A couple of years ago, Judy Le was enrolled in cosmetology school, and on track to enter the beauty business, like most of the women in her family. At the same time, she participated in a youth program through Oakland-based Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice. The POLISH project brings together youth and nail salon workers to learn about and organize around toxins in personal care products.

Armed with knowledge about cancer-causing ingredients in beauty products, Le said she questioned her instructors in cosmetology school. “I did talk to my teacher about it [the chemical hazards],” Le said. “But, the program didn’t talk much about harmful ingredients. We weren’t given this information. The program didn’t focus on health hazards. It focused on money-making aspect.”

Le’s participation in POLISH did make her think twice about becoming a manicurist, after getting her cosmetology license. Now 20 years old, she works part-time as a hairstylist, which she said she feels exposes her to less dangerous chemicals, and is working towards a nursing degree.

“I’m going to school to keep my options open,” she said. “I always wanted to be a hairstylist and open my own salon, but I like the idea of helping people as a nurse. In a way, I think nursing and cosmetology are similar in that they give me the chance to help people—with one, I help people feel better about themselves on the outside, and the other, I help people feel better on the inside by making them healthier.”

Le represents a new generation of women in the beauty profession, and with her awareness of chemical hazards on the job, she may already have a head start. But women in her mother’s generation may be harder to reach with messages of workplace health and safety.

Connie Nguyen hopes getting the word out will make a difference. During an outreach and education event, she met Asian Law Caucus community advocate Linh Tran, and now advises the group on how best to outreach to nail salon workers. The training covers topics like infectious diseases and sanitation, ergonomics, chemicals and ventilation and worker health and safety rights.

“I feel most people are not aware of the working conditions and also workers themselves do not want to show that picture to you, to customers, and to the rest of the world, because they’re afraid you won’t want to support their business anymore if you know that,” said Linh Tran. “We’re trying to reach the consumer too and do it in a way that doesn’t affect business in the nail salon, so they [workers] won’t hate us for eliminating the business they could be getting.”

When Linh Tran entered Jennifer Trinh’s nail salon located in downtown Oakland a year ago, the 51-year-old manicurist was ready to hear her informal training on worker health and safety.

Trinh, who said she experiences skin allergies on the job, said she has made some changes in her business, mainly how to reduce injury due to repetitive work.

Trinh said she got into the nail business through her younger sister, who now also runs a nail salon. After 16 years as a manicurist, Trinh said she’d like to see her teenage nieces get an education, so they can have more career options.

“I wouldn’t want them to do this for a living, because it’s so rough on your health,” said Trinh.

Even if her relatives don’t pursue the nail business, there are many young Vietnamese women eager to enter the trade.

“More than ten years ago, we learned the nail trade when we got to this country, but now young women in Vietnam are hearing about the nail business from family members abroad,’ said Trinh. “They’re getting training in Vietnam, so they can fast track into the nail industry when they come here.”

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