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

I pay £25 every four weeks for a manicure and gels. I would pay up £30 for my lady.

I didn’t have anything for years due to my role but now I love having pretty nails.

@Ohdearydeary

how much do you pay?

the nail bars are what I was talking about, they have lots of Vietnamese (or Philippine) women working and the male owner walking around keeping an eye on them, taking the money etc, the women look nervously around before speaking and quietly speak of their families back home.

naively many years ago I assumed it was an
opportunity for them, it took a while to see what was going on & as soon as I did I stopped using them.

I get mine done at a local beauty and hair salon.
The beautician is a salaried employee so gets paid the same regardless of what she does (she also does eyebrows, eyelashes etc) or if she is fully booked or not.
They charge £36 to remove and reapply gel polish. She soaks off after using a nail file to buff and break the top bond.
I go every 3 weeks or so.

There are other nail places in town who charge less and you can just walk in but they use electric files and are know for being dodgy with a regular staff turnover.

Definitely not. Can’t afford it. Everyone is worse off atm so it makes sense that the salon owners would want more profit but not sure it makes sense as people have less disposable income as it is. Not sure they will do well out of this - hopefully they do but lots of people have their nails done as their one treat, and if the prices rise too much they won’t.

I get custom press on nails anyway. They’re much cheaper and last just as long.

My local one was cash only for years, pretty sure that is how they kept prices down. I pay £23 for gels that last 3 plus weeks. I would pay a bit more but over £25, I would get them done a bit less often.

I do not paint my own fingernails anymore as they look bad compared to gels, plus they do not last more than a couple of days, that I would rather have nothing on or gels.

All the owners near me are Vietnam /Thai women and their staff seem relaxed and chatty.

I used to pay £28 in London for gel manicure, so only had it done occasionally. Now I live overseas and use Groupon and pay about £22 every 3-4 weeks for gel mani pedi including removal. The salon gives me Groupon rates without buying a voucher as it's better for the nail tech, then I tip her as well.

Until recently I was paying £27 for removal and new set of gels, which is very reasonable, but I've bought my own stuff and now do it myself. It's not just the cost (we are lucky to be comfortably off) but the convenience of doing it at home.

My nail technician, just a manicure, and gel polish, visits me at home, is self employed, and charges £45. (London area).

I was paying £25 every 2 weeks for shellac, sometimes every 10 days, she has now increased pricing up to £27 per set, so I’ve removed them and will have them for special occasions! It takes half an hour. I think it’s extortionate to be honest. (I’m up north) I can afford the increase but I just think it’s increased so much over the last couple of years, not sure it’s worthwhile.

I was paying £25 in the 90s.

I have biab every 4 weeks and it's £33. Not willing to pay any more than that. It seems extortionate compared to manicures pre gel nails.

I pay £35 upwards, depending on what I have. The most I’ve paid for one set is £50 plus tip (we are in a very cheap part of the country and there is a lot of competition in the area- her prices are normal for the area)

She deals with the money herself, and her husband helps out- he does pedicures (all the pedicure certificates on the wall are his) and makes tea and generally odds about.

They laugh and chat- grandad has been to temple, I went shopping and bought X yesterday, how the kids are getting on etc. My ds has SEND and so does her cousin in Vietnam so we discuss the differences in care/education and stuff.

They live in the flat behind and above the salon.

I know people trafficking is an issue in the industry (and she does prefer cash so I couldn’t swear to her tax situation!) but they don’t seem any different to hairdressers/tradies etc in the area- apart from being Vietnamese.

I stopped going to my old place because I was suspicious of the staff turnover and none of them spoke at all and didn’t appear to speak English except for the lady in charge.

I pay £12 for gel nails in a salon.

Not that I'm blaming you as the price you pay is the price they are charging, but that is honestly shocking. If you think minimum wage is £11.44 an hour - there is absolutely no way the cost per service of the products used is only 56p (a fresh nail file should be used for every customer for example, mine work out at 60p each; I would estimate around £2.50 per service for a bogstandard gel manicure but more for builder/hard gel or acrylic). Then electricity, insurance, rent of premises, business rates, tax and NI, maintenance and replacement of equipment (lamps don't last long and drill bits wear out) etc etc.

I would be very suspicious of a salon that was happily operating at a loss.

@Rainbowshit the cost of a biab manicure is a lot more than the cost of non-gel nail polish, it's not really a fair comparison. The brand I use needs dehydrator, primer, base coat, builder gel and top coat, plus any gel colours/paints used. The builder gel alone is £17 a bottle and you get far less sets than you would out of a bottle of nail polish. I only do friends and family as a hobby because I enjoy it, as there's just no way I could make it worthwhile as a business.

I was shocked to pay £38 for a manicure and £45 for a pedicure last week!! The staff are Vietnamese and they always want cash, so I’m sure they aren’t paying proper taxes. I never have cash, so always pay by bank transfer.

I’ve now found another lady near me, who works for herself at home and she charges £20 for the same manicure and £30 for a pedicure. That feels like a reasonable price.

@Ohdearydeary

yep, so it's the latter situation I'm talking about, not your sweet couple.

the tax is a different thing entirely and whilst potentially not great, trouble me a whole lot less than the trafficking/abuse in the the nail bar situation .

besides they might be paying tax. My friend declares all his cash income, he just hates using card machines. 🙄🙄