ORLANDO, Fla. — 9 Investigates found out the state only looks to make sure a technician or salon has a license and doesn’t check to see how the person performs your service.
Channel 9's Angela Jacobs discovered, it can mean problems for customers.
Some pre-prom primping sent Kiana Nunez to an Orlando salon in April.
She left, at first unaware, of an irritated ingrown toenail.
Next came a trip to the doctor and a course of antibiotics
“Were you bleeding and it was painted anyway?,” asked Jacobs.
“Yes,” Nunez said.
Document: Salons in Central Florida that were investigated for alleged violations this past year
It's a story salon owner Tara Seay said she knows all too well, and why she said she now does more corrective, clinical pedicures above any other service.
“Maybe 90 percent of the new clients that come to me have some type of nail fungus or skin fungus,” said Seay.
Seay said Nunez's cuticle was a classic case of improper clipping.
“They take and go around the side wall of the nail, and they clip it at an angle, sometime the angle is too deep of an angle so it can create an ingrown nail,” said Seay.
The manager at the salon where Nunez was injured refused to go on camera, but said they don't clip clients’ ingrown nails, and she couldn't be sure Nunez hadn’t gone somewhere else before.
While Nunez hasn't yet heard back from her recent complaint with the state, Jacobs found out that salon isn't on the list of 55 violators around Central Florida this past year, 25 of which were in Orlando, with violations ranging from unlicensed activity to poor sanitation.
Those state inspections only address a salon's licensing, and the way it and its instruments are kept—not how they are used, or the skill of who is using them.
Seay said that gray area goes to show how careful customers should be.
“Once you rip that skin off, it's open, it's exposed and say you're in a bowl that was not properly sanitized, then there you go, who knows what is going to grow from it,” she said.
Seay said there are certain things a customer should look out for when choosing a salon.
“If you're going to go to a salon to have a service done on your hands or your feet, and it's like $20 or less, then you have to question that,” she said.
She added there are a host of things to look for when selecting a salon, including bringing your own cuticle set with you.
1) State inspection report should be posted in public view near entrance.
2) Every nail tech or stylist should have their license posted at his or her station.
3) Make sure the tools/implements come out of a clean, enclosed container and have been disinfected from previous client.
4) To further ward against any possibly of poorly sanitized tools, bring your own cuticle set
5) verify that the salon uses an EPA registered disinfectant. This agent protects you from spread of bacteria.
6) The Consumer Protection Notice should be posted and in view of all clients and near the pedicure chairs.
7) The state recommends reading the salon's pedicure logs to make sure they are cleaning the bath regularly. All logs must be posted in view of the public.
8) If you begin to bleed, stop the pedicure/manicure immediately
9) Don't undergo a pedicure/manicure if you have an ingrown nail - consult a doctor first