Here’s the dirt on nail salons: 77 Tarrant County salons fined this year

A trip to a nail salon should not lead to death.

But that’s what happened to Kimberly Kay Jackson, a paraplegic, in 2005 after she received a pedicure at a Fort Worth salon.

Her heel was cut with a pumice stone and she soon developed an infection. Another infection followed and eight months later she died of a heart attack that family members say was triggered by a staph infection.

Her family sued Angel Nails in Fort Worth.

“This stupid pedicure killed her,” David Lee Jackson, Kimberly’s ex-husband, told the Star-Telegram in 2006.

Family members claimed the salon didn’t properly clean pedicure tools or the whirlpool foot bath, exposing Jackson and others “to infectious bacteria.”

The lawsuit was quietly settled out of court.

But sanitation concerns still linger at nail salons across Texas.

Statewide, there have been more than 1,150 cosmetology violations this year that generated more than $1 million in fines for the state’s general revenue account, records show.

Among them: the 77 violations at Tarrant County nail salons that resulted in fines of more than $70,000.

Problems cited at local salons range from foot spas not being sanitized every day to employees working without a cosmetology license, according to a Star-Telegram review of online data available through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

It does not mean that nail salons are unsafe. But customers should do their homework before choosing where to get their manicures and pedicures.

“When you first walk in, take a minute and look around,” said Susan Stanford, a spokeswoman with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the agency responsible for regulating the industry

“Is it clean? Is there debris on the floor? Is the condition of the building or furniture in need of repair? If I saw (problems), I’d walk out. Because there’s always another (salon) on the next corner.”

Local problems

State inspections occur at nail salons at least once every two years by TDLR field operations inspectors who check licenses, records and the sanitation of workers and salons. Complaints trigger separate investigations.

Some local salons violated state requirements for failing to properly clean tools and foot spas, failing to keep proper records showing when foot spas were cleaned and failing to wash towels in hot water and bleach or properly ventilate the salon to eliminate strong odors.

Complaints indicated some salon floors weren’t thoroughly cleaned each day; operators leased space to workers who were not licensed; and workers failed to disinfect tools properly.

A look at where the 2017 local complaints were: 28 in Fort Worth, 20 in Arlington, six in Bedford, five in Grapevine, three in North Richland Hills, two in Hurst and Pantego, and one each in Southlake, Blue Mound, Colleyville, Watauga, Haslet, Mansfield, Euless, Westlake, Haltom City, Keller and Irving.

Some of the largest local fines went to three companies:

▪ First Nails in Arlington: $4,300 on Feb. 3 for several violations including operating a cosmetology salon with an expired license, failing to keep a record of date and time on each foot spa daily or bi-weekly cleaning, not cleaning metal bits after each use and failing to property disinfect tools and supplies. A second set of complaints, identical to the first on the same date, also brought fines totaling $4,300. Calls to this business went to an automated message saying the number was not in service.

▪ Nicole Day Spa in Fort Worth: $1,000 on July 11 for allowing someone to attempt or perform cosmetology work without a license; $3,000 on June 28 for leasing salon space to someone working as a cosmetologist without a license and for not following cleaning and sanitization protocols at the spa. Calls to this business went to an automated message saying the number was not in service.

▪ TJ’s Hair & Nails in Fort Worth: $3,500 on March 6 for failing to keep records of the time and date of each foot spa cleaning and not cleaning whirlpool foot spas as required. Calls to this business went to an automated message saying the number was not in service.

There were only a few repeat offenders this year — two complaints at Venus Nails and Spa in Fort Worth, two at Nicole Day Spa in Fort Worth, two at Nail Spa 88 in Hurst and two at First Nails in Arlington.

Also in Tarrant County, several workers were told to either cease and desist their work in cosmetology because they didn’t have a license or had their licenses revoked when they went to prison.

There are 12 field inspectors in North Texas.

‘If it looks dirty ...’

Dr. Bruce Pinker, a New York podiatrist, urges those seeking pedicures to be careful.

“Many patients believe they became infected with toenail fungus at the nail salon,” said Pinker, who specializes in foot and ankle sports medicine, diabetic foot care and foot laser treatment. “Interestingly, it is usually fungus that causes discoloration of the toenail, but also yeast and mold may be the culprit.”

When someone really likes their pedicurist but is a bit uncertain about the salon, Pinker suggests they buy their own pedicure instruments at a beauty salon. Take them home, scrub them and put them in a dishwasher that has heated drying. Then wrap them in cellophane and take them to the nail salon.

Pinker notes that diabetics shouldn’t have their toenails done at nail salons because they face a greater risk for infection if there’s a problem. He recommends they have their toenails done at the podiatrist’s office.

Some in the industry say they are seeing improvements in salons across the country, as they add safety measures such as “5-free nail” polishes with chemical-reduced products and more fresh air ventilation, autoclaves to sterilize utensils and new ventilation systems.

“Most salons are still unsafe for workers and consumers, but the things are trending in the right direction,” said Gary Sadler, an architect and owner of SalonSafe.

Texas officials say inspectors can’t be everywhere all the time.

That’s why they ask consumers to protect themselves — and report any potential violations they see.

Stanford’s key piece of advice: “If it looks dirty, then leave.”

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Here’s the dirt on nail salons: 77 Tarrant County salons fined this year."