That Nail Salon Smell: Ventilation, Dust and What OSHA Recommends

Everyone knows the smell of a nail salon. It is a mix of polish, remover and, if acrylics are being done, the sharp smell of the liquid used to make them. For a customer spending an hour there, it is mostly a nuisance. For the technicians who breathe it all day, it is a workplace safety issue, and that is why the best guidance on salon air comes from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

What you are smelling

OSHA explains that nail salon products can contain chemicals that affect health, and that workers can breathe in the vapors, dusts or mists, get products on their skin or in their eyes, or swallow them by accident. Its list of common chemicals includes acetone in polish remover, ethyl methacrylate in artificial nail liquid, formaldehyde in some polishes and hardeners, toluene in some polishes and nail glues, and dibutyl phthalate in some polishes.

The key point in OSHA’s guidance is that exposures add up. They build when many products are used at once, when they are used day after day, and when ventilation is poor. Filing and buffing add another layer: dust from acrylic and other enhancements, which OSHA treats separately from vapors.

What Pennsylvania requires

Pennsylvania’s State Board of Cosmetology keeps it simple: a salon must be well lighted and well ventilated. The rule does not say how. For the how, OSHA’s recommendations are the most practical guide.

What good ventilation looks like

OSHA calls ventilation the best way to lower the level of chemicals in a salon, and it cites laboratory tests by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health showing that exhaust ventilation systems may cut worker chemical exposure in nail salons by at least half. Its advice to salons includes:

• If there is no exhaust system, keep the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system running during work hours, with the thermostat fan set to on rather than auto.
• If the salon has ventilated tables, make sure they are switched on, change their charcoal filters at least once a month and clean the catch basin at least once a week.
• Consider portable ventilation machines that pull dust and chemicals away from the work area.
• Keep product containers closed when not in use, and store and dispose of chemicals properly.

On disposal, OSHA gives a specific example: used liquid acetone must be kept in a fire department approved metal container and disposed of as hazardous waste. The FDA also warns that some nail products catch fire easily near a flame or other heat source, one more reason they should not sit open on a table.

What you can see from the chair

You do not need to inspect a salon’s HVAC system to get a sense of its air. A few things are visible:

• Ventilated manicure tables with a vent or grille near where the technician files.
• Bottles capped between uses, rather than left open on the station.
• Trash with a lid, which Pennsylvania’s rules require anyway for used paper towels.
• A smell that fades after a few minutes, rather than one that grows stronger.

Masks and gloves, explained

You will often see technicians in masks and gloves. OSHA’s guidance helps explain what they do and do not protect against. A filtering facepiece respirator such as a NIOSH-approved N95 protects against particles like dust, viruses and other germs, which helps when filing nails or working with acrylic powder. It does not protect against vapors and gases. For those, OSHA describes half-face respirators with cartridges, used for jobs like pouring chemicals between bottles or cleaning up spills. OSHA also notes that most work in a nail salon does not require a respirator when ventilation and work practices are good.

Gloves have their own logic. OSHA notes that nitrile gloves protect against many chemicals in nail products, but latex or vinyl gloves are the right choice when handling acetone, and torn gloves should be replaced at once.

Salons that say chemical-free

Some salons describe themselves as chemical-free or use products labeled 3-free or higher. OSHA’s caution applies: read labels and safety data sheets and follow the maker’s instructions even for products marked free of hazardous chemicals. Under OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard, manufacturers must give salon owners a safety data sheet for products containing hazardous chemicals above set levels. A salon that can show you those sheets has done its homework. See What Is in Nail Polish: Formaldehyde, Toluene, Phthalates and 3-Free Labels for what the labels mean.

If a salon’s air is so heavy it gives you a headache, trust that signal and try another. Our Salons lets you compare salons by neighbourhood, and What a Clean Nail Salon Looks Like Under Pennsylvania Rules covers the rest of the room.