Would you pay more than you already do to get your nails done?

[RiderofRohan]

Article on the BBC. Sad to hear nail technicians are making so little (£7 an hour). I guess all the profits are going to salons and suppliers? It makes me wonder if being a nail technician is a sustainable career path.

As someone who had got their nails done for the last decade but recently stopped, I just don't see myself going back to regular manicures if the price was to further increase. I was spending £50 every three weeks for a take off and new gel manicure, which lasted an hour each time.

At the end of the day, it's hardly a necessity.

I'm comfortable financially, but the recent COL crisis has highlighted how expensive things can become at the drop of a hat. It seems a lot more sensible to take that money and put it towards savings or the mortgage.

During Covid I taught myself to do my own gels so that they rarely chipped, wasn't really rocket science. Much more likely to go back to this than the salon.

Wondering if others would keep getting their nails done if the price went up.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cld404v6lkeo

£35 from Mint salon that don't drill so a sock off gel nails and a new set is around 2 hours.

The oriental shops that drill were a lot quicker charged £25/£20 for shellac.

I haven’t had my nails done since covid! I never bothered to do them myself I just stopped, I now keep them short and file them myself. My lady used to charge £28 for a soak off and new gels, she used a small room in the house I think she’s now given up completely since she had her last baby.

I did have a look as we have a holiday in August so I may get my toes and nails done for that but the prices have jumped to around £35/40 each and I am not sure I want to pay that.

I also used to get a lash lift (again only once since covid)…that’s now £55 - so instead have been using some stick on ones when I feel I need them not very often as I don’t go out

A salon was raided and I’ve been very wary of them since

https://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/15084550.hollywood-nails-in-cirencester-faces-60000-fine-after-immigration-raid-results-in-three-arrests/

I pay £23 for gel finger nails every 2 weeks without fail. Every 4 weeks for toes. That includes soak off and takes around an hour. There is a loyalty scheme so every 6th appointment is half price. My salon is always busy and you have to book well in advance. I have all my appointments booked until July plus two in December for Christmas. My self-employed nail technician drives a Mercedes and is just having a new house built so I assume that financially she must be comfortable.

I’ve had mine done 2-3 times in total. I don’t have time for this, and I wouldn’t pay £50. TBH I don’t like the look either.

It's £15 in my local place. I think it's probably a bit dodgy though, because the building is owned by the people who also own the building next door with the brothel, crack house and definitely dodgy betting shop in it. And because the people working there always have a stack of kids to look after too. Always Vietnamese people as staff.

I don't get my nails done there. Mostly because I don't like the look so get them done nowhere, but also I would worry about the people who work there. I imagine that places like that are much more a concern for low wages than someone charging £50+.

I (obviously) support people earning a decent amount per hour but the BBC report made me think about competition law. The proposal to get everyone to put their prices up seems to me to be problematic...

I have never paid as I don't like that look.
I paint my own or use nail wraps.
Most nail bars are money laundering fronts for the drugs trade and I don't want to contribute to that.

I have mine done by an independent lady every three weeks. I pay £30-35 depending on what needs doing.
I assume she's making money as she's about to extend her cabin

I pay around 20 - 25 for my nails. She uses a drill and I don't have a pattern so it takes around 30 mins.

I use an independent beautician (whos also my SIL) every 3 weeks for BIAB infill. I love having my nails done and when I dont have i bite them. Shes £30 for this and worth every penny. No power tools used do takes around a hour depending on design. I would 100% pay more if i needed to.

I pay £35-45 plus tip every other week for my acrylics, at an independent place.

Plus £30 for pedicure as and when

Husband and wife team.

I would pay an extra £5 or so because I love my nail lady.

The male owners do, not Vietnamese or other 'technicians' there's a lot of trafficking/dreadful living conditions/having to leave their families back home & abuse.

using these salons is contributing to that. I'm amazed women still do,

I came here to say the same thing!

Personally I pay to get my nails done as I am crap at doing them myself and it makes me happy. I pay £30 for a shellac manicure every 3 weeks including soaking off the previous ones. They would easily last 4 weeks but I like my nails short and get annoyed if I wait that long. Once I’ve been 5 times I can get a 20% discount on anything I book, so I usually do something more (eg they have an amazing offer for a mani, pedi, massage and facial combined).

Bit judgemental of something that makes other people happy!

I have shellac. My nails function fine.

I do my own, short with just clear polish. So I don’t pay anything anyway.

TBH I don’t like the look of fake nails, especially over-long ones or multi-coloured, though OK on the very young IMO.

Unfortunately i think a lot of job which require people to be regularly spending spare cash on luxuries will be increasingly unviable and its mostly women in these jobs

There are different things getting conflated here
Employed nail techs in salons etc defo getting minimum wage.
The (usually asian) shops involved in people trafficking etc exploiting people not getting paid a proper wage if anythibg.
Nail techs working in a salon as an independent, cabin in garden, spare room, many are not charging enough and aren't making minimum wage.
They are putting wages up to try and make more thus is more for tge ones charging £20-30. Its not price fixing as they are not setting an amount just all saying make sure you are making a decent amount of money depending on your overheads.

A friend of mine does nails and does very well, she charges upwards of £60 per set, but her nails are all incredible designs - they really are works of art.

I prefer plain nails so I go to the salon in town. I didn’t realise there was potential exploitation happening. The one I go to is run by a Vietnamese lady, everyone in there is very friendly, skilled, and seems happy to be there… I’ve been going for three years every 3 weeks and there hasn’t been huge staff turnovers or new technicians joining either. But it’s possible, how would I know?

I pay £27 every three weeks (with some sort of £5 discount every 5th go) for acrylics. I would pay a bit more as it cheers me up! I probably would stop going at £35 though. I do my own toenails as that’s just gel.

I've been paying £30 every 3 weeks for nails and £40 for lashes. My tech has put her prices and it's just not feasible for me to pay for it now.

I can do my own nails, I like having them done but it's a luxury I'm not willing to pay for at the new price. Lashes, I won't not have. My friend's daughter will do them for me.

It's not the same but it'll do as it will save me almost £100 a month. I don't think I'm the only one who has decided to stop having services judging by a few social media posts I've seen. It's a tricky one as the tech wants to make money but you can't charge more than people will pay.

My nail place is owned by a couple, she runs it, he helps out.

They don’t have extra staff except one at a time on a specific visa thing for young people to learn languages and skills- they are uni students/new leavers. The current one is lovely- always off around the country sightseeing, speaks 4 languages and chats away about what she has been up to and her plans for when she goes back to Hong Kong.

She is the second one that’s been there in several years- there isn’t a flow of them.

Their families are here (siblings/ nephews and nieces, and parents) and their children are in the local schools.

They are part of the community like anyone else, they just happen to hail from Vietnam.

You’re confusing judgement with having an opinion 🙄

if you want to throw your money at nails I really couldn’t care less 🤷🏻‍♀️

Its simply a fact that it makes them thicker though.

I pay £26 for builder gel and whatever colour/decoration I want. The person that does mine owns her own salon, and also does semi permanent makeup. She put her prices up a couple of pounds after Covid but not since then.

They use an online booking system so if anyone does cancel or not turn up they are still charged.

They do make them thicker- that’s one of the things I like about them.

And it's mostly women customers... so.. fair fair.
Unlike hairdressing, nails are much easier to DIY. There are lots of 'at-home' kits as well. Takes a bit of practice but a fraction of the cost once you get the hang of it.
The article is probably for publicity. It's not news to people that businesses raise prices to survive. No need for a 'national nail price' whatever day.

As a PP said the other issue is the sheer supply of 'nail technicians'. Utmost respect for the professionals but around here every other woman is doing a short course and calling themselves a 'qualified nail technician'. The reason they don't want an actual NMW job is because travel etc costs... also not flexible. If they feel that less than NMW is a good wage for something that they can do from home, who am I to tell them to stop?