I don't normally leave reviews unless they're stellar, but I'm just really disappointed!…read more
I was in town for a conference. I get gel on my natural nails about every 3 weeks. This time, I went a bit longer and I had some chipping, so I thought I would get them done locally before flying back home. I ranked the Yelp reviews by highest rating, and Lee's was it. I didn't notice that all of those ratings are from 4+ years ago.
Everyone was friendly as I arrived. I looked through the gel options and selected a rich metallic dark pink for my toenails and fingernails. That color couldn't be located, so I selected another pink. When she started, I found it odd that she used large brush strokes when painted the chemical that dissolves the gel. My skin was on absolute fire and still tingles an hour later. She never did ask me what kind of pedicure I wanted but I noticed some options for exfoliation scents on the wall, so I requested one. The color on my toes is a blue, not the pink I requested. That said, they look nice so I was happy with the outcome.
My previous salons usually use one of two approaches when removing gel. They will either apply the chemical on cotton balls and wrap each nail or they will have me soak in acetone and then either scrape or use a very fine electric file to remove the gel polish. This place used neither. Instead, a regular file was used on the entire surface of my nail until the nail was painfully thin. She even commented on the thinness of my nails (they weren't thin prior to this visit--in fact, the gel on my natural nails has made them remarkably thick and resilient--hard enough to play piano without worry of chipping or breaking). She didn't ask me what length or shape I wanted and immediately clipped them almost to the quick. I figured I must have had some sort of chip down the length so I sad nothing. Oh, well, they'll grow out. She continued to file them down until the nail was painfully thin and the surface was left incredibly rough. I was a bit worried that I miscommunicated and she was going to attach tips rather than painting my natural nails, but nope. That's just the way they were done. (I understand some sort of roughness is necessary for the gel to adhere properly, but this left a very bumpy appearance to each nail.) I ended up with three cuticle cuts. She was doing them so quickly and was much more ruthless with any skin around the nail bed. By the time the polish was applied and it was time to file for smooth edges, there really was not much left to file. I'm left with bumpy nails with incredibly rough edges--so much so that I expect them to get caught in my hair when I wash it later. It is a pretty color, and the edges are uniform. The actual painting of the polish seemed to be fine.
I should have spoken up, but I wasn't familiar with this place and have a difficult time hearing/understanding people I don't know. (I wear hearing aids.) Nails will grow out, but I'll have to figure out what to do in the meantime now that they are so incredibly thin. Again, she was very nice and never rude, so I hate to complain but I'm terribly disappointed with the experience and realize now that I should have waited to go to my salon at home.
