"When the time comes for a glittering soiree or a beach visit that demands flip-flops, nail salons are where women turn for pampering and polish. But under the luxurious veneer, salons aren't always healthy places to be."

"At the salon where she once worked for four years, Hai Nguyen breathed and touched harsh chemicals in the polishes and other beauty products she used on hundreds of women. The repeated exposures left her with itchy eyes, breathing difficulties and skin rashes, she recalled.

But on a recent day at her new job, Nguyen, 56, showed no signs of distress as she coated a woman's fingernails in pale pink."

Stephanie M. Lee reports for the San Francisco Chronicle January 7, 2014. [2]