NSS (Non-Standard Salons), Discount Salons, Chop Shops, Oh My!

At the Premiere Trade Show in August, 2000, a 55 nail professionals got together and agreed to come up with a new name to call the shops/workers that are less than "up to standards" in the nail profession. The thought was to re-name this issue so the energy goes into the issue and not the vaguely racist sounding name (there was a lot of arguing over the name but not the issue!). The term chosen was "Non-Standard Salons".

They had decided that they had "seen enough... heard enough... and enough races.. religions and ethnic slurs had been made...we decided to put an end to it." (Diana Bonn, Beautytech Forum) At that time, the standard term for these shops was "Chop Shop". In America, a Chop Shop is a place where stolen vehicles are dismantled so that the parts can be sold or used to repair other stolen vehicles. As related to nails, it basically meant a place where people would go to get their nails ruined (much ike the aforementioned stolen car).  Some people took the term "chop shop" to relate to Asians because is was similar to "chop suey", which is a Chinese American food dish.  Long story short, there was a lot of effort put into changing the terminology related to salons that messed up nails and generally were not sanitary and most likely not licensed - hence, "non-standard salon" came to be.
Fast forward 15 years later to today and NSS has become a catch all phrase to generalize - and is one again usually aimed at the Asian Discount Salon.  Geeg on the salongeek forum has said "Is it time for all of us to stop generalizing and perhaps face the truth.  We should drop the NSS term altogether as it is meaningless the way it is used. There are nail bars, hobby techs, salons, Mobile technicians and cowbows/girls; there are good and bad technicians in every one of these groups."

Interestingly, by substituting NSS for Chop Shop, we may have made the term slightly less racist sounding, but in essence we have not done anything to help the underlying issue - and dare I say the issue is actually WORSE than 15+ years ago, with so many brilliant, talented techs charging so little that there is almost no "discount" salon in some areas of the country (US, probably other countries as well?).

"As we all agree..... its not just one ethnic group that is at fault. I can go into a city any where and find faults with nail techs, stylist, skin care etc etc.. (doesn't matter their ethnic, race, hair color or education....!) At times it seems that it may be more prominent in certain areas/groups.. but.... I tell ya what we are all under the "spy glass"." (Beautytech forum)

The Issues

So, what are the issues that the term NSS is supposed to encompass, really?

• Unlicensed/Untrained Technicians (because lets face it, some techs are licensed but not well trained or are working in a place that doesn't require licensure)
• Poor communication
• Unsanitary Practices
• MMA Use
• Damaged Nails/Allergic reactions due to sloppy work practices
• Human Trafficking

From the beautytech forum, August, 2000: "I believe the problem lies with our legislators-if we don't all push them to take the issue seriously,and public health issues are at stake,here,how can they be expected to know what the REAL issues are-not just welfare reform,violence in the home and school,etc (which are very REAL threats to the well-being of all of us) but issues of public health that theses shops pose a threat to... yes,in the hands of unlicensed,untrained,unscrupulous persons,these products which we take for granted as being available to us, pose a very real danger."

Being Mindful - Thinking Points
Throwing around the term NSS to mean anything from a discount salon (one who is cheaper then average, but not "non-standard" or illegal) to a Vietnamese salon (no mater what they charge or how legal they are) to a full blown "Chop shop" (which would pretty much meet all the criteria listed above) is putting the nail industry back where we started.

Some points to think about:

• A discount salon is one that charges less than the average for your area.  In my area that is less than about $40 for a full set. A discount salon is NOT "non standard", they're just cheap :)
• No salon should ever be called by their ethnicity or defined by it.  Just because a Vietnamese family runs a local discount salon does not make them an NSS.  It makes them a discount salon, period.  
• Just because one person in a salon is non-standard doesn't meant the whole salon is and NSS.  This is why I don't really like the term NSS - non standard salon - because it generalizes that the whole salon is not standard when its really one person.
• Non-Standard crosses ethnicities and price ranges - do not assume because someone is Caucasian and charges $75 for a full set that the are not a Non Standard Tech.  Most techs where I live are either Caucasian or Vietnamese - and I know of  Caucasian techs that charge a lot of money and work in relatively expensive salons that are extremely unsanitary and therefore should be considered a non-standard technician.
• These terns are very subjective.  I know of a very popular woman on Instagram who people take classes from that I would consider Non-standard because she is so sloppy about her work!  She is always posting videos where she is slopping liquid all over client's skin and using her brush to clean up the skin.  Putting clients in danger of dermatitis is sloppy and unprofessional in my book - and therefore non-standard (to me).  Other people may disagree.

What are your thoughts on the subject of NSS? 

The Importance of Proper Terminology in the Nail Industry

Many of you have already noticed that I am a stickler for using proper terminology in the nail industry.  I believe that is is one of the key factors that will help in elevating the perception of our industry.

Professionalism

First and foremost, using proper terminology is professional.  Every profession has proper terminology used in their job and we are no different.  How would you feel if you went to a doctor who didnt use proper terminology?  "Hey there, let's take a look at your boo-boo....yep looks like your bone has an owie."  I mean, really?  I would find it demeaning and figure I could have just taken care of my "owie" at home. 

Now, if the doctor said, "Hello. Let's take a look at what is bothering you.  Yes, I can see you have an abrasion on your skin and likely a subperiosteal hematoma - basically a bruise on your bone. I am going to prescribe a painkiller and you will need to take it easy for a few days and ice the area regularly." 

Which doctor sounds like a professional?  (I hope you said the second one.)  Notice that the doctor in the second scenario used correct terms but also explained what they meant so the patient wasn't confused.

Granted my made-up scenario is slightly ridiculous but I hope it opens your eyes to how you might look to clients if you are very informal or use outdated and/or incorrect terminology (like "mold", which does not grow on living humans - I'm not even a fan of calling it a "greenie" personally, as I find it a bit childish [my opinion]. It's a pseudomonas bacterial infection).

Reputation and Client Perception
Inconsistent and varied use of terminology is a risk to industry - and individual - reputations.  Already there is much confusion not only in the public but amongst new nail technicians as well.   When people in the industry use wrong terminology (knowingly or unknowingly) it perpertuates myths and confuses people.  When people are confused they can receive incorrect treatments.  now granted, it is unlikely that a wrong treatment is going to hurt someone but it can definitely hurt the technician and the industry as a whole. 

I once had a client - a lovely 80+ year old woman - who came to me for a fill.  She had gone into a discount salon in the mall to get a manicure and walked out with acrylic nails.  She was told that it was a manicure and was very confused about what whe had on her nails.  All she knew is he told her to come back in 2 weeks for a "fill", but she didn't like the vibe of the salon and so came ot me instead.  I explained she had acrylic nails and we could remove them  but I was concerned about the amount of damage she may have on her natural nails (plus I knew this salon to use MMA). Her other choice would be to continue to fill them until we could ge the MMA and damage grown out and remove the nails at that time.  She chose the latter, however she should never have had to choose at all.  Because the salon she went to called a "full set" of nails a "manicure" she received an incorrect and unwanted treatment.  Unfortunately, she did not understand what was happening at the time. To this day - nearly 15 years later - it still upsets me.  And this lovely woman now has a negative view of the industry as a whole.
 "Gel Powder" is another example of incorrect terminology that confuses clients who do not understand that they are paying for clear acrylic (vs the cloudy natural acrylic usually used). Clients tend to end up with a negative industry view when they find out they have been duped.

Other examples: calling a full set a "manicure", calling gel polish "gel nails", calling onycholysis "fungus", etc.


Consistancy
Terminology  is universal and can be used by all professionals within the field who will know what it means (which ever field it may be - medical, beauty, legal, etc). And if you are telling your client to go to a doctor for her paronychia, the doctor will know what you are talking about too.

I know it will take many years to get everyone using proper terminology but I have high hopes that it will happen and our industry will no longer be looked upon as negatively as it has been in the last decade or so.


Politically Correct
In the USA (and many other places I'm sure, but I live in the US so that's what I know :)), there has been a big push over the years to be "politically correct". What this means is we are encouraged to use terms that do not exclude people - for instance, saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" which could exclude non-christians.  Now, I personally think the whole "PC" thing is taken too far at times, but it does point to the fact that terminology has become a very big deal in the USA and should be just as much of a "big deal" in the nail industry.


 References and Resources:
http://www.hooked-on-nails.com/NailTerms.html
http://www.computing.surrey.ac.uk/ai/pointer/report/section1.html
http://www.hito.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Beauty-Forum-Report-2009.pdf
http://www.beautyinsignia.com/2013/03/beauty-jargon-explained-editorial.html
http://facetofacewithdougschoon.com/member-content/episode-12-member-content