I learned last minute that I shouldn't have nail polish for a surgery I had coming up so I decided to visit this nail salon to remove my gelX nails. It's a relatively new salon located right behind the Little Cesar's and right next to the florist in the plaza so it's pretty tucked in and can be easily missed. When I went, I learned that they had only been open for 9 weeks and the owners are a couple from the OC.
Upon entering, you'll notice it's a pretty small salon. I had an appointment for 11am and was seen right away to start the initial removal process - clip nails, file off the polish, and then soak. Something that was strange to me was that to soak off the gel polish, I was told to dump hands in a bowl of acetone, which felt really gross. It was a small bowl with a warm towel inside, wrapped over with a plastic bag, and acetone poured in. Typically, it's soaked off with cotton, acetone, and foil. This made my entire hands feel completely disgusting and sticky and the acetone smell was so strong. This was when I was then left alone for like 20 minutes because walk in appointments arrived and there weren't really any other staff to help. I was a bit annoyed about this because I had an appointment and I haven't ever had to wait this long for a soak off and I really wanted this to be a quick appointment.
When one of the male nail techs finished with a client, he came to help me right away. He was nice. All the staff were honestly -- they always asked if I was feeling okay, if I wanted anything to drink, if I wanted anything more. I appreciated their kindness and attention to customers. However, the cleanliness was worrisome for me. I'm not sure I saw the nail tech wash his hands before coming to work with me. I saw him pull out a nail clipper and other nail tools that were just in his cart (wasn't in one of those sanitation bags that are sanitized and ready to use for each respective customer) and he sprayed alcohol over it and then used it on me. I felt so grossed out by that. At no point did they tell me to go wash my hands either. Additionally, the shaping of my nails wasn't that greatest. I paid, tipped, and quickly went home and then washed and scrubbed my hands when I got home.
My pictures show what my hands look like after my service was finished as a result of soaking my fingers in a bowl of warm acetone. It took forever to peel off. I understand they're a relatively new business and might still be trying to get things right in the salon so I don't want to be too harsh, but since this isn't my regular nail salon, it is just so noticeable the differences in care and cleanliness from what I am used to. Additionally, this is only one experience with a gelX removal process so I can't speak to their other services, which may or may not be really good. read more