Rant about nail salons...

[hello_kitty]

I just need to rant...

What the hell is up with nail salons saying they do "gel nails," but it turns out all they do is use powder acrylic and slap some "gel" overcoat on it, and charge double the amount, even though you're still getting an acrylic nail job?

ARGH.

Just pisses me off... I went to a salon today to get a full set of gels put on (had them a few years ago, and decided I wanted them again), and my friend recommended me to go there. I get there, and the girl tells me they use "powder gel" (WHICH DOES NOT EXIST). I asked if they did real gel, and she got offended and said no one in town did. LOL.

So I went across the street to a tanning/hair/nail salon that is uber popular in my town, and got my REAL gels. For cheaper than what the other salons want for their fake variety... The salon's owner is also the nail tech, and she was saying she gets people all the time that are shocked to come in and see that gel nails are not done with powder, so she was pleased that I was educated enough to know that gel nails do not involve powder. She did an excellent job to boot, so I am so happy I have a GOOD salon to go to.

But that just really irks me...

Poor suckers that think they're really getting gel...

 

[NubianHoneii]

Omg, this is sooo true.
The first time i went to go get gel nails the tech pulled out the powder and I was like "excuse me, i want REAL gels". The tech was then like "well it will be 45 instead of 35. I was fine with that because I really wanted them. It does however irk me that these shops are trying to scam people who dont know any better just so they can be cheap. I bet you these kinds of salons use MMA acrylic too. All "powder gels" are is acrylic nails with a uv high gloss topcoat. People should really do their reserch before they go get a service done, I know I always do.

 

[hello_kitty]

Exactly! Before I ever got gel nails I did a lot of research into them, and knew what to expect. Luckily I received the correct stuff the first time, and when I did have someone try to sneak acrylic on me I knew that they were using the wrong stuff.

Just sad someone has to question what they use to make sure you get the right treatment... Gel nails should mean gel, not something else.

 

[xxManBeaterxx]

I've been scammed

 

[Sabrunka]

Yep, a lot of places do that and it makes me so mad how it tricks people! I used to get tricked, before I went to school for esthetics!!! If they whip out ANY powder, it is not real gel!! And if it reaks something awful then it's also a good sign it's not gels. Gels don't smell that bad. Also, a good clue if they ARE real is that the price will be very high.. A full set of real gels here are 55-75$. The fake ones/acrylics are 25-35.

 

[hello_kitty]

See, most places I've seen still charge $60 a set for the fake gels. Charging the real prices for the fake product... that's what really gets me.

 

[shatteredshards]

Nail salons in themselves make me very weary, I think they do tons of things to your nails that really aren't that good for them, and are more likely to cause you to make another visit to "fix" whatever problems may arise.

My sister, who is in school right now for hair and such, just called the board to report a new salon down the street - she walked by and saw they had a cat freely roaming the salon while they were open and had customers, and it was still there after they closed. For anyone who doesn't know, that's against regulations due to allergies and the unsanitary conditions it creates.

 

[LMD84]

ok turns out i have been scammed too... about 7 years ago i got 'gel nails' done. only once and i disliked them so had them removed.... but it cost me about £45!!!

 

[BEA2LS]

this is why i do my own nails.. it's a shame, i used to love to get them done but one time my nails bled at a salon and she just put some cleaner on it. this was an upscale salon, too.. but i cant explain how icky it made me feel, lol. i wondered who else started to bleed and how good their stuff is cleaned out.

 

[hello_kitty]

Haha, did they use Windex? I think I've seen that done before...

 

[BEA2LS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hello_kitty Haha, did they use Windex? I think I've seen that done before...

haha, sadly i have seen that, too!
this was some stuff in a bottle, but they put my bloody finger right on the bottle! it just turned me off, like how many bloody fingers touch that bottle? i'm a freak when it comes to germs and stuff.

 

[macgirl3121]

*Licensed nailtech needing to throw my 2 cents in here.* These threads kinda start to turn into nailtech bashing threads kinda quick.

Sorry some of you guys did not recieve the quality products and services you were expecting and paid for. There are quality nail techs out here that are consantly elevating thier knowlege by attending trade shows, classes and networking events.

Any nailtech I know is not going to do harmful things to your nails just to get you to come back. That is simply not in our best interests, ethically and professionally.

As with anything, do your reasearch. Beautytech.com is a great resource for consumer info and to find a quality nail tech in your area, if you want one.

 

[BEA2LS]

^^ I was in no way bashing nail techs

I am very interested in nails.. that one incident personally freaked me out but I know there are many professional salons and techs out there.

 

[macgirl3121]

I wasn't saying you specifially at all. Sometimes folks chime in with "that's why I don't get my nails done" or "i'll never get my nails done" and things like that. I hate that there are techs out there being shady and just plain lazy making the rest of us look bad.

 

[BEA2LS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by macgirl3121 I wasn't saying you specifially at all. Sometimes folks chime in with "that's why I don't get my nails done" or "i'll never get my nails done" and things like that. I hate that there are techs out there being shady and just plain lazy making the rest of us look bad.

Ok, just making sure because I did not want to offend you

 

[ashmarie019]

In my area it is very hard to find an ethical nail salon. Who know what they are doing, and don't rip you off. The shady places have base prices so low that good techs are losing clients because the clients don't know any better and are looking for the best deal.

I know there are good techs out there... I just wish that more clients would educate themselves like you ladies before getting services done.

Once these ladies get a bad experience at one of these non standard salons they are turned off to nail care altogether. They're ruining the biz for everyone.

sorry... done with my rant. All you nail techs out there... keep up the good work.... some people do realize your hard work and dedication.

 

[hello_kitty]

^All it takes is one bad apple...

There's some sort of stat is that is like when someone has a bad experience they'll tell XX number of people, whereas if they have a good experience the number of people they tell is far fewer.

My local friends have been asking if I got my nails done at the shady salon, and I tell them no and why, but I'm making sure to mention that I ended up finding a good place to go to and telling them about that. So hopefully I'm educating them about the first place ripping them off on a product that doesn't exist, but then directing them to a great place to go if they still want nail care.