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In 2007, sisters Micki and Susan Nam opened Polished in the image of their ideal nail salon—impecably clean, safe, and as void of chemicals as possible. To that end they enlisted an army of nine-way air filters, skyward-directing vents, industrial-strength autoclaves, and some organic vegan products. They even clean the shoes you wear by sticking them into a Korean-made machine used in bowling alleys called the Klenz. (It works so well, the sisters often get whispered requests from customers to shove husbands’ stinky sneaks in on the sly.) Dipping your feet into pedicure tubs is also a more hygenic affair: They employ fans to pump water, which avoids the threat of lingering germs that can often live in the more commonly used jets. But the Nam sisters value form as highly as they do function. The look is sleek but inviting, with a blue Italian glass mosaic commanding the otherwise simple white space. The services rendered are pretty, too. Precision mani-pedis come with standard extras like a quick warm lotion hand rub, and soy-based polish remover, should you request it. And given the fact that you’re likely to get seven days of utterly chip-free nails for $12 ($30 for toes), Polished is a relative bargain. — Edna Ishayik