What It’s Like To Get Your Nails Done During A Pandemic

Not to sound dramatic but, I can not live without having my nails done at all times. This was one of the things that I was most impatient for to reopen. Although once I got word that my go-to nail salon was open again I was a bit hesitant to go. I am scared to go out in public and get the virus but I know it is important to get back into things and support local business so I decided that I would just go for it and get my nails done. I wanted to write about my experience so people can know what to expect ahead of time. I live in Southern California so the precautions they are taking here might not be consistent with other states and counties.

Booking the Appointment

Once I made the decision that I was going to go in, I made sure I called in advance because I assumed they would be busy or not letting in as many people. I was surprised to hear how open they are and I was able to book an appointment for a gel manicure the next day at 12:00 p.m.

The Initial Experience

Walking up to the salon I could see a table out front with a big sign on top next to a bottle of hand sanitizer and some clipboards. I did not really read the sign but the first thing it said was, “You MUST wear a mask”, which luckily I was. A woman met me outside so I then told her I had an appointment and then she asked me to fill out one of the forms before coming in. The form was basically saying that you will not blame them if possibly contracting COVID-19 and confirming that I was not in contact with anyone that had it in the past 14 days. Once I finished filling out the paper the woman came back out and checked my temperature before letting me inside.

As I stepped inside I could easily see how things had changed, the seating area was closed off and unavailable to use and the racks of nail polish had signs on them that said, “DO NOT TOUCH.” The same woman handed me a pair of latex gloves and told me to pick my gel color from a basket of the display palettes, all of which were in plastic casings. After I chose my color, a very cute baby blue, and was asked to wash my hands and take a seat at one of the manicure stations.

The Service Itself

Every other table had a not in service sign on it, same with the pedicure chairs, probably to enforce social distancing. All the tables had a plastic shield in the middle with a cutout on the bottom to slip your hands through. My nail tech was wearing a mask and a face shield with a pair of gloves. The service was pretty much the same as any other time I had gotten a gel manicure except there were no towels, only the kind of paper they put on hospital beds for each person. At the end of my manicure, she wrapped up the nail file and little buffing cube in a pouch and handed it to me to take home if I wanted. I am not sure why maybe because they have no more use for it or to let me know that they aren’t reusing them on other clients. The price was $5 more expensive than usual which I understand, they were closed for months and need to try and make up for the money they lost. The payment was a bit different because they did not want to touch any cards so it was all by Venmo but, you could also pay or tip in cash if you wanted.

Overall Opinion

I was very surprised by how careful they were being and how many safety precautions they took. It is crazy that I am starting to get used to doing things like signing a waiver before entering a business and getting my temperature taken all the time. I am very happy with my experience and will continue to go back as necessary.

The Final Result