How to Choose a Nail Salon

It has often been said that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. That's especially true if you communicate a lot with your hands or have a fondness for wearing open-toed shoes and sandals. Nails that are dirty, chipped or discolored can suggest that their owner is lazy or indifferent; accordingly, such perception may extend to the belief that this individual need not be taken as seriously as someone who is meticulous about every aspect of his or her appearance. Researching salons and establishing a relationship with the right technician to pamper your tootsies and polish/trim your nails on a regular basis can take time but it's an investment that's as much about beauty and professionalism as it is about good health.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Good observation skills
• Friends/associates
• Phone book
• Notepad
• Pen

Let's See a Show of Hands

1. Compliment friends, associates and even total strangers who have well groomed nails and ask them for a referral. Many salons have built a good reputation for themselves as a result of word of mouth; if customers are happy with the quality of the work performed, they're not going to be shy about sharing it with others. I've also found that hairdressers are a great resource for nail salon referrals because their own clients have a demonstrated interest in regular "upkeep" regimens. If you've just moved to a new community, you may want to consult a phone book and make a list of local salons to check out. While all of them are going to offer basic manicures and pedicures, some of the larger ones may provide additional services you're looking for such as facials, massages, waxing, and threading.

2. Visit each of the salons on your list to glean a sense of what they have to offer. Although many salons happily accept walk-ins, the purpose of your first visit is just to observe their operations and ask questions. Since your quest is to find the best match for what is going to be a long-term relationship, it's important not to rush into anything.

3. Take a deep breath when you first enter a new salon. Your nose will tip you off as to whether there is enough air circulation and proper ventilation in the facility. If there's an overpowering aroma of nail polish and acetone, your weekly/bi-weekly appointments are going to leave you feeling nauseous, not to mention exposed on a regular basis to harmful chemicals.

4. Observe the clientele in the salon and their interaction - or lack thereof - with the nail technicians. For instance, are the technicians chatting away on personal cell phone calls while they're doing their customers' nails? The quality of their work may suffer if they're not giving the individuals in their chairs the courtesy of their full attention. Are the technicians noisy and gregarious? If you're someone who wants a spa experience to be tranquil, soothing, and quietly blissful, you're not going to relax if you're sitting across from a motormouth who wants to gossip. Nor may you feel entirely at ease in an environment where there are communication challenges (or paranoia that all the giggles are because they're talking about you and you can't understand a single word). Take note as well whether the pace in the salon is leisurely or frenetic. If, for example, you see two technicians furiously working on one manicure, it's a tip-off that the salon is going for high volume, not high quality. Every manicurist has a slightly different way of doing things and you don't want your left hand fingers to look radically different from your right.

5. Inquire whether the technicians have licenses issued by the state. Many of them will have their licenses on display at their respective work stations but it's important to ask if you don't see them. If they refuse or seem in any way hesitant to comply with your request, this isn't a salon where you want to be doing business.

6. Observe the salon's level of cleanliness and hygiene insofar as the work stations, floors, pedicure tubs, and sterilization of equipment. Bacterial and fungal organisms will thrive in an unsanitary environment and it's critical to ensure that potential problems and diseases carried in by a prior customer aren't being passed on to you through the sloppiness of a technician who does not disinfect or discard nail care instruments after each use.

7. Survey the salon's product line. If it's a cheap product, it's not going to improve once it has been applied to your fingers or toes. If you're new to this beauty regimen and aren't sure what the various brands of polish are, you can either call an upscale salon that you know carries only the best products and ask them about respected brand names or visit the cosmetics counter of a department store and seek advice there.

8. Ask whether the salon guarantees its services and will refund your money or redo the manicure/pedicure if you're not totally satisfied. Salons want to attract and retain good customers. To that end, many of them will repair a broken nail for free if it should break within the first two weeks.

Tips & Warnings

• In Step 2, it's important to note that Saturdays and weekday lunch hours are usually the busiest days in a nail salon. The Fridays before a major holiday are also going to be busy and, therefore, the staff may not be as amenable to answering your questions. If you have some flexibility in your schedule, try to drop by mid-morning or late afternoon.
• If you're adventurous and like to change polish colors often, you'll find a wide assortment of shades to choose from at the salon. If, however, you have a favorite or two and don't want to chance that they won't be available on your next visit, it's perfectly acceptable to bring your own each time.
• Allow plenty of time for a nail salon appointment. Depending on whether you're getting a backfill, a French manicure, or having acrylic nails applied, 40 minutes to 1 hour is about right. If a salon is rushing you through the process in less time than that, it's likely that they are not doing as thorough a job as they should.
• Don't tolerate any pain! If a nail salon technician has been well trained, getting a manicure or pedicure should be a relaxing treat, not something that makes you wince! If they are using an inferior product that puts too thick a layer on the surface of your nail, this means they're going to have to go heavy on the drill the next time they see you in order to remove it. Two coats of a quality polish won't have this effect and will only call for a light surface drill that's completely painless. If you do experience pain, you need to let the technician know right away because she may be pressing too hard and contributing to long-term damage to the nail.

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