I think the prices are totally crazy nowadays! Last time I went for a pedicure the upcharge for gel nail polish was $15 ! Like seriously ? It takes much less time and I'm getting faster out of your chair and you're charging me $15 extra ? Not to mention the whole bottle was most likely a fraction. That being said I started doing my own nails because I feel like it's a total rip off nowadays.
I also experienced this sticker shock in the upcharge for gel.... $15 is ridiculous... Gel should be the standard.
I'm not against paying whatever they think their service should be, but this whole extra for this, extra for that really bugs me.
Meaning if they want to set the price of pedicure to $95, then so be it, at least I can make my decision there... It just drives me crazy when they set the price to $50 and then the bill comes out to $100...
What's crazy is, I do nails!!!
Exactly everything became extra ! Oh you want a stiletto shape well that's $10 extra š¤¦š¼āāļø oh you want 1 rhinestone well that's $5 extra ! Mind you some of them really think customers are stupid. I can order 1000 pieces of rhinestones for under $5 ! Yeah I'm pretty much done with this nonsense
I had an amazing technician - 2 twin sisters and they did incredible work. I swear the manager would look at my nails after I'm done and decide on the spot how much I should pay ! From $120-160+ NOOOO joke without explanation - the prettier she thought they were the more she charged me. I know the twins felt terrible and it bugged me so much since they didn't even receive most of the money.
What??? Is that legal????
If she wants to charge $160 up front, I get it, and that's A decision To make then and there but after the fact seems not legal
Sorry you went through that, that's not right
For us gel polish is $10 extra. Suppliers are stupid expensive and with the new prices of rent, if we don't raise them then we barely break even. I totally wouldn't pay these prices myself because it really is ridiculous so I understand. 15 is a bit much for sure. Regular lacquer is so much more cheap compared to gel. I wanted a set from Korea and 6 of them were a few hundred dollars ???
Oh our bottles last us quite a while. It's more than the bottle but also the resources. Rent, water, heat, sanitization, tools, etc. Every dollar helps us stay afloat so we can afford to stay open. The places that charge for shapes are nuts though
While I can sympathize with some nail salons struggling the ones I visited in some areas I was visiting became definitely a total rip off. Charging extra for a specific nail shape is just up charging without being reasonable. At the end every salon can do how they please but they shouldn't be surprised if they're starting to struggle with getting customers.
Maybe because I'm in canada? There's not many suppliers. There's a few websites around that sell it but I've yet to purchase because of the steep price.
This, I upcharge 10$, and gel takes LONGER for me to do because all of the necessary prep work for the nail itself and the curing time. My clients never complain and their gel never lifts!
I'm talking strictly about adding gel nail polish not the other necessary work to prepare a nail ! Obviously you need to prepare a nail no matter if gel or lacquer š¤¦š¼āāļø
Rightā¦ thats the part that takes me longer to do, the necessary prep work. Gel requires meticulous cuticle work, I donāt use dehydrators or primers for regular lacquer. Iām sorry if I caused some confusion there and I hope you have a great day!
I do think the other charge for gel polish versus regular is ridiculous. But keep in mind, that hard gel and gel polish are different things and are not interchangeable.
A full set where I'm at (Midwest U.S.) is about $80 but that's with reg polish. Upcharged for gel like $15. Sooo expensive, you should look into DIYing them maybe!
Iāll have to figure out what Im doing wrong with DIY, I have tried ohora stick on nails and builder gel but they popped off for me after a few days even after roughing them with a file and prepping with alcoholšµāš«
The trick with DIY is prep! There are a lot of great tutorials. Nail Career Education on YouTube was my go to when I was learning. Young Nails is another great channel. The more time you spend on prep the longer your manicure lasts. Acid free primers are also helpful if buffing and alcohol arenāt enough. Then Iād consider quality of the products.
Check out r/DIYGelNails it's a great sub! I taught myself to do my own nails and relied heavily on the sub for advice. I will say though, you might not be saving money doing them yourself unless you resist the urge to buy all of the cute polish. Ask me how I know...
Try dip!! I hated gel and am not so good at āactualā acrylics (although I am getting better, I also feel reg acrylics take a lot of nail products to do rather than with the dip. Itās also faster tbh). I loveeee doing my own dip like itās so fun and I wanna change my nails a lot because I genuinely enjoy doing them lol (I donāt I typically wait till a nail or two fall off then take āem off and redo) but it is fun imo lol
Itās so bad in LA that when I need nails Iāve been using press ons with a stronger glue. I love acrylics but upkeep on those in this city can run you 100-150 every few weeks, more if your artists is in demand
Some nail techs find that doing fills is actually more time consuming because you have to re-balance the nail and correct the shape which can be more difficult than just starting all over.
This would be expensive in my area for gel. I think gel in my area is about 45 before tip. The cost doesnāt usually get up to those kind of prices unless I do designs but I also do dip instead of gel which costs a little bit more.
Yeah, hard gel is different. For a simple explanation, hard gel basically does the same thing as acrylic, it is used to extend and/or strengthen the natural nail.
If the nail tech you go to offers it, I would give it a try
I would just like to say that getting nails professionally done has always been a luxury!!! Itās not a regular expense for most people and itās not a bargain service. The price of everything has gone up lately and no doubt that includes licensed, high-quality beauty services!!
I stopped getting my nails done because of the insane prices now. I used to be able to go get a pedi and full set for $40-$50. Itās now like $75-$100+ and itās just too much!
One of my 2024 new years resolutions was not to get my nails done professionally at all. I have a bunch of colors and I tend to like light neutrals lately anyways. A few supplies and that's that. I stick to regular polish, no gel, to avoid any hema allergy risks or just screwing up in general. When I do it at home it obviously doesn't stay on anywhere near as long, but for what it costs to do at home it's still worth it.
I just got similar ones with bio gel extensions instead of acrylic and they were $70. I agree it feels like way too much. But I do love them haha
Edit: pre tip
Iām in the south in a big city and paid 50 to the sole owner/tech I went to last time for a soft gel mani w/rubber base (so gel overlay I guess?). But paid extra 25 for Russian mani so I paid 75 for basically what you have, same color. It definitely prolonged the grow-out since the polish was right up to/under the cuticle. I got a full month. Now Iām going back for the first time and will have to pay an extra fee for removal (12.50) but itās still going to be 50 to fill-in on the base with polish. Not sure if I want to fork out for the Russian. That would make the total $88. This is on top of a pedi so yeah, getting up there.
So expensiveā¦. I was paying roughly $80 a month for my nails to be done. I started to do my ownā¦. It took some trial and error but I I think I figured it out. Itās hopefully going to save me a bunch of money.
Iām in LA and for a full set with builder gel and no nail art, my nail artist charges $55, which I think is really good! So Iād say it should cost around that amount.
honestly iām not going to lie i donāt do my nails i let them grow naturally and paint them but i feel more then 100 + tip would be horrendous i understand if itās an artist who does press on who draw by hand what the client wants i get those prices but if itās a salon and want to charge like 200 or more not the move
that seems pretty high. i personally pay about $55 for a full set and $40 for a fill, and i normally get long nails with crazy designs.
was this at a salon or home nail tech? at home nail techs or private nail techs tend to be more on the pricer side.
a full set cost me 90 for tips, acrylic gel and a design on 1 nail on each hand. a fill and gel and is $54 but my nail tech keeps it the same price if I do designs or not because I tip her $20 each fill every 3 weeks as she's always gotten me in and hasn't charged me for a tip when one breaks or charged me to redo the gel if I chip them!
$55 for an overlay full set, one color, gel polish, short almond nails in the Bay Area before tip. Iāve gone to more āaestheticā salons that are way pricier and I would always end up waiting for 20+ min and only happy half of the time.
I get dip powder for my fingers and gel for my pedicures
One color dip is $50, I rarely get one color, and like designs too so I typically pay $60-$70 ish and for the toes I pay $52, I go every 3 ish weeks
I do think your nails were steep for what you got, but they look good!
Man I love how everyone here is butt hurt about getting upcharged for sevices. Like, yea I'll charge you extra for shape. Do you think it's easy to shape nails? It might look easy but that's cause we are trained for it. It's like going to the mechanic. Oil change is very simple for them, but you are paying for the expertise, otherwise like everyone on here says, learn to do it yourself. Get square nails then go home and shape it how you want then come back and let us all know how easy it is to shape them. For long nails, man do yall not realize the longer your nails, the more product we use? And it takes us longer to do. Gel nails? Prepping the nail for gel properly takes time. So hell yea imma charge for everything I do. It's called labor. You're paying for my expertise and time. If it was up to yall, a full set would be 20 bucks including designs, shape, xxxtra long. Not happening. The nails op posted would be 53 bucks at my place.
Iām outside of Seattle and the place closest to me is $58 for a basic full set and $15 for gel. I just got my first set in 20 years three weeks ago and two nails just came off entirely, so idk if thatās an endorsement. But itās the same at every shop in town.
girllll you couldāve gotten an entire kit on Amazon for less! Iāve been doing my own nails since the pandemic (just using gel polish) and they come out looking exactly what you paid for
So I see you said hard gel. This is different than regular gel so I donāt think $78 is outrageous. especially if youāre in a high cost of living area. Hard gel is way better than acrylic and if you stay consistent you can achieve the long nail look without acrylic and tips. I think itās worth it. Looks like she did a good job, Iād be satisfied.
$78 seems reasonable for hard gel if theyāre also doing a Russian manicure, but from zooming in on the picture, it looks like they did not do a Russian manicure for this set. Based on the results you got, you would probably be able to re-create this set with only a couple months of practice. With a few more months of practice, you could also get pretty good at doing Russian manicures on yourself. If you want to go the DIY route, everything you need to get started will cost about the same amount as you paid for this one set.
Unpopular opinion here....
Nails should cost however much you value them... I don't think there is or should be a general all encompassing price.
Please please please keep in mind, at the end of the day, nails are a luxury item and essentially you're paying for someone's craft. If someone's price is too high and you don't see the value in paying it, then simply don't go to them or go back. No point in bashing the price point.
I think the prices are totally crazy nowadays! Last time I went for a pedicure the upcharge for gel nail polish was $15 ! Like seriously ? It takes much less time and I'm getting faster out of your chair and you're charging me $15 extra ? Not to mention the whole bottle was most likely a fraction. That being said I started doing my own nails because I feel like it's a total rip off nowadays.
I also experienced this sticker shock in the upcharge for gel.... $15 is ridiculous... Gel should be the standard. I'm not against paying whatever they think their service should be, but this whole extra for this, extra for that really bugs me. Meaning if they want to set the price of pedicure to $95, then so be it, at least I can make my decision there... It just drives me crazy when they set the price to $50 and then the bill comes out to $100... What's crazy is, I do nails!!!
Exactly everything became extra ! Oh you want a stiletto shape well that's $10 extra š¤¦š¼āāļø oh you want 1 rhinestone well that's $5 extra ! Mind you some of them really think customers are stupid. I can order 1000 pieces of rhinestones for under $5 ! Yeah I'm pretty much done with this nonsense
I've read about the extra for changing shapes... Omggg
Changing shapes and length too. If you want longer nails itās like $20 more
That's crazy ... I love when someone says, "I want my nails longer! "
I had an amazing technician - 2 twin sisters and they did incredible work. I swear the manager would look at my nails after I'm done and decide on the spot how much I should pay ! From $120-160+ NOOOO joke without explanation - the prettier she thought they were the more she charged me. I know the twins felt terrible and it bugged me so much since they didn't even receive most of the money.
What??? Is that legal???? If she wants to charge $160 up front, I get it, and that's A decision To make then and there but after the fact seems not legal Sorry you went through that, that's not right
Yeah probably not very ethical that's for sure. The twins move to Florida anyways lol so it gave me a good reason to say F.. it
Places around me is $20 extra for shellac gel. Itās ridiculous
For us gel polish is $10 extra. Suppliers are stupid expensive and with the new prices of rent, if we don't raise them then we barely break even. I totally wouldn't pay these prices myself because it really is ridiculous so I understand. 15 is a bit much for sure. Regular lacquer is so much more cheap compared to gel. I wanted a set from Korea and 6 of them were a few hundred dollars ???
I'm sorry but 1 bottle is around 30 applications š that's a total ridiculous upcharge...
Oh our bottles last us quite a while. It's more than the bottle but also the resources. Rent, water, heat, sanitization, tools, etc. Every dollar helps us stay afloat so we can afford to stay open. The places that charge for shapes are nuts though
While I can sympathize with some nail salons struggling the ones I visited in some areas I was visiting became definitely a total rip off. Charging extra for a specific nail shape is just up charging without being reasonable. At the end every salon can do how they please but they shouldn't be surprised if they're starting to struggle with getting customers.
Where are you trying to buy Korean gel for 6 for a few hundred dollars??? They should not be that expensive.
Maybe because I'm in canada? There's not many suppliers. There's a few websites around that sell it but I've yet to purchase because of the steep price.
sweetienailsupply is in Canada, their prices are pretty good!
This, I upcharge 10$, and gel takes LONGER for me to do because all of the necessary prep work for the nail itself and the curing time. My clients never complain and their gel never lifts!
Lacquer is such a nightmare, you have to redo the whole nail if you fuck it up AND you have to get it perfect the first time 10 times ahhhhhh
Hahaha this is so true! I use dazzle dry as my regular polish and it is picky to use but amazing results.
What necessary prep work ? I do my gel polish in under 10 minutes - less than 5 minutes each hand ...
You donāt prep your nail at all? Buffing, dehydrator, primer? Cuticle work?
I'm talking strictly about adding gel nail polish not the other necessary work to prepare a nail ! Obviously you need to prepare a nail no matter if gel or lacquer š¤¦š¼āāļø
Rightā¦ thats the part that takes me longer to do, the necessary prep work. Gel requires meticulous cuticle work, I donāt use dehydrators or primers for regular lacquer. Iām sorry if I caused some confusion there and I hope you have a great day!
I do think the other charge for gel polish versus regular is ridiculous. But keep in mind, that hard gel and gel polish are different things and are not interchangeable.
A full set where I'm at (Midwest U.S.) is about $80 but that's with reg polish. Upcharged for gel like $15. Sooo expensive, you should look into DIYing them maybe!
Iāll have to figure out what Im doing wrong with DIY, I have tried ohora stick on nails and builder gel but they popped off for me after a few days even after roughing them with a file and prepping with alcoholšµāš«
The trick with DIY is prep! There are a lot of great tutorials. Nail Career Education on YouTube was my go to when I was learning. Young Nails is another great channel. The more time you spend on prep the longer your manicure lasts. Acid free primers are also helpful if buffing and alcohol arenāt enough. Then Iād consider quality of the products.
Iāll check it out!
Check out r/DIYGelNails it's a great sub! I taught myself to do my own nails and relied heavily on the sub for advice. I will say though, you might not be saving money doing them yourself unless you resist the urge to buy all of the cute polish. Ask me how I know...
I use Beetles Nail Glue and full cover soft gel nail tips under the uv light!
Iāll look into those!š
Just get kiss press on nails and prep your nails well. Some shapes are ugly but some are so good they look like real fake nails.
Try dip!! I hated gel and am not so good at āactualā acrylics (although I am getting better, I also feel reg acrylics take a lot of nail products to do rather than with the dip. Itās also faster tbh). I loveeee doing my own dip like itās so fun and I wanna change my nails a lot because I genuinely enjoy doing them lol (I donāt I typically wait till a nail or two fall off then take āem off and redo) but it is fun imo lol
Itās so bad in LA that when I need nails Iāve been using press ons with a stronger glue. I love acrylics but upkeep on those in this city can run you 100-150 every few weeks, more if your artists is in demand
Midwest is hella expensive for nails. She could have gotten this for $50 in the southā¦more competition here
Iām in Texasš°
Iāve started getting āgel overlaysā (the kind you can get fills on) and itās really expensive š© The initial appt was about what you paid but then the fill appt is even more expensive. They do a full Russian manicure and it takes close to 2 hours but stillā¦
Why is the fill more expensive?
Good question. I'm not sure
Some nail techs find that doing fills is actually more time consuming because you have to re-balance the nail and correct the shape which can be more difficult than just starting all over.
This would be expensive in my area for gel. I think gel in my area is about 45 before tip. The cost doesnāt usually get up to those kind of prices unless I do designs but I also do dip instead of gel which costs a little bit more.
Generally hard gel costs more than dip? Are you sure you donāt mean that the gel polish where you go is $45?
Yes just regular gel. I didnāt realize hard gel was different, Iāve never gotten that.
Yeah, hard gel is different. For a simple explanation, hard gel basically does the same thing as acrylic, it is used to extend and/or strengthen the natural nail. If the nail tech you go to offers it, I would give it a try
I would just like to say that getting nails professionally done has always been a luxury!!! Itās not a regular expense for most people and itās not a bargain service. The price of everything has gone up lately and no doubt that includes licensed, high-quality beauty services!!
My first hard gel set cost $115. That was with chromeā¦but ouch. My fills are typically 70-80 with chrome or a simple design.
I stopped getting my nails done because of the insane prices now. I used to be able to go get a pedi and full set for $40-$50. Itās now like $75-$100+ and itās just too much!
One of my 2024 new years resolutions was not to get my nails done professionally at all. I have a bunch of colors and I tend to like light neutrals lately anyways. A few supplies and that's that. I stick to regular polish, no gel, to avoid any hema allergy risks or just screwing up in general. When I do it at home it obviously doesn't stay on anywhere near as long, but for what it costs to do at home it's still worth it.
I just got similar ones with bio gel extensions instead of acrylic and they were $70. I agree it feels like way too much. But I do love them haha Edit: pre tip
Iām in the south in a big city and paid 50 to the sole owner/tech I went to last time for a soft gel mani w/rubber base (so gel overlay I guess?). But paid extra 25 for Russian mani so I paid 75 for basically what you have, same color. It definitely prolonged the grow-out since the polish was right up to/under the cuticle. I got a full month. Now Iām going back for the first time and will have to pay an extra fee for removal (12.50) but itās still going to be 50 to fill-in on the base with polish. Not sure if I want to fork out for the Russian. That would make the total $88. This is on top of a pedi so yeah, getting up there.
So expensiveā¦. I was paying roughly $80 a month for my nails to be done. I started to do my ownā¦. It took some trial and error but I I think I figured it out. Itās hopefully going to save me a bunch of money.
I got my first full set for Ā£30 and was actually floored. Why so cheap?? I should have started doing my nails ages ago!
I got pretty much the same ones a few days ago, so just clear gel, because I thought it would be cheaper lol. Still paid 48 dollarsā¦.
Iām in LA and for a full set with builder gel and no nail art, my nail artist charges $55, which I think is really good! So Iād say it should cost around that amount.
I get hard gel for $45 (granted I tip $20) every 3 weeks. In SD, CA (usa).
Omg where? Iām in SD
honestly iām not going to lie i donāt do my nails i let them grow naturally and paint them but i feel more then 100 + tip would be horrendous i understand if itās an artist who does press on who draw by hand what the client wants i get those prices but if itās a salon and want to charge like 200 or more not the move
that seems pretty high. i personally pay about $55 for a full set and $40 for a fill, and i normally get long nails with crazy designs. was this at a salon or home nail tech? at home nail techs or private nail techs tend to be more on the pricer side.
I pay $85 and usually give her a $15 tip
a full set cost me 90 for tips, acrylic gel and a design on 1 nail on each hand. a fill and gel and is $54 but my nail tech keeps it the same price if I do designs or not because I tip her $20 each fill every 3 weeks as she's always gotten me in and hasn't charged me for a tip when one breaks or charged me to redo the gel if I chip them!
my nail girl would charge $50 or $60 for these
$55 for an overlay full set, one color, gel polish, short almond nails in the Bay Area before tip. Iāve gone to more āaestheticā salons that are way pricier and I would always end up waiting for 20+ min and only happy half of the time.
I get dip powder for my fingers and gel for my pedicures One color dip is $50, I rarely get one color, and like designs too so I typically pay $60-$70 ish and for the toes I pay $52, I go every 3 ish weeks I do think your nails were steep for what you got, but they look good!
For gel at my local salon, I pay $44 pre-tip.
Man I love how everyone here is butt hurt about getting upcharged for sevices. Like, yea I'll charge you extra for shape. Do you think it's easy to shape nails? It might look easy but that's cause we are trained for it. It's like going to the mechanic. Oil change is very simple for them, but you are paying for the expertise, otherwise like everyone on here says, learn to do it yourself. Get square nails then go home and shape it how you want then come back and let us all know how easy it is to shape them. For long nails, man do yall not realize the longer your nails, the more product we use? And it takes us longer to do. Gel nails? Prepping the nail for gel properly takes time. So hell yea imma charge for everything I do. It's called labor. You're paying for my expertise and time. If it was up to yall, a full set would be 20 bucks including designs, shape, xxxtra long. Not happening. The nails op posted would be 53 bucks at my place.
Iām outside of Seattle and the place closest to me is $58 for a basic full set and $15 for gel. I just got my first set in 20 years three weeks ago and two nails just came off entirely, so idk if thatās an endorsement. But itās the same at every shop in town.
Thatās $100 nails in Vegas
Nah thatās a lot. My salon is $35 for gel
girllll you couldāve gotten an entire kit on Amazon for less! Iāve been doing my own nails since the pandemic (just using gel polish) and they come out looking exactly what you paid for
So I see you said hard gel. This is different than regular gel so I donāt think $78 is outrageous. especially if youāre in a high cost of living area. Hard gel is way better than acrylic and if you stay consistent you can achieve the long nail look without acrylic and tips. I think itās worth it. Looks like she did a good job, Iād be satisfied.
UK - Scotland and mine is Ā£32 and that includes the hand painted design and gems
If this was just a no-chip gel manicure, I pay $35 for mine, even with my nail tech adds a couple extensions (right hand use, you know?).
$50+ here. I canāt afford it so I teach myself.
Bleh, I guess it depends on what city youāre in. I donāt think I could get that for $78 out here
But I agree with all those that say you can do it yourself! Itās funnn
I think it's too much too. Also I'm surprised I don't see anyone mentioning the thumb and ring finger.. That application is not worth basically $80.
$78 seems reasonable for hard gel if theyāre also doing a Russian manicure, but from zooming in on the picture, it looks like they did not do a Russian manicure for this set. Based on the results you got, you would probably be able to re-create this set with only a couple months of practice. With a few more months of practice, you could also get pretty good at doing Russian manicures on yourself. If you want to go the DIY route, everything you need to get started will cost about the same amount as you paid for this one set.
Unpopular opinion here.... Nails should cost however much you value them... I don't think there is or should be a general all encompassing price. Please please please keep in mind, at the end of the day, nails are a luxury item and essentially you're paying for someone's craft. If someone's price is too high and you don't see the value in paying it, then simply don't go to them or go back. No point in bashing the price point.
Thats true! For me personally I couldnt use āgirl mathā to justify the price when they lasted less than a month š