LāEm Nail Studio — Local services in Wesley Chapel

We’ve been coming to this salon for a couple of years and always had great experiences. With the recent change in ownership and the remodel, we were hopeful it would still be a go-to spot, but unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case. Most of the original staff are gone, including our favorite tech, Ella, and the experience just felt different this time.

I brought my daughter, who had just turned 13, in for an acrylic fill. She had pink and white acrylics done at a different salon and needed a touch-up. She clearly asked for an acrylic fill, but the tech, who is also the new manager (her name is Kelly), said acrylics weren’t good for her nails and used a hardener product instead, likely Gel-X, without checking with me first. My daughter is allergic to that product and gets blisters and itching when it’s used.

When I brought that up to Kelly, she basically dismissed it and told me most people are allergic to acrylic, not Gel-X, since acrylic contains more chemicals. Regardless of what’s typical, my daughter has had reactions to Gel-X before, and a quick online search will show plenty of other people who have too. She is one of them.

At one point, my daughter asked if she could use her phone to text me since I was seated on the opposite side of the salon, but Kelly told her no. Being 13, she didn’t feel comfortable pushing back or saying anything, even though she knew the service wasn’t what she had asked for.

When I came over and asked if Kelly had used acrylic, she first said yes, but then explained that because my daughter’s nails were lifting, she used a hardener instead. I understand wanting to do what’s best, but lifting is exactly why we came in. We asked for an acrylic fill and should’ve been consulted before anything different was done.

The end result wasn’t great. The cuticle work was messy, and one of her nails came out noticeably crooked. Kelly did try to fix it by filing, but blamed the shape on my daughter’s natural finger and the previous salon’s work. The nail wasn’t crooked before the appointment, so something clearly went wrong here.

My daughter’s friend came with us and got a pedicure with white polish. It turned out okay, and her tech was very nice. She did ask for an extra coat on one toe, and the tech added it, but by then the top coat had already gone on the rest. A few other toes could’ve used another coat too, but it wasn’t a big deal to her.

Checkout was the final awkward moment. My daughter had paid in cash, but when it was time for me and her friend to pay, the credit card machine stopped working. Kelly apologized and was clearly stressed, which I understood and didn’t mind waiting through. But then she asked if I could pay using Cash App or Zelle, and even asked my daughter’s friend if she could write down her card number so it could be charged later. I stepped in and said no, and told her we’d go to Target to get cash and bring it back. She agreed, and we did, but the whole situation felt unprofessional and uncomfortable.

My daughter paid with her own money and left disappointed with a service she didn’t ask for and can’t safely wear. While the salon looks great after the remodel, the service, communication, and professionalism just didn’t meet expectations. We won’t be returning, and I hope management truly listens to...

I went to this shop to get a fill and paint my nails a different color. Immediately when I walked in, the woman working there said I had to get a full set because they did not have the same color powder to do a fill. I told her, "no, I don't need a full set because I am painting my nails a completely different color. She then turned and walked away. When I picked my color, she put it back and grabbed a gel color that was similar. I said, what are you doing, I want that color. She said it's not gel and you would have to wait 30 minutes for it to dry with the regular polish. Now, I have been doing my nails for the last 26 years, way before gel polish was a thing. Never did I ever have to wait 30 minutes for my nails to dry, regular polish or not, which is why I purposely grabbed the original polish. The woman proceeded to argue with me that gel is better until I finally gave in. Then I sat at the table and she immediately started accessing my nails. What suppose to be $27 per their price chart ended up $50. She said $10 extra for gel polish (which I did not want), $5 extra to cut down my nails the length of what it grew, and the remainder was to fix 1 nail. Needless to say, I told her... that's OK, I will go somewhere else because it seems like you are trying to nickle and dime me. Then I walked out.

All I can say is, if you plan on going here... know your stuff about nails because they will try to take advantage of you. Which is probably the reason why they don't have any price chart listed and you have to ask for one!

Edited to respond to owner. Paragraphs below this line was added.

You are not telling the truth. I told you I wanted the regular polish and you proceeded to argue with me for approximately 5 min that gel is better and if I don't get gel, I would wait 30 minutes for my nails to dry. It wasn't til I agreed to get the gel that you walked me to the table. You also asked me if I wanted the same shape nails which I said yes, but cut it down. You then said $5 more. You also claim that I had 3 broken nails, if thats so... by your chart, it would have been more to fix. Therefore, stop lying and tell the truth. You kept adding more items to increase the cost to get close to a full set, because that is what you wanted me to do in the first place.

Lastly, I do know the difference between regular and gel polish. If you would have paid attention more, you would have seen regular polish was currently on my nails. So again, my advice to anyone going there... know your stuff about nails because try will try to take advantage of you by increasing the price point by adding things you don't want (like gel polish) and things that aren't relevant like broken nails...

I was looking forward to trying out a new nail salon in the area just to have gel nail polish removed and happened upon this place. The inside was small and lacked any memorable charm. Hanging from the ceilings were sightly looking bells, fake ferns and had an annoying, loud door bell that rang every time a customer came in or left (very unsettling).

The technician that worked with me showed neutral emotion. First, they put my hands into a bowl of concentrated acetone. (I've never had that done before. Usually my other salon wraps my nails in cotton soaked acetone pieces and aluminum foil.) This dried up my hands severely. The tools used did not look clean. They were pulled out of a plastic, pink box with the technician's name on the side. I don't know if this place possesses an autoclave or if so, even uses one.

The used buffering nail cube had sharp edges along it that when the technician hit my skin (or cuticle area) it left it scraped, irritated and red.

Two of my fingers bled at the cuticle because the technician cut too deep. Sigh...I feel so unnerved currently. I feel I'll end up with hepatitis B. (I am an avid nail salon attendee for 4 years. Never had I ever bled at another establishment.)

The most disappointing part was that I did not ask for any extras (no gel, no nail polish, no massage). I ended up still paying full price for just a removal of gel polish, $20. (I know that at my regular salon, they would have charged $5). I'll never come back to this establishment again. I urge anyone that attempts to have their nails done at this salon to please be...