Nail Salon Advice

Sep 12, 2014

Shaye M.

If it were here, it'd be 40$ for a whole set of acrylics. And I can't really answer your question about quality of the salon as I tend to have spur of the moment "oh, I'll get my nails done" moments and just go to wherever is close lol.

Sep 12, 2014

Emily W.

I was under the impression that gel can't be extended to the same length that acrylic can. Is that the case? Sorry to hear your mom lost a nail, I have done that with toenails and it sucks.

My natural nails are extremely strong, so I'm not terribly worried about damage, especially since I don't plan on wearing them for weeks and weeks like a lot of people do. The only reason my natural nails break is because I'm careless; I would be much more careful with fake nails.

Sep 12, 2014

Emily W.

@Shaye Oof, $40? I always see signs on beauty shop windows saying $25 full set, I guess those are the "get what you pay for" caliber places...

Sep 12, 2014

Shaye M.

That's just Australia for you lol, everything is much more expensive 😣

Sep 12, 2014

Emma R.

I pay 30$ at my place (I live in South Florida) but if you ask for a full set & show whoever is doing your nails that picture I'm sure they will do it. thats what I always do

Sep 12, 2014

Tia S.

Emily.. Not going to lie I got excited when I saw this thread XD those almond black nails are to die for. Where I live those bad boys would cost me around 35 for acrylics, and probably 45 for gel. You can do glued on tips with gel also, which they usually do before breaking out a form. However if you want "stiletto" over "almond" they probably will sculpt them and I'm not sure if they charge more for that. When getting them done, make sure you stand firm on exactly what you'd like. They definitely love to upsell, don't fall for it. They can be pretty damn pushy. Also, it's important that you tip your nail tech! I usually tip 5 if I absolutely love the job they did, less if they were rude and so on. Do you mind me asking what kind of work you do? When I worked in food service the gels lasted much longer than acrylics for me. When I worked in retail (not as much cleaning and washing dishes.. you know) they acrylics were just fine. Now as far as which one is better, the gels look more natural when there isn't polish on them and the acrylics not so much. Also, plan on having them on for quite a long time. Please do not pry or tare them off, removal will be somewhat simple with acetone and 45 mins of your time. You can also just got back to the salon and pay to have them removed.

Sep 12, 2014

Tia S.

^^ Sorry for any typos, had to rock that out pretty quickly. lol

Sep 12, 2014

Destiny A.

Well where I live acrylics like that, one color would be $20. and I have acrylics and always have had them. they aren't that bad!

Sep 12, 2014

Tia S.

It's also fun and easy to repaint them! Just make sure you use a polish remover without any acetone in it.

Sep 12, 2014

Emily W.

When I worked in food service we weren't allowed to have fake nails or nail polish. The soap we used to wash our hands actually ate polish off of your nails, so it was futile to even try. :P I work in retail part time and I'm the CAO of my fiance's company full time right now, so nothing involving submerging my hands in water or anything.

So between $20-30 is what I should expect for acrylics? I guess that's not too bad. I always use acetone to remove nail polish so removal won't be a problem. I don't think I could stomach prying them off, yikes.

Any tips on how to tell if a salon is a good one? I've been looking at yelp reviews but sometimes a sketchy place can have awesome reviews, especially where I live. Business owners have their friends post positive reviews to boost their traffic. :[

Sep 12, 2014

Tia S.

Yes mam, including a tip. About a salon being good, there really are no guarantees, you just have to take a stab in the dark. Every nail tech has their own way of doing things, so what I would suggest is talking to someone who gets their nails done often.. just find out where they go and if they make an appointment with any artist in particular and take their word for it I guess.

Sep 12, 2014

Emily W.

Okey dokey, that's not too bad. Good idea about asking people! I'll have to keep an eye out when I'm b at work for ladies with awesome nails, haha.

Thanks everyone!