Toxic Chemicals Pose Silent Health Risk to Nail Salon Workers

Nha Magazine, News Feature, Ngoc Nguyen, Posted: Sep 26, 2006

When it comes to nail salon safety, consumers are more likely to fear foot fungus, not the beauty products themselves. That despite the fact that the nail industry uses 10,000 chemicals in its products, 89 percent of which have not been safety tested by any independent agency, according to a recent report by the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum.

This has advocates concerned not only for consumers, but nail salon workers.

"We are also very concerned about worker health, typically women of color, Asian immigrants and Asian American women," said Felicia Eaves, a national campaigns organizer with Women' s Voices of the Earth. "They spend lots of time, 10 to 14 hours, working with these products. We know that many of these women have health effects, problems with spontaneous abortion and other health problems."

Eaves' group helped to found the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of public health, environmental, consumer and women's groups, whose goal is to push the beauty industry to use safer alternatives. Advocates won a victory with the 2005 passage of California Senate Bill 484, the Safe Cosmetics Act, which for the first time requires manufacturers to disclose to state officials if they used chemicals linked to cancer or birth defects in their products.

Currently, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not safety test ingredients used in cosmetic or personal care products before they hit the market. That research is carried out by the industry itself. Consumers are left to sift through the tiny type of ingredients listed on the back of the bottle. In the past, manufacturers made it even harder by omitting ingredients from labels, claiming the right to protect trade secrets. However, the Safe Cosmetics Act now requires them to report all carcinogenic compounds.

On the job, nail salon workers come into contact with chemical hazards linked to illnesses, cancers and reproductive harm, including birth defects. The known or suspected carcinogens include phthalates (found in nail polish), formaldehyde, benzene and methylene chloride.

Connie Nguyen, 46, has worked in the beauty business for 10 years. She said she's had some health problems, including difficulty breathing, skin allergies and occasional dizziness.

"I cannot blame what happened on my work, but I do not have an answer to why I got it," said Nguyen. "Even though in a salon, they do different kinds of work. You don't necessarily sit down and do acrylic nails, but the chemicals still affect your respiratory system strongly. No doctor could tell me I have these kinds of problems because of the work I do, but if you don't have the answer, you have to think something must cause it."

Some cosmetic makers dispute a connection between phthalates and reproductive harm, stating that studies have only been carried out on animals. The industry claims its phthalate levels fall within FDA limits, though advocates argue those levels are too high. The European Union has banned phthalates from all of its cosmetics due to health concerns.

Despite health hazards, the popularity of the nail profession is booming.

The nail industry has tripled in size in the last two decades. The majority of workers are women, and nationally, an estimated 42 percent are Asian. In California, home to a fifth of the country's manicurists, an estimated 80 percent are Vietnamese. Of that number, half are of child-bearing age.

"The nail trade is fast, easy and cheap to learn," said Nguyen, "and doesn't require a high level of English language skills." More attractive is the earning potential. Nguyen said nail salon workers can typically make $2000 to $4000 monthly.

Many recent Vietnamese immigrants "already have a plan to come here and get the license quickly and get into it," explained Nguyen. "They are very young, very aggressive and when they come to America and make a few thousand dollars a month, it is very difficult for any organization to tell them you have to think twice."

A couple years ago, Judy Le was enrolled in cosmetology school, and on track to enter the beauty business, like most of the women in her family. She participated in a youth program through Oakland-based Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice. The POLISH project brings together youth and nail salon workers to learn about and organize around toxins in personal care products.

Armed with knowledge about cancer-causing ingredients in beauty products, Le said she questioned her instructors in cosmetology school. "I did talk to my teacher about it," Le said. "But the program didn't talk much about harmful ingredients. We weren't given this information. The program didn't focus on health hazards. It focused on money-making aspect."

Le's participation in POLISH made her think twice about becoming a manicurist after getting her cosmetology license. Now 20 years old, she works part-time as a hairstylist, which she said exposes her to less dangerous chemicals, and is working towards a nursing degree.

"I'm going to school to keep my options open," she said. "I always wanted to be a hairstylist and open my own salon, but I like the idea of helping people as a nurse. In a way, I think nursing and cosmetology are similar in that they give me the chance to help people. With one, I help people feel better about themselves on the outside, and with the other, I help people feel better on the inside by making them healthier."

Le represents a new generation of women in the beauty profession. But women in her mother's generation may be harder to reach with messages of workplace health and safety.

Connie Nguyen hopes getting the word out will make a difference. During an outreach and education event, she met Asian Law Caucus community advocate Linh Tran, and now advises the group on how best to outreach to nail salon workers. The training covers topics like infectious diseases and sanitation, ergonomics, chemicals, ventilation and worker health and safety rights.

"Most people are not aware of the working conditions. Workers themselves do not want to show that picture to you, to customers and to the rest of the world, because they're afraid you won't want to support their business anymore if you know," said Linh Tran. "We're trying to reach the consumer too and do it in a way that doesn't affect business in the nail salon."

When Linh Tran entered Jennifer Trinh's nail salon in downtown Oakland a year ago, the 51-year-old manicurist was ready to undergo her informal training on worker health and safety. Trinh, who said she experiences skin allergies on the job, said she has made some changes in her business.

Trinh said she got into the nail business through her younger sister, who now also runs a nail salon. After 16 years as a manicurist, Trinh said she'd like to see her teenage nieces get an education so they can have more career options.

"I wouldn't want them to do this for a living, because it's so rough on your health," said Trinh. But there are many other young Vietnamese women who are eager to enter the trade.

"More than ten years ago, we learned the nail trade when we got to this country, but now young women in Vietnam are hearing about the nail business from family members abroad," said Trinh. "They're getting training in Vietnam, so they can fast track into the nail industry when they come here."


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