With the stories about pedicures, have you had any such problems?

Question

They had a special on Oprah that told of terrible infections from the bacteria in the salons. How common is this. I have never had a pedicure and not sure I'd like one.

Answer 1

I work in a salon/spa that offers manicures and pedicures.

I have heard about the infections that people get, I suspect that it is from improper cleansing & disinfection of tools and equipment.

At my salon we always make sure that the estheticians clean their tools and equipment properly and also disinfect everything (with a product called Accel http://virox.com/medical/acute_care.asp). We do it after each client. the estheticians also analyze the nails and skin to make sure that there isn't an obvious infection or fungus befor treating the clients.

If you are nervous about going for a pedicure or manicure, please call the salon and ask them about there cleaning and disinfecting procedures, go in and ask to see what they are using. A good salon should have no problem with making sure that you are completely satisfied with them, if that means that you need to see what they clean and disinfect with, then so be it.

I would be more than happy to do this for my customers.

Answer 2

I used to work in a nail salon, so we used to use straight up bleach and turn on the whirlpool and run it through at least once a week. But after every use we would take Clorox Clean-up and clean the tubs thoroughly. And we actually refused to do pedicures for customers who had some kind of fungus infection so they won't contaminate the tubs and our tools. We also had an autoclave to sterilize our tools.

So since I know what we used to do, these are the things I take into account when I get a pedicure from somewhere else... if they do any of these. So just ask and observe. If you're feeling iffy about a salon, then trust your instincts.

Answer 3

I do my own pedicures and manicures, not as good as the pros but i had a bad experience when i got my nails done a couple years back. When they took the nails off i had holes in my nails and they were very weak i made a choice not to do that again. Its not sanitary anyway you can't thoroughly wash your hands with nails on my nails always felt dirty even after washing them.

Answer 4

im only 13 and ive had my nails done before alot and so far nuthing happend to me and the way i get my nails done i dont see how u can get an infection because they and and extion to my nail they dont put it under my cuticle and the only use a tool to even it out and it never touches my skin so i would say go ahead and do it but watch everything they do

Answer 5

I do my own. I've heard horror stories regarding manicures as well.