Eco-Friendly Oak Cliff Nail Salon Pivots to Making Hand Sanitizer and Face Masks

With nail salons (and pretty much every type of salon) closed for the foreseeable future, one Dallas company is managing to stay in the business of helping our hands. Pink Pedi, the dreamy, Gwyneth Paltrow-approved salon in Oak Cliff’s Sylvan Thirty, pivoted to selling hand sanitizer last week, and is donating the entirety of the profits to their technicians.

The eco-friendly, toxin-free salon, opened by Lucy Dang and Brandon Lyon in 2017, makes all their fizzy bath bombs, natural scrubs, and lotions in-house. They used the ingredients and packaging they had on hand to create sanitizers that are 70 percent alcohol, French lavender essential oil, rose water, and natural glycerin. Buyers can call ahead (214-760-9744) to order, and pick them up from the shop in select time frames.

“The local community has been amazing. The restock sold out within 48 hours,” says Teresa Lan Rose, a representative for Pink Pedi. “People were coming by and businesses were ordering 10 at a time — and no one was hoarding, so that was good.”

It’s not just hand sanitizer, though. Last weekend, Pink Pedi donated 40 care packages filled with pampering products from their in-house line, Purpose and Intention, to nurses at Baylor Hospital. On Monday, the salon took to Instagram to announce they had teamed up with a client who owns an apparel company to make face masks (they aren’t medical grade, but they could help preserve medical grade masks for those on the frontlines).

“We have people in need, she has people in need, and materials that were supposed to be used for apparel, and we also have a medical community that is in need of help — so how can we do this so it’s in the most thoughtful, mindful and supportive way for everyone?” part of the caption read.

The collaboration happened quickly. After discussing the idea on Thursday, Dang — who has a background in fashion design — was already patterning by Saturday. The masks will be available for purchase online this Thursday.

 

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A post shared by Pink Pedi (@pinkpedisalon) on Mar 23, 2020 at 10:48am PDT

There are two options (each is $10) for purchasing face masks. Shoppers can sponsor two masks to be donated to medical workers (once 75 donations are made, Pink Pedi will begin delivering the masks to local hospitals, beginning with Baylor), or purchase one mask for themselves and one to be donated. The masks can be picked up curbside or delivered.

As more big companies and designers with factories begin stepping up to manufacture medical equipment, it’s nice to see how a small business can also make an impact. “Pink Pedi’s goal is to help the community, help the technicians, and now, help the sewers,” Rose says. “Lucy and I were talking yesterday. She’s glad that she’s has something to do, and is in a place where she can help.”