A regular client of mine came in the other day and wanted to tell me a story about her trip to Texas and a nail salon that she visited with her son. They wanted to get a pedicure together. She remembered all I told her about how to make certain that the salon and the technician were clean and especially sanitized. (See "Finding a "Well-Manicured" Nail Salon/Technician")
She told me that one of the first things she noticed was that the technician brought out the implements and they were in a sealed bag. She said that she thought, "This is a good sign". But then she noticed that they used some of the same implements between herself and her son. She then started to notice more! She didn't see anyone clean the foot bath before they sat down for the pedicure and didn't see any of the foot baths being cleaned in between the other clients. That's when she started praying "please don't cut me, please don't break my skin"!
The part that shocked her the most was after the pedicure, she saw the technician rinse the pedicure implements in cold, and she emphasized it wasn't hot, water, dry off the implements in a towel then put the implements back into the bag and resealed the bag. Ugh! They hadn't even been sanitized! And they were probably like that before they were used on her!
In a salon, implements need to be sanitized for a minimum of 10 minutes in disinfectant that kills bacteria, viruses, fungus and tuberculosis. Pedicure foot baths must be cleaned out and sanitized with the same type of disinfectant between every client! There are many different products that can be used to disinfect properly. Some of them are Barbicide, Ultracare, Cavicide and Citrus II Germicidal Cleaner (all are registered trademark).
Here is where I would suggest that more people should start bringing their own implements unless you know for a fact that the salon and technician are cleaning and sanitizing regularly between clients. I have found a few manicure sets through a company called Zamberg. They have high quality manicure and pedicure implements along with complete manicure sets that will last you a lifetime compared to the cheap tools you find elsewhere. The nice thing is that you can sanitize your own implements with something as simple as alcohol.
She told me that one of the first things she noticed was that the technician brought out the implements and they were in a sealed bag. She said that she thought, "This is a good sign". But then she noticed that they used some of the same implements between herself and her son. She then started to notice more! She didn't see anyone clean the foot bath before they sat down for the pedicure and didn't see any of the foot baths being cleaned in between the other clients. That's when she started praying "please don't cut me, please don't break my skin"!
The part that shocked her the most was after the pedicure, she saw the technician rinse the pedicure implements in cold, and she emphasized it wasn't hot, water, dry off the implements in a towel then put the implements back into the bag and resealed the bag. Ugh! They hadn't even been sanitized! And they were probably like that before they were used on her!
In a salon, implements need to be sanitized for a minimum of 10 minutes in disinfectant that kills bacteria, viruses, fungus and tuberculosis. Pedicure foot baths must be cleaned out and sanitized with the same type of disinfectant between every client! There are many different products that can be used to disinfect properly. Some of them are Barbicide, Ultracare, Cavicide and Citrus II Germicidal Cleaner (all are registered trademark).
![]() |
| Who wouldn't want a quality manicure set? This one is Awesome!!! INOX Stainless Steel Manicure Set in Nappa-Leather Case |

.jpg)