GREENSBORO, N.C. — A Triad woman says she will never go to a nail salon again. She said she had a nightmare experience at a Greensboro salon that left her with a fungal infection.
WFMY News 2 chose not to name the salon because we can't prove for certain she got the infection there. But there's still a lesson to learn from the customer's experience.
The woman who only wanted to reveal her first name said she got a dip powder manicure on October 17th.
Bethany said the nail tech cut her while filing her nails, dipped her finger into the powder container, and finished the process.
"I noticed about a week later I had a little spots go up [around a few nails] and tried creams over-the-counter and then soaked them in alcohol and peroxide and it just kept getting worse, " she said.
When her nails started to bleed earlier this week, she went to the doctors who diagnosed her with a fungal infection.
Despite the name, "dip powder manicure" nail techs in North Carolina are not supposed to put your finger into the original powder container.
If several customers do this, bacteria can become a problem.
"Our rules are very clear indicating once a product has come into contact with the client, it has to be thrown away," said Lynda Elliott Executive Director of the NC Board of Cosmetic Art Examiner.
If you see a nail tech dipping nails into containers and putting them back on the shelf they are breaking the rules.
Nail techs should divide the powder into a small, clean container for each customer.
At that point, they can dip the nail in, but again, the leftover powder and must be trashed.
They could also use a brush to sprinkle powder over your nail.