Sunday June 20, 12:42 pm ET
By Akeya Dickson

NEW YORK , June 20 (Reuters) - You don't have to be a diva to get a "perfect 10."

These days everybody wants well-groomed fingers and toes, judging by the explosion in nail salons offering a clip, polish and more, for upward of $15.

Corporate professionals, busy moms, college students and prom-goers are all rushing to surrender their hands and feet to reflexology, paraffin wax dips, hydrating masks and salt scrubs in fancifully named spas.

People are getting their hands buffed and shaped for big events like job interviews at which they want to impress. Some even have their business meetings in nail salons.

"The job market is becoming tougher, and people are competing at all levels now," said Randy Currie, owner of Currie's Skin and Hair Salons in Pennsylvania and Delaware . "It's not enough anymore for people to be very smart in their field, but that they want you to look a certain way too."

The nail salon business is now worth more than $6 billion a year and starting to attract the attention of big-time investors, in addition to the mom and pop entrepreneurs who run most nail salons.

BIG PLAYERS MOVE IN

In October, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - News) pilot-tested a nail salon sponsored by Rimmel London, a U.K. cosmetics line, in Raleigh , North Carolina . After a good reception, Wal-Mart included a nail salon in its recently opened Supercenter in Tyler , Texas .

Beauty product company Elizabeth Arden Inc.'s (NasdaqNM:RDEN - News) Red Door Spa and Salons jumped at the nailcare trend by recently dedicating the sixth floor of its flagship store in New York to hair and nails.

Even investment guru Mario Gabelli has talked about the bright prospects for the sector. His investment firm has a $5 million stake in nail polish maker Del Laboratories Inc. (AMEX:DLI - News), according to Thomson Financial's Sharewatch service.

The number of salons in the United States alone has shot up to 53,615 in 2003 from 32,674 a decade earlier, according to the Big Book, a statistics guide produced by "Nails" magazine.

The trend has also taken off in Britain , where the cost of a manicure is included in the government's key inflation indexes.

DASHING DIVA

Salons like Dashing Diva, a pink-splashed nail spa and boutique in Manhattan 's Greenwich Village , are leading the craze for a "mani" and "pedi."

"It's a pampering service and women feel they deserve it," said general manager Margaret Pak. "That's why so many salons can exist, with three on the same block."

An average of 100 customers come in daily to get a "perfect set of ten" and bedazzle their hands and feet with rhinestones or glitter as they sit on the hot pink cushions of the pedicure "thrones," said Pak. "It provides instant luxury, instant gratification."

Salons are rivaling coffee chain Starbucks for presence on busy streets and trying to offer a similar relaxing experience.

"We are looking at Dashing Diva as a lifestyle environment, where it becomes a hangout place to get a drink with your friends, to just hang out and relax," said Pak.

Asian-American-owned nail shops are driving the growth, with Vietnamese-Americans making up 37 percent of licensed technicians nationwide, and dominating 80 percent of the industry in California .

Happy Nails, a 52-salon franchise based in southern California , is at the forefront and eager to become a publicly -traded company.

"We need more people who are aware of that, more investors," said Michael Tran, the chain's operations coordinator.

BILLION-DOLLAR BIZ

U.S. nail salons raked in $6.53 billion in revenue in 2003, up 67 percent from 10 years ago, according to the Big Book.

As big-time operators circle, that is only likely to grow.

"I could definitely see an opportunity where you would see more of a chain-type operation or a multistore operation," said Elaine Lauer, Elizabeth Arden's national spa director. "It doesn't have to be a very large property. You see it with these neighborhood salons -- you can't go a block without seeing at least one."

Regis Corp. (NYSE:RGS - News), a leading haircare firm, has manicurists in some of its salons and says it recognizes the growth, but has no immediate plans to expand into nails.

Whatever happens, the trend seems set to stick.

Men are emerging as a key market, helped along by TV makeover shows like "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Even children are in on the scene, suggesting that the business will only get bigger as they grow older.

"There's just more demand for products, said Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, executive vice president and art director of OPI, the leading professional salon nail polish manufacturer. "Even young kids are getting decals and flowers on their toes."