If I could give this salon zero stars, I would…read more
I rarely leave negative reviews, but I feel I need to share my experience.
I'm very particular about my nails, and since my regular nail technician moved, I started looking for a new salon. I chose Nail Salon First and Spa because of all the outstanding reviews on google
, so I went in with high expectations.
Unfortunately, my first appointment was disappointing from the start. My appointment lasted over three hours, which is by far the longest nail appointment I've ever had. Even the technician asked me and my husband, who was sitting next to me, if something was wrong. I replied that I was tired, but honestly, a fill should not take over three hours.
I bring my own custom pink acrylic powder because I have a very specific color that I love. When I came in for my fill, it had been about four weeks, so it was completely understandable that my right thumb needed to be redone from scratch. They rebuilt the nail and charged me about $5 for the replacement.
What wasn't understandable was that the brand-new thumb they had just rebuilt broke in less than three days. My acrylics normally last about four weeks, even though I type constantly at work, so having a freshly rebuilt nail fail that quickly was very surprising.
When I called, the owner/manager told me they would fix it at no charge, which I appreciated. However, when I arrived, the experience became even more disappointing. The owner/manager, who greets customers and manages appointments, was getting a pedicure while checking people in. I found that very unprofessional. She told me to sit at a manicure station and that someone skilled in the repair I needed would be with me shortly.
My original technician was working on another client and said she'd be with me soon. While I waited, I witnessed her carrying on a personal conversation with her co-worker in another language while completely ignoring the elderly client she was working on. The client repeatedly had to say the technician's name and eventually raised her voice to ask if she was listening. Watching that interaction made me uncomfortable. Regardless of the language being spoken, clients deserve their technician's full attention during their appointment, especially when they are paying for that service.
Eventually, another technician looked at my broken nail. In my past experiences, whenever I've broken an acrylic nail, the technician has always removed the damaged acrylic and rebuilt the nail from scratch to ensure it was strong and matched the rest of the set. Instead, she simply added acrylic over the damaged area, built up one side, and applied my pink powder over it. Acrylic should not simply be layered over old, damaged acrylic. The result is a crooked, uneven nail that looks nothing like the rest of my set.
I'm embarrassed by how it looks and now have to look at it every day. Nail appointments are supposed to leave you feeling confident, not disappointed. The pictures don't even do it justice--it's honestly much worse in person. The nail is so crooked and uneven that the photos don't fully capture how bad the workmanship actually is.
Overall, I experienced extremely long appointments, poor durability, inconsistent repair work, and a level of professionalism that did not meet my expectations. I chose this salon because of its excellent reviews, but unfortunately, my experience was nothing like what I expected.
I will never return. If you're okay with paying for poor workmanship, spending hours in the salon, and receiving unprofessional customer service, then this may be the salon for you. As for me, I'll be taking my business elsewhere.