Yamada Nail Atelier — Local services in Seattle

Update to previous review:

I had 5 manicures at Yamanda. The first two were exceptional - lasted for 3 weeks each time and were beautiful. However, subsequent manicures lasted less than a week due to very strange vertical cracking of the polish. I’ve never had that happen before and it’s a little frustrating to pay $60+ to have a manicure that only lasts a couple of days before cracking.

I had the polished removed and am now dealing with extremely damaged natural nails. I believe this is as a result of over-use of e-filing on my natural nails which has left them paper-thin. I now have many months of recovery before my nails are back to being healthy. As you can see from the picture below, you can see swirl marks left on my natural nail bed from the drill.

PROs: I’m still very impressed with the salon - the nail techs are very professional, and the salon is immaculate. Every manicure I saw or received looked beautiful, and the range of colors and designs is extensive.

They also really care about education as the salon will be closed later this month for the technicians to take some additional courses.

CONs: If you have natural nails, they are going to take a beating because of the use of the harsh manner in which gel is removed and use of the efile to prep nails. I’m so disappointed as I was so impressed with the salon. Sadly, getting a manicure here will be reserved for special occasions only rather than as regular self-care.

Enjoyed a manicure at Yamanda, courtesy of Tina. I have to say this is probably the best French manicure I’ve ever received. The picture is day 11, and it still looks absolutely fantastic. I’ve even received compliments from friends who never comment on my nails!

The salon itself is very small, and quite busy so there is much activity happening all around you. Everything is very well organized and they definitely make the best use of the small space.

I will definitely return this this salon and Tina. Added bonus is being able to schedule...

Very disappointed. Showed up 10 minutes early and the girls were resting on the nail beds. I figured they were asleep as I startled them when I knocked on the window. I had ordered described as Deluxe (their top-of-the-line treatment for manicure and pedicure) and provides a callous treatment for the feet. The girls were very sweet but it was somewhat stressful for me to have both working on me and massaging the lower legs and arms simultaneously. I am normally used to having feet done first and nails done after. They were massaging vigorously and I had to tell them to slow down and to use less pressure. Then they both used a mechanical filing tool on my nails and cuticles. I did not have gel polish so regular nail polish remover would have sufficed. They never addressed my callouses as I had anticipated and had paid for. I gave a very generous gratuity to the girls as they did work very hard. They were only doing what they had been trained to do. Two days later both index fingers started to peel off. After receiving a text asking for my review on Yamada Nail and offering a 3 day guarantee, I contacted the phone# regarding this guarantee, and the response was that this guarantee does not include normal nail polish. He offered to fix one nail but I declined. Within days some of my nails started to split and peel. I always had hard nails. Several of my nails are now weakened, thinned out and damaged due to the mechanical filing tool they used to remove any polish. It will take weeks for them to recover. I wanted to treat myself to a luxury spa treatment for my hands and feet but instead harm was done and I never got the callous treatment I had paid for. This expensive treatment turned out to be a total waste of my time and money. My post is accurate, honest and true. Negative reviews are posted when a customer is not validated or harm is done during a service...

It’s definitely the cleanest place in WS for a mani/pedi. They use individual nail files, which was a shock for me after so many salons. Can you believe it? Some salons use the same file for multiple clients. Jesus. I’ve seen that in Yamada sanitizing their instruments and opening them before use—they definitely follow the proper procedures. I'm so grateful for this because I used to bring my own files to salons 😅. It’s a tiny place, but it’s definitely comfortable and pleasant. Stylish. And it’s in a new building.

The only thing that keeps me from leaving a 5-star review is the quality of my manicure:

1. The technique they use for cleaning cuticles is pretty rough, and most of them weren’t cleaned properly—they were just left halfway cut.

2. My skin was damaged/cut during the rough sharpening, and I had to ask them to sanitize it with alcohol because the technician didn’t bother to do it. That was a big no-no.

3. The quality of applying the gel color is pretty poor. It looks bumpy, the color is uneven and see-through, and there’s a huge gap between the gel and my cuticles. Cuticles should be cleaned more thoroughly, and the gel should be applied closer to the cuticles so the gap is closed for at least a couple of weeks, making the mani last longer.

I will give it another try because it’s a pretty and comfortable place, and I hope they will continue learning and improving their techniques. They have a lot...