As awesome as strip mall nail salons are at giving a mani-pedi, I do not recommend getting waxed, nor lashes done at that sort of place. Believe me. From experience. I had to soak my head upside down in hot water for an hour and then pull most of all my own lashes out so I didn’t look like Snookie.
If you like to get inexpensive mani-pedis. . . confessions here – these are a treat I give myself, here are some tips:
Take your own manicure kit – they are supposed to autoclave and sterilize the tools, but they don’t. Trust me, I’m a doctor. Unless you see them open up the plastic pack that shows it has been sterilized, you are lucky if they have even washed them. So, advocate for your own health, and be weird, but take your own so you can make sure they are clean, and lessen the likelihood of you getting a nail infection.
Wear a mask. Conventional nail products emit crazy amounts of cancer causing pollution. You can take your own nail polish, but you can’t control whether the place you visit has good air filters. Protect your lungs and hormones, and wear a surgical mask that you can get from amazon here.
Make sure it is a mask that can filter out VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds)
Take your favorite natural cream without phthalates, SLS and parabens. Have the technician use your product instead of theirs. So you are weird? High maintenance? They talk shit about you in a language you don’t understand? Who cares? You are protecting your health and getting a bespoke service with little to no extra cost.
I love this thick, creamy and delicious smelling product by Shea Moisture. It doesn’t have poisonous chemicals in it, and is from largely natural sources. They have different scents, but this one is my favorite. It smells so damn good it is hard to believe that it is all natural!
If you like to do mani-pedi touch ups at home to help make them last longer, use a low-VOC and formaldehyde free product like this one by Mineral Fusion.
