Take the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative (Collaborative) consumer survey, and enter the raffle for a $50 gift certificate!

The Collaborative knows that consumers consider a variety of factors when making purchasing choices, especially when those choices can impact their or their families’ health. When choosing a nail salon, less toxic products and good ventilation are probably important factors for many women. Other things like location, friendliness of the nail salon, and cost of the services may be high, or even higher, priorities for other women.

The Collaborative wants to find out what influences YOU to choose one nail salon over another. If you’ve never had a manicure or pedicure, we’d like to know what would influence you to visit a salon and obtain those services for the first time.

Please take a couple of minutes (we really mean it—only a couple!) to fill-out this short survey. You’ll be entered into the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative raffle for a $50 gift certificate through Amazon.com. You’ll be helping us out a lot, too. Thanks!

Read on to find out how the trend of using safer nail salon products is spreading.

If you live, work or play in San Francisco, and you like to treat yourself to an occasional (or frequent!) pedicure or manicure, you’ll soon be able to enjoy a less toxic and healthier experience. On February 7, 2012, the City and County of San Francisco adopted groundbreaking regulations establishing the Healthy Nail Salon Recognition Program. The Program is at the beginning stages of implementation but eventually San Francisco’s recognized “Healthy Nail Salons” will be listed on the City’s Department of Environment’s website and will display a Healthy Nail Salon logo.

By Flickr user _Fidelio_

The goals of the Program are to support nail salons that use safer and less toxic products for workers and customers, including polishes that are free of the “toxic trio” -- dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, and formaldehyde. Also, through consumer awareness and pressure, manufacturers whose products contain any of the toxic trio will be encouraged to make their nail products safer.

The California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative (Collaborative) along with Environment California and Asian Law Caucus co-sponsored the city ordinance that established this landmark program. The Collaborative is working on spreading programs like this to other regions, resulting in healthier products and practices for nail salon consumers, workers, and owners across California and other states.

Catherine Porter, JD is the Policy Director at California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative.