January 2 , 2007

Nail Salons May Cause Health Risks to Workers

By Lorraine Sanders
Special to the Neighborhood Newswire

Over the past half-decade intermittent outbreaks of dangerous mycobacterial infections from unsanitary foot spas at nail salons have left many consumers worried about the health risks of one their favorite pampering rituals. The resulting public pressure prompted Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign Assembly Bill 409, the Emergency Nail Salon Law, in 2006. The law gives health officials the authority to immediately suspend the licensees of salons that have violated health and safety codes, instead of having to wait until a hearing is held.

While politicians have quickly responded to health risks to consumers, less attention has been paid to the health concerns of the largely female, mostly Vietnamese-American population that work in nail salons. “Part of it is that the majority of the nail salon workers are basically voiceless,” said Tin Nguyen, director of the Vietnamese Nail Care Professional Association (VNCPA), a membership-based organization Nguyen began in 2004 in hopes of eventually creating a nail worker union.

VNCPA has roughly 100 members, far less than the numbers required to form a powerful union. Nguyen attributes the lackluster response on the part of workers to cultural differences between Vietnamese-Americans and the larger society. “There is no such thing as a union over in Vietnam where they grew up, so the notion of getting together is not as strong as for Americans,” he said.

There are 5,384 licensed manicurists and cosmetologists in San Francisco, according to the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, with 308,639 combined licensees statewide. Over the last two years more than twice as many California manicure licensing exams were taken in Vietnamese than in English, the only two languages in which the exam is offered. Thirty-eight percent of the nation’s licensed nail technicians are of Vietnamese origin; more than half of the technicians living in the Western United States identify themselves as Vietnamese, according to an analysis of data from Nails Magazine.

A host of reasons – ranging from language barriers to a dearth of long-term research – makes identifying health and safety issues for California’s nail technicians complicated.
“There’s many competing factors that we see,” said Trang Thy Nguyen (no relation to Tin Nguyen), project organizer for POLISH, an outreach program to Asian youth and nail technicians run by Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice in Oakland.

The lack of health and safety information available in Vietnamese is one major problem that POLISH is trying to address. POLISH distributes information in Vietnamese to Oakland salon workers, and offers them tips for staying healthy on the job, whether that means sitting properly while administering nail services or remembering to break for lunch in the middle of the day. Trang Thy Nguyen encourages nail workers to contact her with health questions.

Both Tin Nguyen and Trang Thy Nguyen point to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) toxic chemicals list as proof that health threats exist for nail salon workers faced with long-term exposure to nail products. “The EPA has a list of toxins, and they say that after exposure over years, [workers] can have certain irritations to skin and lungs,” said Tin Nguyen.

Since 2001 the EPA has been studying working conditions for nail technicians in Houston, Texas to better understand the risks associated with chronic exposures to salon chemicals. So far the project has resulted in a booklet about nail product chemicals and their potential health effects, as well as safety training programs for the nail care industry.

Skin Deep, a report published by the Environmental Working Group, a public health watchdog organization, has ranked cosmetic products by assigning their ingredients numbers based on 453 criteria, from “known carcinogen” to color additives approved for cosmetic use. Products in the top 15 percent of the rankings are labeled “higher-concern.” Skin Deep lists at least 16 higher-concern nail products, including OPI Nail Envy and Natural Nail Strengthener; Nailtiques Protein Formulas 1-3; and Sally Hansen Teflon Tuff Grow Long Strengthener. See <http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/search.php?main_cat=NAIL+CARE> 

Each product rated as higher-concern includes ingredients that, at the very least, have been insufficiently studied to be proven completely safe for humans. Most are suspected of or proven to impose health risks. The Environmental Working Group is most concerned with products that include ingredients that have been classified as “toxic” to humans in government assessments, or found to be skin irritants, such as phthalates, formaldehyde, toluene, butyl alcohol and ferric ferrocyanide.

Despite the reported risks, the salon industry lacks a sense of urgency when it comes to the health and safety of salon products, said VNCPA’s Nguyen, a microbiologist who studied at the University of California, Davis and who now works at a large food company. Nguyen’s mother, a longtime manicurist, suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome as a result of the repetitive motions associated with filing and servicing nails. “Our perception is that [nail care workers] don't understand the danger they are in,” he says.

Nail technicians are dependent on their employers to protect them against workplace risks, including circulating the air inside the salons and providing goggles, dust masks and adequate break time. VNCPA recently placed ads in VietSalon magazine warning nail technicians about the potential health hazards associated with their profession. However, Nguyen said the workers he’s spoken to are more concerned with competition from neighboring salons than health and safety risks. The pressures to keep costs low, provide speedy service and accommodate as many customers as possible overrule worker health and safety, according to Nguyen.

But those who work in salons say there are simple solutions to potential health issues. Cecilia Ngu, 25, a faculty member at San Francisco’s International College of Cosmetology on Polk Street and owner of Presidio Heights Nail Salon, says worker health and safety is a concern, but explains that basic precautions are easy to follow. “You do a fill-in, we like to open the door. [The technicians] have to put masks on. They have to wash their hands before and after,” she explained, adding that she advises her employees to shower and wash before playing with their children after work.

To address potential problems caused by poor posture and repetitive motion, Ngu suggests workers stand up and move their bodies in between clients. “They need to, or in the future, they're going to have back pain,” she said.

Kelley Hensley, owner of Mani-Pedi on Potrero Hill says most safety precautions for workers, as well as consumers, are just common sense. “Just like…a dental hygienist, for example, [nail care workers] wear rubber gloves to protect themselves. They scrub their hands…. Mani-Pedi provides a mask,” she said, noting that safety measures such as masks, hospital-grade sanitizers and ventilation require a financial commitment on the part of the salon owner. Loc Nguyen, owner of the recently opened Potrero Hill salon Mademoiselle Nails, agreed, saying “we keep the doors open” to keep air circulating. With proper safeguards neither Ngu nor Hensley believe that there are significant risks associated with long-term exposure to chemicals in nail products.  

Milady’s Standard Nail Technology, the textbook approved by the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology for those preparing for the manicurist exam, advises future nail workers that “working safely and correctly will eliminate…side effects and allow you to work comfortably,” but also advises nail technicians to “always work in a ventilated area.” The text recommends emptying the trash frequently to rid the salon of materials saturated with nail products; avoiding pressurized sprays that can be easily inhaled; sealing containers tightly to minimize vapors; wearing safety goggles and dust masks; and keeping skin away from acrylic liquids, wraps, adhesives and light-cured gels. Milady’s also suggests that workers stretch frequently and visit a doctor if any muscular discomfort occurs.

Despite assurances from salon owners and others, Tin Nguyen is pessimistic that health hazards to nail technicians will be addressed soon. “There is currently no feasible solution to solving the hazards,” he said.