Articles

by Holly Clegg

Women fond of well-maintained tips and toes can often be seen dropping in at their local beauty and spa salon for a manicure or pedicure.  And who can blame them? Parlors specializing in beauty nail and spa treatments offer comfort, rejuvenating massages, perfectly finished nails and even some of the local gossip.

It’s hard to believe that there is a slightly sinister undertone to this pampering, and yet inside each nail salon is a health threat that is increasingly gaining more and more newspaper inches.
As you are primped, pampered and spoiled in these beauty salons, you can’t help but be aware of the nagging smell of acetone and glue applied in the artificial nail procedures and varnish removers. Acetone is the most commonly used chemical solvent for removing nail polish but is so powerful, it is also used for making paint thinner.

Similarly, adhesives used by spa and salon experts for gluing artificial or acrylic nails have an equally harsh chemical composition, emitting the strong, dizzying smell found in beauty spas. Inhaling these chemical odors can be very harmful and have been seen to cause light-headedness in women who are exposed to these fumes in a spa and massage salon for long periods of time.

If the news alerts over the last few years are to be believed, the use of the common nail adhesive Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) can cause dangerous nail infections and permanent nail damage. Alarmed by these outcomes, the American government has approved only Ethyl Methacrylate (EMA) adhesives for affixing synthetic nails. In fact, the use of acrylic nails is not without other more dramatic health hazards and may lead to cancer and mental disorientation due to prolonged skin contact and fumes.

As the health threats finally became common knowledge, the problems of toxicity began to scare customers and owners of beauty spas alike. As a result, a growing “green movement” has started to touch every beauty and spa parlor in the US. Called the ‘Toxic Beauty’ project, it encourages nail salons and spas to adopt environmentally and health-friendly means of beauty.

The movement is aimed at helping beauty product researchers find alternative methods of manicure and pedicure by using safer products. At the same time, it strived to create exposure-reducing containers for chemicals and better ventilation systems in beauty spas to put their customers and employees at ease while they undertake chemical-based nail jobs.

In appreciation of their ‘go-green’ efforts, last year The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $100,000 to two Seattle based non-profit groups who joined hands with the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice. These awareness-creating groups encouraged the use of recycled materials in décor and paper supplies.

As a result of these efforts, the new green beauty nail salons and spas are marked by energy-efficient lighting, renewable architectural resources, organic oils, lotions and waxes, non-toxic nail polishes and acetone-free soy-based nail polish removers and are attracting more customers every day.

The onus of seeking out these green beauty spas rests on women like you who must not trade their health for their beauty. When you walk into a natural beauty nail and spa, you will find its minimalist interior decoration and the complete lack of chemical odors striking, inviting and fascinating.

If you want to learn more about the revolution brought about by these all-natural beauty spas, visit http://hbconnection.com

This article expires on August 13, 2014