Your nails create big beauty salon business. Spending anywhere from $10 – $45 a pop for a manicure and $15 – $50 for a pedicure (not including tip), your weekly or monthly salon visits are costing you precious pampering dollars. No wonder it’s a six billion dollar a year industry.

Skip to see the 11 things your nail salon doesn’t want you to know now.  As you can imagine, the money you spend on these little luxuries is very important to the salon industry, meaning they will do whatever it takes to keep you coming back for more. While sometimes “whatever it takes” is going above and beyond excellent service, cleanliness and technique, it can also mean cutting corners and deceiving the salon layman in order to keep costs down and business booming.

And not to totally scare you, but what’s supposed to be a luxurious treat, can sometimes turn into your worst nightmare — think skin eating diseases and infections. While yes, millions of women get manicures each year and don’t experience any serious or life-threatening side effects, you’d be naive to believe that it could never happen to you. Nail salons that have been insufficiently cleaned or performed bad sanitization practices, as well as ones with inadequately trained nail technicians, could be a breeding ground for bacteria and a dangerous place for you to “unwind.”

This is why we went straight to the pros who know — nail technicians and a podiatrist in order to uncover the secrets nail salons don’t want you to know. Read on to learn how to save money at the salon, your nails and possibly your life.
You are always at riskPodiatrist Dr. Robert Spalding, author of “Death by Pedicure,” states that “at this time, an estimated one million unsuspecting clients walk out of their chosen salon with infections — bacterial, viral and fungal.” And no matter which salon you go to, there is always a risk of infection.

He claims that in his research “75 percent of salons in the United States are not following their own state protocols for disinfections,” which includes not mixing their disinfectant solutions properly on a daily basis, not soaking their instruments appropriately, and using counterfeit products to reduce costs (for example Windex substituted for Barbicide), says the doctor. And the problem is that there is no way to really “verify an instrument has been properly
soaked and sterilized,” without watching the process.

They don’t turn customers awayLike most businesses, most nail salons won’t turn away paying customers, which means that people who are sick, have nail infections or foot fungus are being worked on next to you instead of being referred to an appropriate medical professional. Dr. Spalding says that the greatest danger of the nail salon is “The transmission of infection from one client to another.” And with “millions of people whose immune systems are compromised by diabetes, HIV, cancer, hepatitis and other infective organisms” booking services offered in nail salons, many are dangerously susceptible to infection, warns the doctor.

They swap and dilute bottlesIn her long history as a nail technician, celebrity manicurist Jin Soon Choi, owner of Jin Soon Natural Hand and Foot Spas in New York City, says she has heard of many salons filling expensive lotion bottles with a cheap generic lotion. That way the salons can charge you more for the manicure by claiming to use prestige products, but in reality are just deceiving you. Similarly, she says that some salons will dilute nail polish bottles that have become clumpy from old age or from too much air exposure with nail polish remover.

This action compromises the quality of the polish, which will make the formula chip easier once on your nails. To
ensure the life of your color and to protect any possible germ. Just because there is no blood, doesn’t mean you haven’t been cut”Breaks in the skin can be microscopic or highly visible,” says Dr. Spalding. They can either come in with the client via “cuts, scratches, hangnails, bitten nails, insect bites, paper cuts, split cuticles — or be created in the salon,” he says.

“Nail techs using callus-cutting tools and nail nippers, files, cuticle pushers, and electric burrs and drills, can and do scratch and nick skin,” sometimes drawing blood and sometimes not. But just because no blood is visible, doesn’t mean these “portals of entry” aren’t susceptible to infective organisms, the doctor advises. If you’ve ever had your nails filed and it momentarily feels “too hot in the corner for even a second,” then you’ve had the surface layer of your skin broken — leaving it open for infection.

12 Things your Nail Salon doesn’t want you to Know Part 3

When you
shave matters
You shouldn’t shave before getting a pedicure, says Choi, as pedicurists do not care if you have hair on your legs. Also, shaving your legs
makes you more prone to infection as newly shaved legs have opened pores (and often tiny nicks you can’t see) that are susceptible to
infectious diseases. So don’t be wary of showing off some stubble at the salon, she says. 

Some tools can’t be sanitized 
You can only put metal tools in the autoclave, says Choi. And as we stated before, only an autoclave kills a 100 percent of all bacteria
and viruses. Nail salon tools like pumice stones, emery boards, nail buffers and foam toe separators need to be swapped out after each use
to prevent the spread of bacteria. That’s why you’re best off bringingyour own — just in case the salon doesn’t follow this practice. If
you see any white residue on a nail file, it means it’s been used on someone else.

Footbaths aren’t your friend
"Whirlpool footbaths," though seemingly safe, are filled with city water, which may or may not be free of microbes, says the
doctor and are typically difficult to clean. Even though most nail salons disinfect their tubs, researchers for the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention typically find bacteria that could cause boils and rashes in most according to the "New York Times." And
it’s extremely hard to bust these salons with having microbe growth, as many times salons aren’t linked to the infections because boils can
take as long as four months after a pedicure to develop.

You don’t need your calluses removed
Many salons will try and talk you into callous removal, as it is usually an additional service and charge. But Skyy Hadley, celebrity
manicurist and owner of the As "U" Wish Nail Spa, says it is not always necessary. "If you’re an athlete then you should
never remove your calluses as these actually help level your performance. If you are not an athlete, you should have your calluses removed
with a deep soak and scrub once they become thick and uncomfortable," she says.

If you do opt for callous removal, always choose scrubbing or a chemical remover. Never allow your nail technician to cut or shave the skin
off your feet. "Cutting is cutting," and "not recommended," says Choi. Not to mention, the more you cut, the thicker the
calluses will grow back, she advises. 

Mistake No. 8: Using pencil on your eyebrows “A penciled eyebrow looks painted and weird (hello Joan Crawford),”
Patel says. Nevertheless, many women still go this route to fill in brows. A better option: “Choose an eye shadow color that matches your hair color and apply with a thin, stiff, angled brush using tiny strokes,” Patel says. We confess: “I used to use pencil to fill in my brows and I recently switched to a waxy powder,” says Meghan. “I can’t tell you the difference it makes! With the pencil, you could totally tell that I did some fill-in work. This waxy powder is so much easier to use, easier to fix if I mess up, and looks way more natural.”

Mistake No. 9: Wearing black eyeliner in the daytime “Here is a general rule: dark colors shrink and recede,” Patel says. “Light colors advance and bring forward.” That’s why she recommends skipping black eyeliner (especially underneath eyes) during the day, so your eyes look more open and awake. We confess: “Yikes, I do this almost every day,” says Sarah. “I do like how the liner defines my eyes. I think I look tired without some liner on. But I will admit that black can be a bit harsh for daytime, so maybe a switch to brown liner is in order. Same effect without the goth undertones.”

Mistake No. 10: Wearing glitter“The thing that bothers me the most about glitter in makeup, besides the fact that it
shouldn’t be worn by anyone over the age of 14 (fabulous club kids get an exception here), is that it travels on your face, leaving strange sparkly spots where they shouldn’t be,” Patel says. Instead of chunky glitter, she recommends shadows with finely milled shimmer — used sparingly, of course. We confess: “I got super into glitter in junior high when I discovered Tony & Tina, this fabulous line that specialized in glitter-packed makeup,” says assistant editor Sharon. “While their products were amazing (sadly discontinued), I unfortunately used glitter on more than one area at a time. So … glittery eye shadow, glittery eyeliner, sparkly blush, and glitter-infused lip gloss. Yowza. In hindsight I probably looked like I got into a fight with a tub of glitter — and lost.”

Mistake No. 11: Going nuts with “luminizing” products“Luminous particles have been added to everything in the past few years, most notably foundations, powders, and highlighting products,” Patel says. “One or two such products can make a woman look fresh and glowing. Too many can make her look very, very strange.” Think glowing head on a matte body, or like you spent your morning leaning over an oil vat — not exactly sexy. Patel suggests limiting your illuminating products to these areas: cheekbones, inner eye corners, and (if used sparingly) under the eye. We confess: “I had this great Stila luminizing powder — I wore it everywhere, every day,” says Beth. “It was part of my uniform. Then I caught my reflection in really strong daylight one time, and I realized how it was highlighting every bump, scar, and
wrinkle on my face. From then on, it was a nighttime thing only — and even then, only when I was going to a darkly lit place.”

Read this article and you’ll find them!

What is there in common among women like Catherine Zeta-Jones, Courtney Cox, Jennifer Love-Hewitt, and Cindy Crawford? Other than being the prettiest women who shine on screen and red carpets, they also use products to take care of their skin and hair, and you know what? You can find them in your nearest supermarket!

What are the secrets of this gorgeous natural beauty?

Oscar Winner, Kate Winslet, always looks stunning wherever she goes. Last season we saw her in many events, promoting her films and attended many red carpet events –where she won best actress for her roles in “The Reader” and “Revolutionary Road”.  But, what does she do to keep herself beautiful and radiant?. She’s not the common beauty we see in Hollywood since we don’t hear about her last Botox treatment or plastic surgery. What everybody loves about Kate Winslet is her natural and classic beauty. She claims to be like every woman, she isn´t obsessed about being skinny.

Today FEBstore.com has more beauty secrets to share with you. You will be amazed! Last week we were talking about our celebrity beauty tips. Most of them use products you can find at home, which is really helpful for us. We usually
have many things to do at home and we think: Oh God, I wish I had someone who can clean up this mess. But NO, do it by yourself! If you don’t have time to do Pilates or any other  training activities as your favorite stars, do your own house chores, just like Diana Ross, who said: “Cleaning is a tremendous stress reliever and keeps my body taut“. So, it’s not just about your body, it’s about your mind too.

Do you want more beauty tricks? You asked for them, well FEBstore.com will get’ em for ya! Do you remember how Cindy Crawford and Jennifer Love Hewitt took care of their skin face?

Farouk’s CHI Flat Iron is simply the best hair straightener on the market. It is very easy to use, with a 10 foot swivel head cable which makes it even easier. The cable is longer than on most other brands, and the swivel head makes it so much easier to manage and manipulate.

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