Similar chains run by Vietnamese Americans popped up in the Midwest and East Coast.
But other Vietnamese salons that tried to compete with higher-end shops flopped because of limited English skills and poor business acumen. It led salons to cut prices and offer bare-bones services -- the so-called Vietnamese discount salon, where manicures were as cheap as $10.
The work can be grueling and unpleasant. The pay varies tremendously and is not always good. And for high-aspiring Vietnamese, it is a humble career.
"Of course, it is hard work," said a 35-year-old manicurist as she filed a woman's toenails at a posh Costa Mesa salon. The worker, who did not want to be named, left Vietnam 10 years ago and had to find work quickly to support two young children.
"If things were different, I could have gone to school and done something else," she conceded.
Vietnamese salons also battle the reputation of being unsanitary and offering shoddy services. A handful of Vietnamese salons have been hit with health complaints resulting from clients' contracting bacterial infections from dirty foot spas, but the numbers are no higher than non-ethnic salons, according to the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology.
The Vietnamese nail shops have also fueled resentment from high-end salons. "Some nail technicians feel they can't compete with Vietnamese salons," said Hannah Lee, editor of Nails Magazine. "There is a point where the prices are too low and nail technicians are not making what their services are worth."
Keeping control
Like the Vietnamese, other immigrant groups have cornered business niches: Cambodians with doughnut shops, Koreans with dry cleaners, Indians with motels.
But some fade as the second generation abandons the industries their parents fought to gain a foothold in.
Nail industry observers see the opposite happening for Vietnamese Americans. Immigrants from Vietnam continue to dribble in, providing a flow of workers for new salons. And there are still unsaturated markets in the country.
"If you want to make money, get out of California," Tam Nguyen tells his students.
He said there was room for salons to transform into trendier beauty shops -- with facials, massages, leather chairs, fancy decor -- such as those that have popped up across California in recent years. They are run mostly by second-generation Vietnamese Americans.
Vietnamese Americans are also making inroads into the beauty product, manufacturing, design and foot spa business.
"Every spa chair, every nail tip, every color polish, the Vietnamese are starting to dominate," Nguyen said. "We own it, we use it."
As for Hoa Thi Le, she passed her licensing exam in Vietnamese and is looking for a manicurist job. She knows the hours will be long, the pay average. But as a newcomer who speaks only a few phrases of English, she smiles at the opportunities the nail industry has given her. And she dreams of starting a salon with her siblings.
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my-thuan.tran@latimes.com
