering the waste stream and keep you from having to buy a new one at the drugstore.
Visiting an eco-friendly nail salon helps you go green because...
- They eschew the use of products containing chemicals like toluene, ethyl acetate, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and formaldehyde that pose various health and environmental risks. These chemicals are often replaced with low-risk natural plant- and water-based elements.
- They abide by stringent sanitation and safety regulations to prevent salon-borne infections.
- They often follow other green business ethics and fair labor practices.
The US nail salon industry is a powerful one, bringing in $6.53 billion in 2003, a 67 percent increase from 1993. The number of nail salons nationwide has doubled over the past decade; there are 3,800 nail salons in New York State alone.[1]
According to a 2007 study released by Women's Voices For the Earth, 95 percent of nail salon workers are female and of childbearing age; a large percentage of these women speak English as a second language—approximately 37 percent are Vietnamese-American[2]—and may not be able to comprehend warnings and information regarding the potential toxicity of the products they work with on a daily basis. A 2004 survey conducted by New York City's Committee For Occupational Safety and Health and a Korean workers' advocacy group revealed that health issues among salon workers are rampant: 57 percent reported experiencing allergies, 37 percent complained of skin problems and eye irritation, and 18 percent suffered from asthma. It's believed that these complications arose from inadequate ventilation in salons.[3] In New Jersey, one manicurist was set ablaze after chemical fumes were ignited in her salon.[1]
As part of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Nail Salon Project, a guide titled Protecting the Health of Nail Salon Workers has been published in Korean, Vietnamese, and English to help nail salon workers identify harmful chemicals in products and minimize their exposure to them. Additionally, in June 2007 the EPA granted two Seattle-area nonprofit groups, the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice and the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, $100,000 to launch the "Toxic Beauty" project—an effort to green local nail salons that are primarily Vietnamese-owned and operated.
Other eco-issues
Paraffin treatments, a staple in most nail salons, relies on—you guessed it—paraffin wax, which is also used in candles, fruit and vegetable waxes, and other goods. It's a byproduct of petroleum, a non-sustainable resource. Pumping and refining petroleum has had major detrimental impacts on soil, ground water, surface water, and ecosystems in the US and around the world. Petroleum refineries release toxic, hazardous air pollutants, such as BTEX compounds and sulfur dioxide.
Related health issues
Aside from the various health repercussions that come from exposure to chemical fumes due to poor ventilation, there are other health risks lurking in nail salons. They primarily involve bacterial infections that can be picked up easily if tools and equipment are not properly cleaned and sterilized. For example, in 2000, 110 patrons of a Santa Cruz, California, nail salon contracted infections from a pedicure bath with an uncleaned filter.[4]
