It may feel great to get a new look and be pampered in the process, but what you take away from the salon may be some unwanted skin conditions and germs. You’ve seen the hairstylist reach into a drawer and grab a hairbrush, but do you know where that hairbrush has been? Stylists should be trained to analyze whether or not their clients have broken scalp skin, lice or other skin conditions that could jeopardize the health of subsequent clients. But when instruments aren’t cleaned chemically or in an autoclave, which uses light to sterilize instruments, then they’re simply passing along those germs. The first thing to do when you enter a salon is notice the smell and the temperature. If there is an overly chemical smell – caused by dyes and permanent chemicals – then that means the salon is poorly ventilated.

Poor ventilation, coupled with the heat given off by hair dryers, curling irons and other instruments, makes for a perfect bacteria breeding ground. Look in restrooms where there should be a good supply of soap and towels. If not, then that means your stylist hasn’t properly washed her hands. Take a look at those hands – be sure they’re washed before they touch your body if you’re getting a spa treatment, and be sure stylists’ hands are free of visible cuts and sores. Don’t assume that instruments such as cuticle clippers, scissors and brushes are clean simply because they reside in that blue liquid. Barbicide, as it is called, chemically sterilizes these instruments, but it’s costly for salons, which may replace it with similar-looking glass cleaner. Minimize your risks at the nail salon by avoiding shaving for at least 24 hours before you get a pedicure, and if you have sores on your legs – poison ivy, shaving nicks, bug bites, etc. – avoid the salon until they heal. Avoid artificial nails, which smother your nail bed and can lift away from it, trapping bacteria and fungi in between.