A nail salon due-diligence checklist covers health-unit notice and inspection status, posted inspection results, equipment reprocessing and single-use practice, products checked against the Health Canada Hotlist, and ventilation, safety data sheets and training.
By the Deavo teamCanadaUpdated
Use this checklist once a nail salon is under offer and you can ask for documents. It covers the public-health, product and workplace-safety items specific to nail salons, using Ontario’s regulation as the main example. That regulation applies in Ontario only, so confirm the local rules first. Pair it with the buyer due-diligence checklist for the lease, finances and corporate items every purchase needs, and find listings at nail salons for sale.
Health-unit status
Start with who oversees the salon and what they need from a new operator.
Identify the health unit or authority responsible for the salon and phone it about a change of operator.Ontario’s regulation applies in Ontario only. In British Columbia, for example, Fraser Health publishes inspection reports for personal service establishments, which it describes as places offering services such as manicures and pedicures.
In Ontario, plan the written notice to the medical officer of health.O. Reg. 136/18 requires every person who intends to operate a personal service setting to give written notice at least 14 days before commencing operation. Ask whether your purchase triggers it.
Ask which services the health unit has been told the salon provides.O. Reg. 136/18 requires an operator to give written notice at least 14 days before providing additional personal services, so any service not notified is a question to put to the seller.
Inspection record
Past inspections show how the salon has been run. Ask for them rather than assuming.
Request the last public-health inspection reports and any follow-up correspondence.Fraser Health says inspections ensure sanitation, disinfection and infection control procedures are followed. Ask what any findings were and how they were resolved.
Confirm the results are posted at the salon as the inspector requested.Ontario requires the operator to ensure inspection results are posted in accordance with the inspector’s request.
Ask about any renovation, past or planned, and whether the health unit was notified.Ontario’s O. Reg. 136/18 requires the operator to notify the medical officer of health before a reconstruction or renovation begins, in writing at least 14 days ahead if services stop during the work; routine maintenance and the repair or replacement of existing equipment are not renovation. Ask for a copy of any notice that was given.
Equipment and premises
Walk the space and watch how tools are handled during a working day.
Watch how reusable tools are cleaned, disinfected or sterilized between clients.Ontario requires reusable equipment to be cleaned and disinfected or sterilized as often as necessary to prevent disease transmission and, except where a single-use disposable cover is permitted, between each use.
Check that single-use items are discarded immediately after use.Ontario requires equipment designed for a single use, or made of material that does not withstand cleaning and disinfection or sterilization, to be discarded immediately after it is used.
Confirm there is a dedicated hand-washing sink and that no part of the setting is used as a dwelling.Subject to the exceptions in s. 8 (such as for services in part of a dwelling), Ontario requires at least one sink used only for hand washing within the premises and bars the setting from being a room used as a dwelling, including for dining or sleeping.
Ask to see the manufacturers’ instructions for the equipment.Where they are available, Ontario requires them to be kept at the setting in a place accessible to the person providing the service.
Products and worker safety
Check what is used on clients and what workers breathe.
List every nail product in use and compare it with Health Canada’s Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist.Methyl methacrylate monomer is on the Hotlist’s prohibited list, and for formaldehyde the Hotlist says nail hardeners must be sold with nail shields and directions for use.
Ask for the safety data sheets and confirm workers can reach them.The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) says safety data sheets should be readily available to workers.
Inspect ventilation at the work stations.CCOHS recommends a ventilated worktable or local exhaust ventilation where there is a risk of exposure to fumes from polishing, gluing and disinfecting.
Ask whether a health inspector has required any training of the operator.Ontario requires an operator to undertake health and safety training related to personal service setting operation and maintenance if a medical officer of health or public health inspector requires it.
Deavo is an advertising and listings platform, not a brokerage, law firm or valuation firm. This page is general information, not legal, tax, accounting or valuation advice, and rules differ by province. Confirm anything you rely on with a qualified professional before you act on it.