Mano Nail Studio — Local services in Miami

I was so excited to try Mano, I’ve heard such incredible things and it helps that they have gorgeous aesthetics digitally and in person!

COVID PRECAUTIONS They book up very quickly so schedule an appointment up to 2-3 weeks in advance! Part of this is because they are limiting the number of people in the shop to less than 10. They have dividers between you and the technician, they space out the location for each work station and while I was there they had the door open as well for ventilation, and of course everyone is wearing their mask!

LOCATION I had to call them to find the storefront because I couldn’t! Lol. It is located in the heart of midtown, in the alley between passion del cielo and lime, if you walk straight back.. it’ll be the last one of the left side! They were super sweet to guide me when I called, my technician even walked outside to wave me down and ensure I found them.

VIBE Their entire essence is so intentionally curated! From their social media, website (under construction), physical location, Spotify playlists (made by the owner!!) and even personalities of each employee. Find Mano at the intersection of creativity and peaceful yet empowering chill.

PRICING & PRODUCT For nails, their prices are a little on the expensive side but with great reason. Their aim is to carry as clean products as possible, with apres gel, 10 free polishes and more. I have made a personal commitment to care for myself with cleaner products and I’m willing to pay the price for that. For $130 I did an acrylic removal, apres gel x application and a simple color gel option(for my first time). They have a variety of nail art designs from simple to complex (see website/social media for all the looks). I was surprised when I went to pay and the total came out to $111, they give 15% off for first time customers! Win!! I was so grateful! And in addition, I was able to Venmo the tip directly to my technician.

FIRST TIME EXPERIENCE Other than the things I’ve previously mentioned, I was also in love with the boho furniture styling, the bright colors and the small local products market they have up front. Plus the biggest benefit of all was Dixie, my technician sat with me and explained the concept of Mano, it’s history and helped me come up with an option I felt comfortable with in terms of nail color. I was banking on a white tone but let her know I was inspired by a white and gold design I saw on their website and wanted to get prior to New Years but had to cancel that appointment because I went out of town last minute. She helped me pick a white and encouraged me to do a top layer of iridescent, so we did that with the blue iridescent. My nails came out so heavenly and way better than I could’ve imagined 😍 I felt super comfortable the entire time, as she walked me through each step of the process and it’s benefits, answered all my questions and gave me pointers as a life-time nail bitter to continue pursuing nail health.

I’ve received so many compliments on my nails! Thank...

I've been going for Mano for an entire year, and I was specifically looking for a selection of clean polish that wasn't as toxic as what I was using before. I am someone that always has my nails painted whether I do them myself or get them done, I've noticed that over the years my nails have gotten brittle and stained yellow. Once I did my research that Japanese Gel is significantly better than other gels, I wanted to see if in the long run if it would be a better investment for my nails. Here are things I stand by/notice after coming here for literally, a year:

(I get a manicure on my natural nails, I cannot speak for extensions of any sort!)

Every employee is amazing! They each have their own specialties and designs, and they are all very professional and nice!

My nails are not brittle. This is due to the gel removal process, which is hands down the safest and most gentle here. I wouldn't get it done anywhere else even out of convenience. Not once have my nails appeared to be yellow, which means the polishes do not have formaldehyde. For people truly interested: Japanese Gel (which is what Mano exclusively has) is regulated, and does not have the toxic chemicals in regular gel/polish, and is relatively safer. If that is important to you, that warrants the prices here. Because it is higher quality, it does last longer, and in my opinion the colors/design last as well (low-quality polish actually fades or stains after a while).

They are incredibly transparent with their prices and whether you are booking online or in person or over the phone, they make it very clear. Personally, I think it's worth the price that I can still have my nails painted and not cause as much damage as I was doing before. Also, I only got my nails done maybe 4 times all in 2022 because the manicure lasted that long. Low-quality Gel maybe lasts a month. This studio truly cares about the health of your nails and what they can handle, and that is very important for the longevity of your nails!

I've gotten a basic gel manicure and anywhere to 2 or 10 nails of art, and they've all been amazing experiences. Although you can ask if they can copy or imitate something, I try to let the nail techs do what they want after giving them a specific style and that works too! It's actually really fun creating a set!

This is an appointment-based studio and sometimes things happen. They may cancel your appointment to protect the studio and employees (during storms in particular) and that is honestly something to commend them for! A business that takes care of its employees is a good business! Any time something comes up and my appointment is rescheduled or canceled, they immediately try to work with me for a better time. It is not without notice. They try every way of contacting you if it's last minute as well.

The oil that they use is amazing so please say yes to it at the end of your appointment lol

I truly respect this nail studio, and I hope they maintain...

Let me start off by saying my nails are beautiful!

I found Mano on instagram because nobody is doing nails like this in the area. I wanted something a little different and decided to splurge here. I showed the nail tech my inspiration and we agreed. Unfortunately after checking, they didn’t have the product in stock that was needed. Bummer, not the end of the world, but I did come here specifically for that and now I had to think on my feet. We picked something else that honestly I could have done at my normal salon but I was already here.

The removal process is very meticulous, which I really appreciated and you could tell that their attention to detail here is part of what you pay for. I did get nicked by the file a couple of times though, which I noticed more once I got home and it hurts to use my hands for anything since it’s so raw. I was actually surprised by this given the process of removal, it was a little disappointing. The appt took around 3 hours total. I expected a longer appointment than normal but it’s worth a disclaimer.

All in, the staff is lovely, the studio is beautiful and the work is definitely good. For French chrome gel x extensions plus removal and 20% tip, I’m out around $220. I’m just not sure that’s worth it for me personally when I can get similar work at my current salon for $100 but if you’re looking for extravagant designs then this is more in line, they really are artists. I’m honestly a bit in the dark how my original quote jumped from $155 to $185 as well but maybe it was the chrome? I do wish that was explained to me when we had to change designs since they were out...