WFAA-TV

After News 8's undercover camera investigation into North Texas nail salons aired in March, many viewers wanted to know how to find clean salons that practice good sanitation.

Lucky for those in search of such information, there are ways to find a good salon.

Like many nail salon customers, Laurie Ryan said as she sits down for a pedicure she does think about sanitation.

"Your health is in their hands in many ways," she said. "So, it has to be the most important thing."

But a News 8 undercover investigation found some salon nail technicians violating health rules, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Officials said those violated rules are regulations that were created to prevent bacterial skin infections.

In reaction to such salons, the International Pedicure Association arranged for a visit to Fancy Nails and Spa in Fort Worth as a way to show consumers what to look for in a salon following state rules.

Owner Mindi Le said customers entering a salon should first scan the salon to see if it looks clean and clear of trash and clutter.

"When people walk in, they don't have to be bumping into things and all that," she said.

Some things should be immediately apparent, like state licenses clearly displayed and nail techs washing their hands before working on each customer.

However, some rules are less known.

During the original investigation, the News 8 undercover camera captured images of a manicurist setting up a table without disinfecting. The table should be cleaned with a disinfectant before each customer.

A customer should never see cloudy wet sanitizer.

"You're supposed to clean this everyday; yes, everyday," Le said. "If all this cloudy stuff is in there, that's been there for days and you have to clean it out."

The tech doing Ryan's pedicure opened a sealed sterilizer bag holding the implements.

But during the undercover investigation, video revealed one nail tech in another salon taking implements out of an open bag. TDLR requires the sterilization of implements. A sealed bag shows the salon sterilized them by the best method, an autoclave.

"The arrows have to turn color; usually the color of it is blue," Le said. "It's a light blue, but once it turns a dark brown that means this bag has been sterilized."

A tech wearing gloves is a good sign. The state doesn't require them, but Fancy Nails and Spa considers them added protection.

In one salon, the undercover video showed one nail tech just rinse a spa chair basin with water. The state requires salons to clean the basin with soap and water and then disinfect it in-between each customer.

Le said her salon goes one step further by rinsing bleach through a chair for several minutes. Each cleaning must be entered on a log that the salon must let a customer inspect.

Consumers should also know what a safe salon looks like since the state's enforcement is limited.

There are 28 investigators for TDLR statewide. Yet, there are almost 5,000 salons in North Texas alone, which is why the IPA is urging salons to raise standards voluntarily.

"They're going to start losing more business and they may go out of business because of that," said Dr. Dennis Arnold, a Fort Worth area podiatrist and director of the IPA.

Le encourages consumers to get educated.

"You have to be able to speak up and ask them, 'Are you guys following the rules?'" she said.

E-mail bwatson@wfaa.com