1. Follow Your Instincts. If a salon looks dirty, it very well could be, and dangerously so. Are there dirty towels on the counters? Does the technician wash his or her hands in between clients? If you’re not sure, leave.

2. Bring Your Own Tools. The best way to protect yourself against dangerous infections is to bring your own tools. This prevents you from getting someone else's infection from nail tools that are not properly disinfected between customers. If you go with the salon's tools, make sure they have been washed with soap and water and immersed in disinfectant. Be certain that disposable items, such as nail files, buffers and emery boards, are not reused.

3. Don’t Cut Your Cuticles. The cuticle seals the space between the nail and the nail bed and prevents any bacteria or virus from entering your body. When the cuticles are cut back too much or get hurt, the nail bed is easily infected.

4. Don’t Shave. Do not shave or wax your legs within 24 hours of any foot-spa treatment. Women who shave their legs prior to the pedicure (the morning or night before) are nearly 5 times more likely to develop an infection.

5. Sores. Do not get beauty treatments if you have an open sore, broken skin or an infection.

6. Nail Polish. Remove nail polish after one or two weeks, then wait one or two weeks before reapplying. Polish can create an incubator effect for fungal infections.

7. Pedicure Baths. Make sure pedicure baths have been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Ask to see a logbook for foot spa disinfecting.

8. No Razor Blades. Do not let salons use a razor blade to cut off callouses. It is illegal in many states and can spread blood-borne diseases.

9. Licenses. Verify the salon and all technicians are properly licensed and that there are no outstanding violations with the government body that regulates your state’s salons.

10. Compromised Immune Systems. Avoid pedis and manis if you’re diabetic or if your immune system is compromised because of chemotherapy or a recent bout with a serious illness like breast cancer. “You’re much more susceptible to all sorts of infections if your immune system isn’t functioning well,” says Vincent DeLeo, MD, chairman of dermatology at St. Luke’s Hospital, Roosevelt Hospital, and Beth Israel Medical Center.