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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be disappointed with this gel manicure?

131 replies

Saturdayrabbit42 · 10/05/2025 00:10

As title. Nails short but not bitten etc. (need short nails for work). Went to the salon today, £25 for these. Have had gels elsewhere before elsewhere with same length nails and I was really pleased…not thick/cuticles tidied/edges and skin clean etc. I messaged them when I got home to say that I was disappointed and their reply was my nails were too short and I just had to wait for them to grow. Perhaps they were right and I am being unreasonable?

AIBU
Yes-suck it up buttercup/nails too short
No-dogs dinner, even if short result should be better than this!

PS realise this is a very first world problem!

To be disappointed with this gel manicure?
To be disappointed with this gel manicure?
To be disappointed with this gel manicure?
To be disappointed with this gel manicure?
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Tinytigertail · 12/05/2025 17:36

I'd be really disappointed with these. If your nails are too short, they should have told you that before they put the gels on rather than do a crappy job and then blame the nails!

GeorgianaM · 12/05/2025 11:08

They look like you were sat at the back of the classroom and having bit all your nails you then painted over them with Tippex!

TeenyTotAndTiny · 12/05/2025 10:54

Not a good look, totally understandable why you’re disappointed. Agree with previous poster, it looks like you have painted your nails with tipex.

JaneInPain · 12/05/2025 10:50

Only ever had one manicure and it was terrible, like the OPs. I also keep my nails cut short, I have no white showing it just annoys me and I trim and file them every week, never bite

The manicure I had I wanted a french manicure to look natural for my holiday, I did grow the tips slightly but she hacked and cut at the skin at the base of the nails (not sure if this is the cuticle or not, I don't know that that is) and they looked terrible and were so SORE, who the hell cuts you like that?

I was so disappointed, have never had another

ChimpanzeeThatMonkeyNews · 12/05/2025 08:44

CharlotteCChapel · 12/05/2025 01:13

Cuticles shouldn't be trimmed as its an infection risk. Gently push them back a bit but not too far is acceptable.

Show quote history

I love that part of a manicure. It’s so satisfying.

Muffinmam · 12/05/2025 03:03

Never go back there again.

The manicure is terrible - they didn’t even remove the excess before curing it. However, your nails have been hacked. Did you do that?

nwsw · 12/05/2025 02:44

They aren't hideous so you should've kept it on for longer but it's disappointing that professional did them and I'd be furious too.

Tbrh · 12/05/2025 02:18

Looks terrible, but it might be because the nails are too short although if you've had them before and they've been good then it's probably them. I guess this is the difference between someone who is good and someone who is average

Thefsm · 12/05/2025 02:00

Bitten not gotten

Thefsm · 12/05/2025 02:00

I’ve always gotten my nails and not given a fiddler’s fart about varnish etc. for the past two months I’ve gone every fortnight to get my nails done. For the first three weeks we had to add extensions to get them looking decent. This week is my first time without the extensions and my nails are still short and rounded so not interfering with my job, but look so much better than they used to. I asked for a French polish. This cost $63 including $10 tip. I think they look less childish than when I had them purple or black in previous weeks. The colors made them seem shorter.

To be disappointed with this gel manicure?
pinkglitter12 · 12/05/2025 01:35

Even with such short nails you should expect a nice manicure, which is what you were paying them for! I think the chosen colour is very unforgiving though. Maybe a more muted/ neutral / sheer tone would have been much prettier on that length and would have looked more glam!

Waterweight · 12/05/2025 01:27

Different colours will effect how they look but it does appear to be a bit splodged on & I would have assumed they would have done a basic manicure first

Gettingbysomehow · 12/05/2025 01:20

The awful colour doesn't help. I'd have gone for a colour as close to my skin as I could. These just shriek nail biter.

blueredpurple · 12/05/2025 01:15

They are awful. They should have tidied up the cuticles and filed them into some kind of uniformed shape with what nail is there. The colour really doesn’t help, a more subtle shade would have hidden many of the problems.

CharlotteCChapel · 12/05/2025 01:13

Dearg · 10/05/2025 07:46

No they should have taken more time on the preparation. They should have trimmed the cuticles for example.

For what it’s worth I used similar colour on my non- gel nails and it looks shit too

Cuticles shouldn't be trimmed as its an infection risk. Gently push them back a bit but not too far is acceptable.

mondaytosunday · 12/05/2025 01:11

Yep they look a bit messy. I would not be happy.

EmeraldShamrock000 · 12/05/2025 00:30

They're very short and the colour is not flattering.

lovegoodlovegood · 12/05/2025 00:18

mordaunt · 10/05/2025 11:38

They’re not that short. Although im a violinist so that’s the longest I can get away with.
They look lovely by the way.

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That’s hard to tell with colour on them though
if I paint mine everyone says I have lovely long nails but the pink bit of my nail is just stupidly long!

LegoTherapy · 12/05/2025 00:01

I’d be pissed off too. It looks like a toddler has painted them with tippex or icing.

how do you get them that short without it hurting? My nails are very short but yours are a whole new level. No germs lurking under there!

llizzie · 11/05/2025 23:35

I cannot wear them. My body rejects glue - even superglue. It just rolls off my fingers. The strongest nail glue doesn't stick.

I hope I never need surgery with surgical glue.

Howdoesithappenlikethis · 11/05/2025 22:42

Oh wow, I'm shocked at how bad those are. Yes ok your nails are short but that doesn't mean they couldn't have ensured your cuticles were neat and also the gel is uneven. Id go back in tomorrow and ask for a refund or threaten to post pictures on Facebook etc.

ThistleTits · 11/05/2025 21:22

BIAB by year one student, £10, £10 for gel toes. Does a lot of prep. Not perfect, for the price I'm happy.

To be disappointed with this gel manicure?
fetchacloth · 11/05/2025 21:06

The cuticles needed a lot more work and the colour coverage wasn't good enough.
I would deffo complain about that.

pollymere · 11/05/2025 20:54

The gel is far too thick. I do my own gels even if my nails are short and they look vastly better than this. They don't seem to have don't anything with your cuticles which always makes nails look longer too.

Glitchymn1 · 11/05/2025 20:28

Biab… there wasn’t much to work with, bad colour choice. The prep is bad.