The Nail Bar DC — Attraction in Washington

I got a combo signature mani and pedi with regular for my pedi and gel for my mani. Neither look great and there are smudges and gaps between my nail bed and the polish that I didn't even notice until I left. My cuticle was cut on my big toe to the point where it bled and a few of my fingers also have parts of the cuticle where the skin was cut, left uneven, or felt rushed.

The massage for my hands wasn’t even finished. I had to ask the nail tech to at least wipe off the surplus lotion and remove the extra nail polish that was on my skin.

I honestly didn't bother asking for it to be corrected bc I didn't feel the quality would be any different from someone else working there. Case in point, my mom was also disappointed with her mani as well and was helped my a completely different person.

The worst part is they are not cleaning their tools between customers, which can lead to some very gruesome issues for customers.

0/10 will not be going back again.

UPDATE: I went to see if they would refund the pedicure portion since multiple nails were smudged and I had a visible cut on my toe and the response was both cruel and unprofessional. They insisted the only thing they would be willing to do is to redo my pedicure, but why would I allow them to potentially hurt me further with their low quality nail technicians? They put me on the phone with the owner who spoke over me, refused the idea of a refund and said that it was “on me” if I wanted to waste my time getting the transaction refunded through my bank as fraud (which I am doing) and then began laughing at me on the phone. When I told the people in the salon, they began laughing too.

This place is so low rent, unethical, and rude ON TOP of the worst service I’ve had at a nail salon. As of right now, I have also lodged a complaint with the department of hygiene to get them shut down effective immediately so no one else experiences getting cut with dirty tools that they barely rinse in the sink before using on the next customer.

DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE IF YOU VALUE YOUR...

Do NOT come here.

Listen, I know there are a ton of good reviews on this place but please consider this when deciding where you’re getting your nails done.

I’m a college student, so let’s start on the prices. My total for a full gel acrylic set with a color that didn’t match the color on the bottle costed me $57. Now that may be normal for DC, but not normal for what I dealt with.

After 3 days, the nails were lifting. The amount of nail glue I had to put on was ridiculous. After 5 days 2 nails broke. By this point I had been trying to call the salon to try and get it fixed, as it hadn’t even been a week yet, and no one answered the phone. At all. It wasn’t until 4-5 days of calling that someone answered.

I was told to come in at the end of the week, which by then I didn’t even know if it was worth it. I made an appointment and went, where I waited for an additional 35 minutes after my appointment time. After seating me, with broken nails, lifting nails and tarnishing polish, I was told I could get them fixed for a DISCOUNTED PRICE. At that point I just wanted them off. I asked for a SOAK OFF to which she proceeded to grab a plastic nail tip and POP THEM OFF. This would normally cost $15 dollars by the way but they were so kind as to not charge me for that one.

My nails were so rigid, thin, and literally destroyed I was in disbelief. If I could give this place ZERO STARS, then I would.

Please don’t waste your time and money on this place. If you need a good place to get your nails done find some Howard students as there are a TON of talented students that don’t cost NEARLY as much as this place (I didn’t know this beforehand). Howard is a 10 minute walk...

I visited the salon to get an overlay, but my nails kept breaking—five have broken so far. I’ve spent weeks going back to get them fixed. For my second full set, a different technician did my nails, but even then, my thumb broke. When I returned to the shop to have it fixed, the male technician who did my nails the first time (and caused most of them to break- he sits in the front of the salon) insisted on fixing them again. Unfortunately, the nail was split across the middle, causing me significant pain. Naturally, I tensed up during the session, and in response, he became frustrated and refused to continue.

I tried speaking with another technician to better understand the situation, but no one was helpful except Kathy. She called another technician, Vivian, to come fix them for me. Vivian doesn’t work until the late afternoon. I went back to the salon late afternoon, but Vivian was not there yet, and none of the techs assisted me. They all just looked at me then looked at the man who refused to service me. It’s like when one tech has an issue, even if it’s their fault, they all have an issue with you. This experience highlights a larger issue: women, especially women of color, are often ignored or mistreated in spaces where we spend the most money. We are unfairly portrayed as difficult customers and expected to accept poor service. I’m exhausted and fed up with...