Went to Ravenna because it was the closest nail spa to my location. They took me as a walk-in. I asked for the no-chip classic pedicure, no-chip mani, and a half leg and half arm wax.
They started with the pedicure where they accidentally clipped the hyponychium (the skin under your nails) on my right foot's middle toe. I didn't have any polish on that toe and she SHOULD have seen/known how far to clip. It made me bleed and she immediately put some powder on it. I was willing to forgive this because I'm sure it happens. Pedicure went relatively smoothly after this. Chose a basic no-chip polish. Nothing too exciting.
Following the pedicure she led me to the waxing room. There were two beds in there, which is probably weird. I've only ever waxed in single rooms. I asked for a half leg and half arm wax. The temperature of the wax was fine and the session started fine. But she DID NOT HOLD MY SKIN TAUT when ripping the strip. I could tell the wax was not applied evenly when the stick bounces from one spot to another. She also did not hold my skin taut when applying the wax. She would use the same waxing strip two or three times and, I want to reiterate, she DID NOT hold my skin taut every time she pulled the strip. She would then take the strip and would literally slap my leg really hard with it, presumably to remove excess wax. I don't think it worked because I saw what my legs looked like afterward and there was way too much residual wax on either leg. A few days later, I noticed a few bruised spots near my ankle!
She started on my arm using a similar process. And in case it wasn't clear before, she DID NOT hold my skin taut and would just pull on the strip that she used two or three times. Of course, this motion would bring my arm or leg with it and sometimes, the edge of the strip won't come off completely and she needed to pull it slowly, which hurt. Again, she would slap my arm with the used wax strip to try and get the excess wax.
Eventually, she got to my left arm I immediately saw a bruise form on my left wrist because she pulled too hard on the strip, yet again, without holding my skin taut. She seemed confused! I was starting to believe I'm literally her first wax client and she received either zero training or zero instruction on how to wax properly. They also had another client come in for an eyebrow wax in the middle of my session, which made the room really cramped with 4 people.
She looked over my legs and arms to check for spots she missed (there were PLENTY). She did one more painful wax pull and I just could not take it anymore so I told her to just stop the session. I cannot believe I endured this waxing session for this long, and I'm actually upset with myself.
I had one more service left - my manicure. I asked for an ombre, I picked the colors and showed her my inspo picture. It wasn't a great dupe, but I was just ready to leave. Basically, the nails were fine. I didn't bleed or bruise from the manicure, so I guess I'm happy with it considering the alternative.
If you're coming to Ravenna for a wax, definitely ask for someone experienced who would not leave you with minor injuries. read more