A more sustainable nail care service

Nail care salons have become a profitable, familiar business around the world; however, this service business has been linked to occupational exposures and, occasionally, to air pollution. Despite these alleged links, there is currently no scientific evidence to conclude whether activities in nail salons affect the health of workers or the environment. Under this context of uncertainty, a Sustainable Service Program was conducted to prevent, eliminate, and/or reduce the creation of occupational and environmental risks in five nail salons in Hermosillo, Mexico and six nail salons in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The findings of this study indicate a need to strengthen the organizational structure of nail salons in order to address their general lack of strategic planning. The integration of occupational and environmental concepts was more feasible at the strategic level, but even with a low level of integration on the operating level, it was possible to pick some lowhanging fruits. There is nothing wrong with setting easier goals and targets at the beginning, but at some point, owners have to aim for more challenging goals. Hopefully, the program would improve after each iteration, and each nail salon would offer a more sustainable service. The Sustainable Service Program changed the way the participating salons operated, but without a doubt, this would not have been possible to implement without the partnership between nail salons, the University of Sonora, and the Paulista University. The scientific value of this article is the confirmation of a Sustainable Service Program as an effective tool for preventing, eliminating, and/or reducing risks at Small and Medium Enterprises. Notwithstanding the differences in economic circumstances in both countries, findings highlighted the benefits in participating nail salons, providing information on which to base future research on Sustainable Service Program applied to Small and Medium Enterprises.