If there's one review you take seriously in your life, please let this be it. I am baffled at the service I received today. I had a male technician do my nails. I get dip nails religiously every two weeks. I've gotten them done at numerous salons, good and bad, and have done them myself at home. I'm very familiar with the products used and how to use them. The first time I ever had someone use the UV light on dip nails, I knew something wasn't right. Since that experience I'm very good about watching my nail tech do my nails and I make sure they use the correct products. Using gel top coat with the UV light on dip powder nails is WRONG. It's the easy shortcut that ruins the nails quickly and makes the removal process even harder and longer. Today I came in to Studio Nails because they were offering a discount and had availability. It started off fine until instead of dipping my nails into the powder, he used a fake nail to scoop the powder onto my nail. I noticed it cause some shade discrepancies but wasn't too worried because I know they use more than one coat. After he finished one hand, he had me place my hand under the UV light. He clicked the light three times so my hands were hurting after. This automatically raised a red flag for me. Not only do I know it's the wrong process, but my nails and skin are very sensitive to the light and burns me. I asked him to use the fan instead. He hesitated but I persisted and used the fan anyways. Once the dipping was done he asked me if I wanted the shiny coat. I thought this was weird because dip isn't ever matte. In order to get dip to be matte you need to seal with a top coat and use a matte coat on top of that. So that's really when I knew he was going to try to do the easy way and use the gel coat with light even after I asked him not to. I clarified and said "yes do the shiny coat but the one specific to dip powder. I don't want the gel coat used on top because it peels after a week and is harder to remove." He acted confused and I clarified it again. He confirmed he had the "right" coat. He applies a top coat then points to the UV light and says "just for one minute" I was like... no? I'm not using that. And he said the coat would not dry with the fan and I said so then you used the wrong coat. I specified before you put it on and told you exactly what I didn't want. So he goes to a coworker and finds another top coat. He removes the previous top coat with acetone, redips my nails and uses a different coat. However, the trick to dip powder nails is the activator. When you apply the activator, you need to wait a good 3-5 minutes for it to really dry. If you don't wait, no matter what top coat you use, it'll never dry. You'll end up with a sticky wet top coat. Obviously, this happened. I let them dry for a few minutes and went to touch them and they were tacky and stuck to my skin. At this point, he wasn't listening to me and I pinpointed every mistake he was making. He redipped both hands TWICE after he kept messing up. I watched him reapply the applicator and then told him "can we try something else? Can I let this dry for a while before you apply?" And he said it's already dry. So I let him apply it because clearly he needed to see another mistake he was making. After all of this, he finishes the application and I move my hands in front of the fan and he walks out of the salon. Mind you, my finger nails were not buffed after all of these coats, the acetone was peeling my skin, there was sticky residue down to my knuckles. I sat there drying my nails for a good five minutes before I asked another worker how much longer. She waved me off and said I was done. When I went to look at my nails, my left thumb nail was cracked in the top coat and half of it fell off. So you could see one layer of powder and then a cracked coat. Similar to how shellac peels off. I laughed out of frustration and showed the lady. She chuckled and started peeling another nail to confirm that it was indeed a mistake from the tech and not just a nail I accidentally messed up. I looked up and told her I didn't have time for them to get it right. I got there at 6 and it was now 7:20. She asked me if I wanted to come back tomorrow and I said "I really don't." She didn't charge me for the nails, thank god because I wouldn't have paid for this crap, but as I walked out I see the dude who did my nails strolling around the parking lot before getting into his car. He really just left when I wasn't even done. I've never experienced such incompetence at a salon. I told him multiple times what not to do and suggested the correct way. He even said to me "this is faster and easier" and I'm sure it is but it isn't correct. This is what happens when you take shortcuts. Do not waste your time here. read more