Each week, beauty enthusiast Suzanne Edmonds explores the best ways to take care of ourselves so that we love the skin we’re in.

There’s little doubt that we have a problem in the beauty industry with sub-standard manicures and nail treatments, as well as products.

Time and again I am witnessing women with severely damaged nails from buffing, unhygienic use of tools and equipment in salons to perform manicures on their nails. Be aware of counterfeit or bad chemical products.

It seems that the messages pertaining to being cautious about choosing your salon and nail technician are not getting through. It’s strange because awareness about dodgy nails salons is fairly wide, but it seems we’re still putting price and beauty before health and safety. That is until the consequences manifest themselves in damaged and infected nails. Then the panic sets it- and so it should.

Before and after: An example of how we brought one of our own client’s nails back to health. 

If you are regularly going to a salon, you need to be vigilant about the environment, particularly its cleanliness. Work stations should be immaculate (not a spot of dust anywhere) and the tools and files should really be coming out of surgical bags post sterilisation. That’s if best practices are being followed, which are often not and especially in New Zealand where this industry is very unregulated.

You also need to question the products that are being used. If they contain any of the following, they are poisonous: the chemicals Dibutyl Phthalate, Toluene, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, and Camphor. Also make sure your nail products are free of “TPO” (Trimethylbenzoyl Diphenylphosphine Oxide), which is a toxic curing agent that has been now banned by recent European regulations.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.sunlive.co.nz/blogs/8324-when-it-comes-to-nails-buyer-beware.html