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God knows that New York women (and some men - we've seen you!) love the cheap manicures and pedicures to be had at pretty much every other street. There are those deals - $20, Monday-Thursday, for manicures and pedicures - that are hard to resist. And Gothamist was just contemplating a cheap manicure for our post-New Year's nails (thanks to de-ornamenting the tree) when we read this AM New York story about the difficulty monitoring the health code at nail salons, and we were reminded of the nail salon hell stories we've heard from friends and the gross fungi they didn't want to show us but we demanded to see only to cry in fear. Are those purple-lit oven-like things that the scissors, files, etc. go into just shams? Augh! The NY Department of State is supposed to monitor nail salons, but has to monitor many other businesses - "boxing, registers corporations, and licenses everything from beauty parlors and private security firms to even pet cemeteries." Inspecting pet cemeteries and nail salons? The deputy secretary of state Eamon Moynihan tells AM NY, "We're operating under the assumption that this is a repeat business. No one has an incentive not to provide quality service." Love the double negative.
There are some suggestions on how to avoid infections, like bringing in your own nail beautification equipment and making sure technicians are licensed. Gothamist would add that you should also use your good sense - if the place looks shady and offers cheap manicures, maybe you shouldn't go there (which isn't to say that you can't get great manicures at cheap places or terrible ones at expensive places). Do you have any tips for checking out nail salons in the city?
SoYouWanna on giving yourself a manicure. And Wikipedia's really cute entry on manicure.
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Pedicures are a lot more risky than manicures. The risk doesn't only, or even primarily, come from the tools used. The real risk in getting pedicures is an uncleaned basin where you soak your feet. It's in the sinks that fungus can really spread. I've witnessed many nail salons - even high end ones - finish one pedicure and proceed to the next customer with only a cursory rinse of the sink - if that. To kill fungus, the sinks need to be cleaned with hot water and bleach (or some equally effective fungus killer) between customers, but that is very rare.
The place I go (Athena's Nails in Astoria, 30th Ave btw 31st and 32nd, $13 AWESOME pedicure) uses these little blue disinfecting packets in the tubs everytime you get a pedicure. All the tools are in the little disinfecting light machines. And I've never gotten a fungus.
Meanwhile, I would think manicures are worse than pedicures, if only because the only time I got a manicure I got a nasty chest cold, the kind I never get. At least my feet don't touch my face 100 times a day.
I second that comment about Athena's -- it's clean and, yes, AWESOME. I never get my nails done anywhere else.
I got my nails done somewhere else a few weeks ago, and it SUCKED! The polish chipped after a week, they didn't clean the tub, and instead of a foot nail fan, they just had a desk with two desk fans attached to it to dry toenail polish! So ghetto. Athena's forver!
(Although I went last night for a polish change and waited like 30 minutes. I had to get up to leave before they noticed and finally helped me. That place is crazy busy 24/7!)
I, myself, am very cautious of sketchy nail salons that offer cheap mani-pedi's while compromising or even altogether disregarding sanitary care of instruments. BUT, I have found a wonderful place on the city's west village that offers $20 manicure-pedicures every day of the week, that I feel safe enough to let cut my cutitles! *gasp* These ladies also do fantastic facials and a wide variety of other spa treatments for half the price of other salons. They're clean, friendly and licensed.
Check them out...Spa Lotus at 8th street and 6th avenue, upstairs. :-)
I'm also a big beliver in the various bloomie nails -- clean, fast and a good job. i frequent the 7th ave @ 18 and 8th ave @ 21st locations
I smell a Google Maps mashup brewing...
one of my friend regrment me go to Mani_Pedi for my nail done. so i went and try them out the day i was there was on 8/25/06 there was these ladi, her name is Linda she did my pedicure. the color oh boy is been a month my colr still look good and is didn't cheap yet. the way her sevies was excellent.
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