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Nail Salon Nightmares

They are everywhere: nail salons, many offering bargain prices. But are they safe?

It's a booming business. But did you know you could not only get sick at one of these nail parlors, but also seriously hurt?

There are more than 15,000 licensed nail salons in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. It's an industry where thousands of women and men go to get pampered. But is your health in jeopardy while you are there?

CBS 2 News' I-Team went undercover to find out.

During their investigation, the I-Team learned that more than half of those salons had not been inspected in at least three years. And if they were, the violations they were cited for were never fixed, said CBS 2 News' Kyra Phillips.

The I-Team began their investigation by sending an undercover agent to L.A. Nails in West Los Angeles.

Manicurists are supposed to soak tools in sanitation fluid but at first glance, the agent noticed that the soaking containers at L.A. Nails were empty.

CBS 2 News' hidden cameras also caught an L.A. Nails' manicurist eating with her fingers. Without washing her hands, she began working on the agent's hands while still chewing her dinner. The I-Team learned that that same manicurist was also not licensed to do nails.

Later, another L.A. Nails employee was seen using a microwave oven to heat up chemicals for a waxing job -- the same oven used to heat the first manicurist's food, said Phillips.

The I-Team took their undercover video to nail educators and teachers at Y-Gloria Nails in Montebello.

"You don't mix food with chemicals," nail expert Alma Blanco told Phillips.

The I-Team also checked state inspection records to find out if L.A. Nails had ever been inspected -- it hadn't.

"The business has skyrocketed," nail expert Gloria Dolbachian told Phillips. "(Nail salons) are popping up everywhere, and because we have not had the law enforcement of our state board, not enough people are checking on salons."

Out of the 16 nail salons that CBS 2 News' visited undercover, only five of them had been inspected within the last three years. But even if the salons were inspected, it doesn't mean that the salon has changed its habits, said Phillips.

A good example of this is Lee's Nails in South Los Angeles. In 1995, Lee's Nails was cited for having no disinfectant available. CBS 2 News found the salon making that same violation when they went there last month. They also found filthy paper towels and worktables, and ashtrays with cigarette butts next to containers of nail chemicals.

Aida Grey in Beverly Hills didn't come away any cleaner, said Phillips. In 1997, Aida Grey was cited for not storing non-electrical items properly and failing to have poisonous containers properly labeled. These violations still existed at the salon when CBS 2 News stopped by for a visit.

Those violations may sound minor, but what about these other unhealthy practices that CBS 2 News found?

At City Nail in La Habra, manicurists were using illegal blades during pedicures. Dead skin particles were found floating in dirty sanitation containers at Woodland Hills' Carnation Nails. And a manicurist at Nails by Kay in Tarzana used dirty paper towels out of the trash to wipe down her worktable.

These are all unsanitary conditions that can infect you, said Phillips.

"Hepatitis! AIDS!" said Blanco. "I mean, that should be enough right there to scare anybody."

So why doesn't a nail salon, even after being cited, clean up its act to ensure health and safety to its customers?

CBS 2 News' I-Team learned that inspections are so few and far between that chances are, the salon won't be re-inspected for at least several more years. Salons can also afford to pay the fine without suffering too much financial strain because the average cost for a state violation is only $25, said Phillips.

Health inspectors say the fine fees are low because it would make no sense to cite salon owners a price they could not afford.

log on to CBS 2, for more info. I had to share, I always go to the nail shop!