WTOL 11 Special Report: Nasty Nails - Fox29 WFLX TV, West Palm Beach, FL-news & weather

Doctors say, there is a large risk associated with salons not properly sterilizing equipment and their overall cleanliness.

     

Doctor Bruce Saferin, a Toledo Podiatrist, says you can see skin infections, athlete's foot, fungal infections of the skin and of the nail too where they become discolored.  He says, "You could literally lose a toe or a finger if the infection got that bad, that's certainly the worst case."

 

WTOL 11 pulled more than a dozen inspection reports from the Ohio State Board of Cosmetology.  Of those reports, two salons were found to be non compliant and received a violation.

     

Da-Vi Nails in Findlay received a violation for general sanitation back in May.  It was noted, porous items can only be used once and then must be thrown away.  In a follow up inspection, the salon received a second violation. The report says "the salon is still reusing files and buffer blocks. Several nail stations have porous items in them."

 

Meg Lamantia is a Supervisor with the Ohio State Board of Cosmetology. She also happened to be the inspector at the time of the violation.  Lamantia says a sanitation violation is very serious because it puts the customer at risk, and talks about what she saw while inspecting Da-Vi Nails, "In their nail station you find used files, when their finished with a service they need to take the porous items and throw them in the trash."

 

We spoke with the owner's daughter of Da-Vi Nails who disputes the claims.  She says the files found were hers and that she had been using them on her own hands and feet, and not the customers.  Although, the inspector found porous items not just once but twice.  The salon did say however, they have made changes since the inspection.

 

Continued violations could cost a salon big time. Lamantia says a fine can be anywhere from $100 to $500.  It can also cause a salon's license to be revoked, like what happened to another salon in the Findlay area.

 

Back in May, USA Nails located on Tiffin Avenue received it's third violation for unlicensed employees, causing the salons license to be revoked.

 

Lamantia, says on top of revoking their license, the salon also paid a $2,000 fine.

 

But the salon was very much open when we checked it out for ourselves.

 

The reason? 

 

It was able to stay open by reapplying for a new license under a different owner.  It's essentially a way for salons to get around the system.

 

It's something Lamantia says is "unfortunately common practice." 

 

But not for long.

     

Lamantia, says, "In the future we have some laws and rules changing and when our new rules come into effect which will be very soon probably within the next month or two we're putting a stop to that, so somebody cannot relicense that facility."

 

So what can you do to make sure you are getting the best service from your salon?

 

Experts say, do you your research and ask questions.

     

Dr. Saferin says, "I ask them to check on the sterilization."

     

Lamantia agrees, "When you go into the nail salon, don't be afraid to ask the questions, see that they're using clean implements and see that they're using one-time-use implements on the porous items."

To check if you're favorite salons have the proper license to operate click here: https://license.ohio.gov/lookup/default.asp

 

To file a complaint with the Ohio State Board of Cosmetology click here: http://www.cos.ohio.gov/uploads/File/complaint%20form.pdf