Tools that are poorly cleaned or re-used can put people at risk of developing contact dermatitis.
You visit a nail salon to get great-looking digits and a little relaxation in the process. But new research has found you might pick up something else while you’re there: a fungal infection.
That’s the major takeaway from a new study published in the Journal of Chemical Health and Safety. For the study, researchers from Rutgers University surveyed 90 people who went to hair and nail salons in New Jersey and asked them about their experiences with respiratory, fungal, and skin infection symptoms after they visited a salon. They also asked clients about how aware they were of potential chemical and biological hazards at salons.
Here’s what they found: 52 percent of the study participants had dermal (i.e. skin rashes or nail issues) or fungal infection symptoms, and they were the most common among people who had been to a salon three times in the past year. On the flip side, nail salon clients who reported fewer than three visits per year were more likely to have experienced respiratory symptoms after a visit, which researchers say made them less likely to go back.
Tools that are poorly cleaned or re-used can put people at risk of developing contact dermatitis (a skin rash), as well as being exposed to bacteria, fungus, viruses, and even hepatitis B and C, the researchers point out. Not only that, people can be exposed to UV light, get a respiratory infection from bad air circulation, and have allergic reactions to products that contain formaldehyde, among other chemicals.
Before you panic and swear off your manis forever, know this: The studies are based on initial findings and had a pretty small sample size, says study co-author Derek G. Shendell, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health. Ultimately, it’s tough to make big conclusions from them. For example, it could be that people who suffer from nail infections are more likely to visit nail salons than those who don’t. It’s also hard to say if this link exists in all nail salons based on their findings from just a few shops in one state.
If you’re worried about cleanliness at your nail salon (fair), study co-author Judith Graber, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at Rutgers University, recommends checking out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines on fungal nail infections. She specifically cites this part: "When visiting a nail salon, choose a salon that is clean and licensed by your state's cosmetology board. Make sure the salon sterilizes its instruments (nail clippers, scissors, etc.) after each use, or, you can bring your own."
And, of course, if you don’t feel like the salon you visited is as clean as it could be, find another one.