You may have a favorite salon that pampers you exquisitely when you visit and you are delighted with their products and service. Or perhaps you are still looking for that perfect place. Bu either way, when you go for that hair cut, nail service, massage or other service you should feel that not only are you given great quality and attention, the hygiene of the salon should be excellent. After all, there are sharp implements that have being used on others in contact with sensitive areas of your body. The potential for problems, including infections, is alarming and concerning.

The atmosphere should be clean as well as tranquil, or how are you going to feel like you can relax as you were intending? And if you aren't given adequate information about whether the salon meets cleanliness standards, you won't be assured that you are getting the best possible treatment for you or whether it is going to be good for your health OR your looks. You deserve the best when you relax and take care of yourself, so make sure you insist on it!

So there are a number of things you can check for when you are investigating a salon, and you can do it at the same time when you are trying to decide whether their stylists would be able to give you a quality and appropriate hair cut or style. Often when interviewing a health inspector, their comments can be revealing. Even when a salon gives good service at reasonable prices, that initial promise can be ruined by a closer examination that might reveal alarming hygiene problems. Whirlpool spas might not be adequately cleaned between customers, which can be an optimum growth environment for dangerous bacteria. Work stations might be messy or disorganized, chemicals might not be labeled, or implements sterilized or replaced if they are disposable.

Nail salons often have their own sets of problems. They may claim to be a discount salon, but the materials are the same as in the high end places, it is only a difference in service and margin, so be sure that they don't skimp either on adequate materials or in customer service. Those problems might include, in addition to inadequately cleaned instruments, there might be strong chemical smells. Places that specialize in acrylic nails use strong chemicals, some of them worse then others (and some of them that they aren't supposed to use) so if there are strong smells then that's a bad sign that they are using dangerous chemicals or that there isn't adequate ventilation or filtration of the air in the salon. This can be bad for your respiration and your health.

Official inspections of places like this are rare, so you may feel that it falls to you to ensure that the salon meets your standards or even the legal standards of the state they operate in. These types of problems are simply unacceptable for a salon that cares about their customers, and they should be interested in your feedback and respond, or it is certainly a bad sign.

One think that you can ask them is to use equipment on you only if you are a regular customer. If not, the solution may be to ask questions about whether the proper sterilization procedure was met between customers. Some of it you can even offer to bring with you each time. Or if there is an item that can be replaced, you may want to ask to have a disposable item, such as a nail file, used instead of a metal one that needs to be cleaned, particularly since sharp metal objects that are used on metal customers are a rife area for problems.

There are also a few basic checks you can do in addition to the above. When you first walk into a salon to investigate, just have a look around. Does the place have a look and smell of a clean and fresh environment? Dirty un-swept floors or carpets with spots are a bad sign. Do the technicians present themselves professionally, with clean and professional clothes and well-kept hair and nails? Are their work stations clean and organized? Are the laundry items such as towels and hair strips clean and replaced between clients? If any of the answers are no, it should tip you off right away to choose another salon.

You can also ask for referrals, both from friends and family or on one of the many internet review sites. If there are problems with cleanliness, a place likely won't get a good review and that will tip you off. You may wish to accompany someone you know when they are getting their hair done so you can get a firsthand sense of the environment and the stylists.

After all, it is your hair, and no one but you is going to take the responsibility of deciding whether it is adequate for you to patronize, particularly in quality. An infection from improperly sterilized implements would be one of the worst things you could imagine as a result from just getting a c, so it is certainly worth a few minutes of research. Salons and beauty services, rather than nightmare scenarios should be about looking great and relaxing and getting pampered, and there are a lot of great places out there, so it shouldn't be easy to find one!

And when you do, be sure to give them a great review. This will be good for the salon that gave you great service, and great for the customers like you that need information about what place to choose. And certainly don't forget to give the great technician a tip. It is how they make a living, and will be a good reward for doing the good job you are counting on.