Nails

[Bubalouie]

I have a question for the ladies out there , and who knows, maybe gentleman as well. I am thinking about having my nails done and see all these ad's for gel or acrylic (sp.?). I have no clue so any tips, (LOL) would be appreciated.
How much is it?
How often do you have to go once you start ?
Any suggestions where to have it done??
Etc. etc. etc.........

thanks

[tawnylee]

One suggestion is to NOT go to the one at Capri Mall. I got a nsty nail infection once there, and I have NEVER seen them properly sanitize stuff.
Other than that, I have no suggestions, sorry!!

[ILLEffect]

One suggestion is to NOT go to the one at Capri Mall. I got a nsty nail infection once there, and I have NEVER seen them properly sanitize stuff.

Wow! I'm not the only one!!! I got a terrible infection after going there and I have NEVER had an infection before.

As for a good place, I don't know if they actually do nails there, but I've always loved their hair and make up services - it's called "Cream". There's also a place in Plaza 33 that does awesome nails (can't think of the name offhand).

When I got acrylics, it was I think $50 for a full set, then $20 for upkeep once a month. I got shorter nails than usual (square tip) and found that to be more practical and convenient than longer nails (especially when it came to typing on the keyboard). I loved having the acrylic nails, they were so beautiful.They took about a week to get used to but after than it was easy breezy.

You can also buy home acrylic kits for about $20, but I wouldn't recommend them unless you are really good at doing your own fake nails. But if you know of someone that can do them, you can always get the kit and ask them to do it. Maintenance is really easy (I did the home kit once and had a friend do the original application than I did my own upkeep).

[CoffeeCanuck]

I have the perfect nail tech for you. She only does gel nails. I have had both gel and acrylic. Working in health care, I can attest first hand they are the way to go. Gel nails are far more natural looking, and they have some give to them, unlike acrylics which are extremely hard. Another positive with gels over acrylics is that you wont get the same degree of lifting. The gal I went to and miss dearly since I moved has now set up shop in Plazza 33. Her name is Erin and I will pm you with her phone number. Seriously, this gal knows her stuff, is very clean, sanitizes everything, and her prices are reasonable.

Do not ever go to any of those nail shops that are in malls and plaza's run by Asians. All the ones I've had experience with, use inferior product and though they tell you they do gel, more often than not, it's acrylic. There is only one way to get a gel nail off, and that is by filing it off. Acrylics, you can soak off. Don't be fooled as so many woman are these days. There is a reason they are so cheap! There was also an article in the paper a number of years back about Exotic Nails in Dilworth Centre. They are one of those Asian nail shops. (No racism intended) They were using unmarked products that contained MMA. Read this article on MMA.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/ad ... _32_e.html

Initial cost of a set of gel nails is around $65-$80. Then you go for fills every 3 weeks, depending on how fast your nail grows. Mine grew rather quickly, and I went every 3 wks. Some people can get away with 4-5 weeks in between fills. Gel fills range between $30-$50, depending on the nail tech and salon. Don't be fooled either in thinking that a nail tech working out of a high end salon knows her stuff. I've had nails for about 8 yrs now, and I am extremely particular. I have seen some pretty bad nails, meaning thick, not shaped nicely etc. come out of those high end salons.

~D

Edit to ad~ Here are her prices and I'll pm you with her phone number.

Gel Nails - $65 for Full Set
$40 for Fill
***Lots of Colors to choose from $5 extra for colored tip*
Gel Toes - $45 - French
$35 - Solid Color
Located In Defy Hair and Esthetics

[mekathy]

I have the perfect nail tech for you. She only does gel nails. I have had both gel and acrylic. Working in health care, I can attest first hand they are the way to go. Gel nails are far more natural looking, and they have some give to them, unlike acrylics which are extremely hard. Another positive with gels over acrylics is that you wont get the same degree of lifting. The gal I went to and miss dearly since I moved has now set up shop in Plazza 33. Her name is Erin and I will pm you with her phone number. Seriously, this gal knows her stuff, is very clean, sanitizes everything, and her prices are reasonable.

Do not ever go to any of those nail shops that are in malls and plaza's run by Asians. All the ones I've had experience with, use inferior product and though they tell you they do gel, more often than not, it's acrylic. There is only one way to get a gel nail off, and that is by filing it off. Acrylics, you can soak off. Don't be fooled as so many woman are these days. There is a reason they are so cheap! There was also an article in the paper a number of years back about Exotic Nails in Dilworth Centre. They are one of those Asian nail shops. (No racism intended) They were using unmarked products that contained MMA. Read this article on MMA.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/ad ... _32_e.html

Initial cost of a set of gel nails is around $65-$80. Then you go for fills every 3 weeks, depending on how fast your nail grows. Mine grew rather quickly, and I went every 3 wks. Some people can get away with 4-5 weeks in between fills. Gel fills range between $30-$50, depending on the nail tech and salon. Don't be fooled either in thinking that a nail tech working out of a high end salon knows her stuff. I've had nails for about 8 yrs now, and I am extremely particular. I have seen some pretty bad nails, meaning thick, not shaped nicely etc. come out of those high end salons.

~D

Edit to ad~ Here are her prices and I'll pm you with her phone number.

Gel Nails - $65 for Full Set
$40 for Fill
***Lots of Colors to choose from $5 extra for colored tip*
Gel Toes - $45 - French
$35 - Solid Color
Located In Defy Hair and Esthetics

Amici's has a gel nail that is fairly new on the market that does soak off.

[CoffeeCanuck]

Amici's has a gel nail that is fairly new on the market that does soak off.

A girl I worked with went to that salon and told me that. I did not like her nails, but then again, I'm extremely particular. I have a hard time believing those are true gel nails.

~D

[mekathy]

I had those gel nails done and had them soaked off twice. They are gel nails and were great. I simply found it inconvenient to keep having them done especially having to cross the bridge. I will probably go back and have them done at Amici's again now that spring is rolling in. If I remember correctly the initial price was around 70.00 ish

[westsidemom]

I decided to get my nails done for the first time and found there is a girl on my street who does gel nails at home. My appointment is tomorrow and I will let you know how it goes. She Charges $40 for the set, $20 for fills and also does toes.

[mekathy]

I decided to get my nails done for the first time and found there is a girl on my street who does gel nails at home. My appointment is tomorrow and I will let you know how it goes. She Charges $40 for the set, $20 for fills and also does toes.

Let me know how they look as my daughter would love to have them but cannot afford the salon prices. She had some done once by a lady out of her house, but I think she was fairly new to nails and they didn't look too good and took way too long to get done. I think I am going to treat myself to gel toes this summer. They look so good

[westsidemom]

I decided to get my nails done for the first time and found there is a girl on my street who does gel nails at home. My appointment is tomorrow and I will let you know how it goes. She Charges $40 for the set, $20 for fills and also does toes.

Let me know how they look as my daughter would love to have them but cannot afford the salon prices. She had some done once by a lady out of her house, but I think she was fairly new to nails and they didn't look too good and took way too long to get done. I think I am going to treat myself to gel toes this summer. They look so good

I will let you know tomorrow night when I get back from the appointment. I LOVE gel toes too! I will find how much they are.

[CoffeeCanuck]

I had those gel nails done and had them soaked off twice. They are gel nails and were great. I simply found it inconvenient to keep having them done especially having to cross the bridge. I will probably go back and have them done at Amici's again now that spring is rolling in. If I remember correctly the initial price was around 70.00 ish

Maybe there is a new gel product that can be soaked off, dunno. All I know is every nail tech I have talked to says true gel nails have to be filed off. Like I said, a co-worker got her nails done at Amici's. She really liked them and that is what counts. I didn't. Maybe it was a certain tech, but her nails looked fake to me. There is no need to have gel nails completely removed, so to have them soaked off every 3 weeks and then a brand new set put on is a waste of time and extra money. Just my opinion though.

~D

[mekathy]

I had those gel nails done and had them soaked off twice. They are gel nails and were great. I simply found it inconvenient to keep having them done especially having to cross the bridge. I will probably go back and have them done at Amici's again now that spring is rolling in. If I remember correctly the initial price was around 70.00 ish

Maybe there is a new gel product that can be soaked off, dunno. All I know is every nail tech I have talked to says true gel nails have to be filed off. Like I said, a co-worker got her nails done at Amici's. She really liked them and that is what counts. I didn't. Maybe it was a certain tech, but her nails looked fake to me. There is no need to have gel nails completely removed, so to have them soaked off every 3 weeks and then a brand new set put on is a waste of time and extra money. Just my opinion though.

~D

I was of the opposite opinion. I was very leary of leaving anything on my nail and only having them filed and filled as I cannot see how that would be very hygenic or good for the nails. I remember having acrylics done back in the 90's for my wedding and only had them on for about three weeks but they left my nails in horrible shape. I felt better having the gel nailed redone each time (at the same price as most salons charged for a fill) and having new nails each time. I guess to each their own

[eyepop]

I have the perfect nail tech for you. Her name is Erin ...Do not ever go to any of those nail shops that are .. run by Asians. ... There was also an article in the paper..about Exotic Nails in Dilworth Centre. They are one of those Asian nail shops. (No racism intended) ..

what's Erin's ethnicity?

you neglected to mention.

[gardengirl]

I grow my own. How zany is that?

[CoffeeCanuck]

When I first started out with nails, I knew nothing about them. I started out with fibreglass nails at meryl normans. Man they were terrible, in that they were continually breaking off. Then I went to acrylic nails as a co-worker did them as a side business in her home. They were much better than the fibreglass, however I was always dealing with the edges lifting, which always happens with acrylics. Because I am so particular with how my nails look, I was getting fills every 2 weeks. She was cheap, $20 for a fill, so it was no biggie to go every 2 weeks. After she gave up doing nails, I tried a variety of different nail techs all over town. At the time, I was happy with acrylics, and was leery of gels and I was told they are flexible and break more often. I forget what led me to the gal who did my gel nails, but when I decided to give gel nails a try, there was no going back. They are lightweight, always super shiny, much more natural looking, strong, and very little to no lifting at the edges. I should mention as well that when I had acrylics, I got a fungus underneath the nail 3 different times. In the years that I used gel nails, I have never gotten a fungus. I will never go back to acrylic nails. Currently I'm without nails as there are no decent nail techs where I live, so I had them filed off and am currently natural. I've had gel nails continuously for about 3 years without having them removed and my natural nail is just as healthy as it was before I got nails.

~D

Edit to ad ~ I should correct myself. When I first filed off my nails, they were a tad soft, but that lasted for only a week. Now they are just like they were before ever getting artificial nails.