Nail salons service a multi-billion dollar industry in the US. Although they are now a common sight in urban and suburban communities, this was not always the case. In the early 1900s, full-service salons were a luxury service for wealthy women. As nail polish became more widely available, women started painting their nails at home.

In the 1970s, new salon tools and the arrival of a new workforce of primarily Asian immigrant and refugee women decreased the cost and time for getting manicures and pedicures. Southeast Asian refugees entered the nail salon industry as workers and business owners. Vietnamese women, in particular, along with other immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere have transformed the nail salon industry into an affordable service for middle- and low-income people of all ethnicities.

This module is about nail salon workers and their working conditions, and how many have come together to organize for better wages and safer work environments.