Holiday Weekend part I--Friday (mani-pedi)

Okay, nothing terribly useful and green to report or offer…just musings on a weekend that’s started really nicely. (I hope this won’t jinx the next 3 days.)

Friday is my day off, normally–well, it was yesterday too, but my son had an early dismissal from school (:::eye roll–what kind of “teacher institute” do they need a week before school lets out?), so I sort of had a half-day off instead.  I celebrated with my annual (yes, I honestly only do it once a year) indulgence of a manicure-pedicure at a local nail shop I’d never tried before.  But they advertise literally the cheapest mani-pedi combo I’ve seen anywhere (er…local friends, we’re talking about The Nail Station at Cass and Ogden. In August they will be moving a few blocks west, because Walgreens has bought the entire corner where they are now located, since, you know, we really need another Walgreens, because one every half-mile is just not enough.), so I thought I’d give them a try.

(I know, my greenish self in a way blushes at admitting to even the once-a-year indulgence, but the other reality is that I at some point in June or so start feeling almost unprofessional having gross-looking feet, because I wear sandals all summer. I don’t wear makeup, so I feel like I should do something to pretend I give a rodent’s patootie about my appearance when on the job.)

I was pleasantly and green-ly surprised. Now, of course, you can probably find officially “green” salons in any major metropolitan area, but the ones I’m googling around here conspicuously lack nail services of any kind. I presume because there’s not much one can do in the area of mani-pedi services that don’t involve toxic chemicals. But…this place had a few touches I just sort of noticed.  For one thing,I noticed immediately that the place didn’t reek of nail polish scent, chlorine, and/or other chemical yuckiness.  The place was immaculately clean, but it was also pleasant-smelling and easy to breathe in.

They didn’t give every pedicure client those cheezy foam things for between your toes and get immediately thrown out; they used paper towels instead.  And most clients came in flip-flops so they didn’t need the cheezy foam flip-flops to give us to walk once across the room to the manicure table. I wonder how much eliminating all that needless garbage takes off their overhead, permitting those really inexpensive mani-pedis?   This is the kind of thing I really like–while of course businesses that make greenness and eco-consciousness a priority are the awesome of awesomeness, it encourages me a lot when places that aren’t specifically geared to this mentality take the little easy steps they can.

And in the next couple of weeks I’ll be trying to find a decent eco-friendly nail polish remover for when the fingernails inevitably chip.  So I’ll keep you posted (and would welcome suggestions!)

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