Doing Nails as a living.

[luckytxn 2,263]

I actually know many nail techs and none make that kind of money. Of course most of them are in the Houston area and one in the Boston area. (She makes good moolah but the cost of living is way higher) and a few other areas. At the school there were a few girls learning to do hair as they were tired of the nail stuff. Two because the chemicals were making them sick. At the main place where my wifes Aunt owns they had a couple of nail techs but it was more hassle then it was worth so they got rid of it and put in two more hair stations.

It can be good and many do it but you must really like doing it and work many hours and accrue a big clientèle that keeps coming back. The same with cutting hair also and pretty much any business. We do have someone that may want to put in a couple of nail chairs at the new shop and have asked my wife about it but at the time the answer is no. They will be just renting the chairs and paying rent and also paying for all their own supplies. There are many other places that do nails.

[Dau Que 6]

OP,

You forgot one important fact about nail salon biz: the health risk. Make sure you loved one, wife, or whoever, makes and puts aside enough $$ to buy a REALLY GOOD life insurance policy for the children, after the cancer starts showing up later in her life.

Money is Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood, for now. But so is the news when she's got the cancer from exposure to those chemicals.

[ScottThuy 140]

Dai, Did you buy a nail salon yet?

[Icarus 0]

Personally, I believe that this market has peaked and is oversaturated in most major cities. It has its benefits, but it also has a lot of pitfalls for mixed-culture marriages. When my wife came to the US, she went to nail school, got her license and has worked in several shops. In the course of that time, I've seen her treated poorly and taken advantage of by her bosses. Most customers undertip and talk down to the nail techs. She consistently worked 6 day weeks, 10-12 hour days and rarely came home with 'tons of cash'....and with a 60/40 split and slow days, there were days she came home frustrated with very little. Most days tho, her income was acceptable, but the stories told by her coworkers was that the money was good back a few years ago, but has since dried up. Nobody is spending the money like they used to anymore and they weren't coming in as frequently either.

Looking for a new job, or for an english or trade school were made near impossible as the workers aren't given time off or let out early by their bosses. Sometimes out of fear of losing the job or their place in the pecking order within the shop, the girls would remain. Often, my wife would miss out on family events and other activities because of this. On top of that, to make the extra money, they encourage the girls to learn how to do 'full sets', which use the chemicals that can really do damage over time. In the few short years my wife had worked in these shops, she developed skin problems on her cheeks and it has taken a TON of different moisturizers and lotions to help it disappear. Also, most of these shops hire people on a split and not by salary, so the workers are only making money if the shop has customers. Many, many of the owners refuse to do any advertising (as it costs money) and often there are days where only 3-4 customers come in. This is a reality in most city markets. I can't imagine the smaller towns are raking in the thousands weekly, no less for a nail tech, because I don't believe there would be such a difference between the urban and rural markets. Others on here discussion have crunched the numbers pretty accurately and its really a no-win situation.

In the end (if your wife can handle it) its better to send her to english classes and help her find a starting job at a retail or department store like Sears, Walmart, Marshalls, etc to help introduce them into the 'real' american workforce. Benefits, paid sick and vacation days, labor laws, and social security are things that have made my wife soooo happy to leave the nails behind and feel like a part of this country and the American dream.

[SuperDuper! 230]

It's nice to think that a gal can open a nail salon, work hard 12 hrs a day, and live a middle class lifestyle, and balance a home and family life, too. A very romantic notion. But no one is talking about the ugly under belly of this exploitive industry.

In today’s North American society, nail salons are a dime a dozen! So naturally the market has become infiltrated by lower end salons, ones which charge $10 to $20 for manicures and pedicures as opposed to the more traditional price of $50. Now how is that possible? It IS possible when you hire people who are usually refuges, can’t speak the language and come from poor countries, sometimes even “third world-like”.

Such is the case with the numerous Oriental, especially Vietnamese filled, nail salons, where the price is cheap, the service is usually good and the health effects are incalculable for both customer and worker – but especially the worker.

These lower end nail salons are today frequented by many men and women a like as they usually promote various services beyond just manicures. In them you will usually find, young Vietnamese or other Oriental girls, who work from morning till night, for minimum pay in a toxic environment!

Many of these young women are in their fertile years and have not even had their own babies yet and really have no say in the matter of their health. After all these are not the people who are going to be first in line to complain about their working conditions. They are often thrilled just to be in North America and have a job – that compared to some of their friends, may even seem very decent.

Some may argue that by supporting these establishments we are giving them a new opportunity in this country and money to survive. But how can you argue that when these women are acquiring all sorts of respiratory tract complications, never mind the cancers or the possible teratogenic effects to their unborn children?

Well finally someone decided to look deeper into this and investigate and the following survey presents the information gathered.

The Survey Results

According to a new survey from the Northern California Cancer Center and Asian Health Services of Oakland, the women who work in these nail salons suffer acute health effects from the chemicals that they work with each day.

This is the first survey of its kind as you can imagine the marginalized groups in our society do not get the same care and concern as the affluent, rich or famous groups. Aside from the fact that it is time to make this issue a national health concern not just for the workers but for the customers who use these services, it also begs the point of why are we allowed to use toxic products – period!

It is no surprise that there are health effects associated with nail chemicals as they have contained some of the worst toxins, especially where fumes are concerned since they were developed. And despite all the technology, no much has changed, so don’t go looking for “organic” or “natural” nail polish – you won’t find it. As Thu Quach, MPH, of the Northern California Cancer Center explained, “Nail care workers routinely handle products containing many potentially harmful compounds, some of which are carcinogens or have endocrine disrupting effects, yet are virtually unregulated.” Now how is that for the safety of our health?

Many toxic and potentially hazardous ingredients, including solvents, plasticizers, resins and acids, are commonly found in nail care products. The nail salon industry is recognized as one of the fastest growing in the United States. Of California’s more than 35,000 salons, the vast majority are owned or operated by Vietnamese women. In Canada the story is very similar.

The survey found that many of the women questioned reported having some health problems after they began working in the industry, particularly skin and eye irritation, breathing difficulties and headaches. And those are just the acute reports. What is happening inside of these women on a chronic or long term level, still remains to be seen. Unfortunately they are the first generation of workers who are the guinea pigs. So I would not be surprised to learn in the future that these women will have higher risks of cancers, fertility issues and other endocrine disruptions.

The best part of this study is that it is finally putting a spotlight on a situation that may otherwise have been overlooked for years since it deals with the minorities of our population. “Our findings highlight a critical need for further investigation into the breast cancer risk of nail salon workers, underscored by the workers’ routine use of carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, their prevalent health concerns about such chemicals, and their high level of acute health problems,” adds Thu Quach, MPH.

The full results of this survey are scheduled to appear in the October print issue of Journal of Community Health.

For more information, read this story from Women’s Voices for the Earth on the health risks related to Vietnamese nail salon workers that include some personal accounts and testimonies from some of these women.

Low-end versus High-end nail Salons

If you are wondering about the traditional higher end salons and their risk, there is a good reason why the low-end salons are getting so much attention and are at more risk.

In the higher-end salons, first and foremost the products used are of a much higher quality. And in some of these cases a better formulation translates to use of less-toxic chemicals.

In the lower-end salons, the cosmetics are as cheap as possible to keep the costs down. Therefore they can come from any source that will make them in the cheapest fashion possible, without any care or concern for health risks. After all a brand name label usually does have some sort of reputation to live up to.

For example, if you go to a higher-end salon for a typical French manicure or pedicure, it is done with nail polish by hand. If you get the same service at a lower-end salon, it is usually done as a spray on, which emits high amounts of toxic particulates into the air.

So if you are going to go ahead and feel that for whatever reason you absolutely have to have your nails done, I would suggest paying the extra cost and getting the less toxic treatment.

Personal Health Risks

Whether you are thinking of yourself or the workers, no body in today’s day and age should have to be subjected to these kinds of risks. And I know some may still argue that this is way better for these women than the lives they led back home. But how do two wrongs make a right?

On a personal note, you may also argue that your exposure to these chemicals is minimal compared to the women working there and so surely you will be fine. Well – to this we must always remember 2 things:

1. You do not know what types of chemicals or mutations your body has a sensitivity or weakness to. Hence, one person may get multiple exposure doses and be fine, while another may end up with a cancer after only several exposures.
2. These chemicals are just ONES of many that your body is subjected to on a daily basis in our world. So it would make more sense to minimize deliberate chemical exposure as much as possible to avoid cumulative toxic effects.

So Why Do You Need Your Nails Done?

A few articles ago I told you that I wear make up and introduced you to a company that deals with more natural and organic based makeup called FutureNatural. And yes, even though they do carry nail polish, I would still not buy it.

I do not and cannot remember the last time I wore nail polish or on a regular basis, never mind one that was colored. In fact I have never worn nail polish on a regular basis (hands or feet). People would always, and still do, tell me how nice my nails on my hands are…how white and how strong, etc. I am not surprised by this compliment and no it is not genetic. My nails are able to breathe regularly and do not get covered by toxins, so yes naturally they are going to be healthier overall.

I did try to use some clear nail polish on my toes in the summer and even had a French pedicure twice, but that was because I let society condition me into thinking that toe nails were “ugly” or “unsightly” and hence should be covered, especially for women. Well I am breaking out of that old conditioning and stopping with the toe nail polish too.

Are my toe nails perfect – no – and not even close to my hand nails as naturally they are covered up about 8 – 10 months out of the year. But I will invest more time into getting them to look healthier and tasteful naturally, not use a quick fix remedy for them.

So if there is one cosmetic that is the most toxic it would have to be the nail polish/nail polish remover combo. The fumes you generate from using these just inside of your homes should give you a clue to that. And will one time hurt – probably not. But think about regular and prolonged use over years. That may equate to some unexplained headaches, respiratory weaknesses and even worse cancers and endocrine disruptions. Remember – these products are not regulated and we are just starting to run tests as to their health and toxicity effects.

Hence to conclude, most of us want a nice and neat appearance, but we have to be aware also of the risks associated with that appearance if we attain it in a chemical way. So if you still think your nail polish is a must, try to think again and try to break out of society’s old conditioning as remember, they will not be the ones going through your pain and suffering should your health have to pay for it now or in the future.

http://evolvingwellness.com/posts/120/nail-salon-health-risks/

[Dai. 7]

OP,

You forgot one important fact about nail salon biz: the health risk. Make sure you loved one, wife, or whoever, makes and puts aside enough $$ to buy a REALLY GOOD life insurance policy for the children, after the cancer starts showing up later in her life.

Money is Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood, for now. But so is the news when she's got the cancer from exposure to those chemicals.

Again I will post this for everyone who thinks my wife wants to do nails for a living:

I just want to clarify to everyone as some people have private messaged me, warning me not to let my wife do nails as the life style is pretty hectic and the money you make is not worth the time you spend doing nails all day, My wife does not want to do nails where we live in Houston Texas. She is actually wanting to go into beauty school for training to be a hair stylist. She wants to work at a place like Tony & Guy or Visible Changes. My wife does not like the smell and chemicals those nail places have. I just simply posted this thread to see if it's true the type of money nail people make.

Edited June 13, 2010 by Dai_Tx

[Dai. 7]

Dai, Did you buy a nail salon yet?

Lol nah no nail salon for me... I may considering following LuckyTXN wife's footsteps and opening up a hair salon but we'll see. My work for my business is pretty stressful. I don't know if I can fit more stress in my life with opening up another side business.

[ScottThuy 140]

I knew that.. just pullin that chain... she still has a few more kids to grow up... son will be next year?

[Dau Que 6]

Again I will post this for everyone who thinks my wife wants to do nails for a living:

Ooops, my short memory! Your wife is the one with the silver spoon in her mouth! She's driving a brand new Lexus (you even showed a pictured in here in the past to brag) and a 3,000 plus squarefeet NEW built house.

My wife, on the hand, took Metro bus to her ESL class and when she asked me for a new car, I told her to go work at a local Asian supermarket as a cashier at minimum wage and when her credit is good enough, I'll help her to purchase a "runable" car.

Dai, some people have no other choice but to choose the hair salon biz to make a living due to their limited skill. They all wish to be born with a silver spoon, but reality is much different.

Edited June 13, 2010 by Dau Que

[Dai. 7]

[Teacher Mark 53]

Ooops, my short memory! Your wife is the one with the silver spoon in her mouth! She's driving a brand new Lexus (you even showed a pictured in here in the past to brag) and a 3,000 plus squarefeet NEW built house.

My wife, on the hand, took Metro bus to her ESL class and when she asked me for a new car, I told her to go work at a local Asian supermarket as a cashier at minimum wage and when her credit is good enough, I'll help her to purchase a "runable" car.

Dai, some people have no other choice but to choose the hair salon biz to make a living due to their limited skill. They all wish to be born with a silver spoon, but reality is much different.

Better be careful Cowboy, if you don't spoil her someone else might. Ever hear of Jodie?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVFlolrA7Wo

Edited June 13, 2010 by Mr. Saigon

[luckytxn 2,263]

Lol nah no nail salon for me... I may considering following LuckyTXN wife's footsteps and opening up a hair salon but we'll see. My work for my business is pretty stressful. I don't know if I can fit more stress in my life with opening up another side business.

When the time comes in the future let me know and I will be glad to help in any way. Also it is stressful somewhat. Just take your time and let it happen naturally and you both will know when the time is ripe. The most important thing is placement of the new establishment and that means away from the big city.

[ScottThuy 140]

Location...Location...Location... Roger is another one to help pick a good location.. He picked a winner for his business...