Having beautiful nails is often a matter of taking care of them properly. While manicures have been around for a long time, that does not mean that every manicure is safe. To ensure that you get a safe manicure, here are a few things you should look out for.
Cleanliness and Sanitation
Before you get a manicure, it is important to visit a few establishments that you are interested in to see how clean and sanitary they are. Visit the salons to see how they handle their tools as well as work areas. Everything from the clippers to the cuticle trimmer should be sanitised all the time and any surfaces that clients touch should be sanitised after every client.
Also, ask if you can bring your nail tools with you. While some manicurists might frown at the idea, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Bringing your tools gives you peace of mind since you know your tools are always clean and sanitised.
What’s in the Nail Polish?
While you might have a seemingly endless number of colours and nail polishes to choose from, it is important to check what is in the polish themselves. While the distinct smell of nail polish is due to the chemicals used to keep it shiny for a long time, some of these chemicals are toxic. Many of these toxic compounds can lead to hormonal disorders as well as damage to the nail and nail bed. When getting a manicure in Oxford, ensure that the manicurist uses products free of THP, acetone, formaldehyde, parabens, camphor, lead, toluene and dibutyl phthalate.
Avoid Going Too Frequently
Once you get a chance to get manicures often, try to limit your visits to about once a month. Lots of salons use UV lamps to dry the nails. Exposing yourself to UV light regularly can increase your risk of skin cancer. Even when you go once a month, ask the manicurist if they use LED lights instead. Also, the whole procedure might strip your hands of sunscreen so ensure you apply it again before you put your hands under the lights.
Make Sure Your Nails are Healthy
Nails can tell a lot about our physical and mental health. Painting over cracked nails or nails you bite frequently does not help solve the underlying issues. If your nails have blackened, split or discoloured, you should not go to the manicurist. Visit the doctor instead so they can find out what is going on. Apart from painting, do not wear artificial nails if you have brittle nails or are prone to fungal infections. Artificial nails can make both worse.
Getting manicures is great, especially if you are not able to take proper care of your nails by yourself. However, there are a few things that you should look out for before you get the manicure and one of the most important is knowing exactly what is in the products that will be used in your nails.
