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What are your experiences with Asian-owned nail salons?

PurpleLette

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They're always nice to me, and I know Vietnamese and they're most likely not talking about you lol.
That's one experience. I know countless others where they were talking about us. And condescending. And unkind to Black people outside of the workplace.

You're paying for a service... of course they betta put some act right on it, but there behavior towards Black people within their social norms is not that.

Please understand the fight for justice is to ensure that Black people are not just taken advantage of monetarily, but given space to be and bring our full selves without restriction or constant judgement. And to have some say so over our communities. The salons, liquor stores, beauty supplies, corner stores that were allowed in our community had no oversight or approval from Black people. Now its just normal for them to be there. We had Black owned business in our communities. They were giving subprime loans, bad loans, higher prices in goods, insurance and real estate. Our ability to produce for our community was not our undoing.

If you remember the train incident with the Black women who were laughing too loud... Asians too have historically discriminated against us, while building wealth from us.

I have not been to asian nail shop in over 15 years... I have been to a spa, but it was not staffed with asians, and I'm not sure what the corporation make up was/owner what not.

There are Black nail technicians, beauty supply stores in almost every major city. If not open a salon, open a beauty supply. Stop giving lifetime money, generational money, legacy wealth to a community that will never support you when you need it.
 

You

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Never had a bad experience really, I'm just there to get in get out though so I don't expect much. I don't like to chat much so it's perfect, I'm also the type to sit in silence in the lyft/uber so ymmv lol.



Same

I'm not there to make friends with hairdressers, manicurists, masseuses, so on, I'm just there to get my business done, so I don't need them to be friendly or anything. Just be nice and polite to me and I'm good
 

Stormy_Weather

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I’ve been to some good ones and some that weren’t as good—I’ve never had any major issues with them
 

SAFE184

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I used to get my eyebrows done there. They would do them so thin, and I’d communicate that. Nothing left to do but grow them back, and try again. But when I returned, they’d do it again. It started getting old.

I learned to do my own eyebrows. Eventually my curiosity and can-do lead me to beauty school.
 

NoWAP4U

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They have no problem taking your money but the customer service is sh!t. They take advantage of the fact that a lot of people don’t know how to do their own nails, brows and waxing so the customer service can vary.

I had one tech ask me am I paying cash or card, I told her card, she then said “next time bring cash” I was like excuse me? That was some bµllsh!t, I don’t carry cash often but I still tip on the card. Her cheap uncouth ass wanted it to go unreported but that’s neither here or there, she wouldn’t have said that to a yt person.

some have created charge backs stating they were over charged. I first learned about it on Lsa. If what’s reported is over the stated price they could claim the shop added it in. That’s why some won’t allow it. Reporting the tip really isn’t much compared to reporting the full fee for tax purposes.
 

DivaLasVegas82

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Mostly positive. My expenerience with Asians, in general, has been mostly positive. I had a close friend in high school who was Chinese. Out of the subset of Asians, my negative experiences have mainly been with Koreans.
 

DivaLasVegas82

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I use to hang out with these two Korean sisters when I was a child on a military base. I never went in their house. Anytime I would walk them home, their mother would start speaking Korean as if she didn't want me to know what she was saying about me. But she always gave me dirty looks, so I knew she didn't like me.
 
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I went to one by my boyfriend’s apartment. They did a rush job and when I was sitting under the fan to dry my feet since I had a jail manicure and the lady came up and said “they said you weren’t going to tip” (which I did and always do) then she says I can come back anytime. Which I didn’t because that stereotype that casted upon me was ignorant and I wish I knew they were talking about me before I paid and I wouldn’t have tip.
 

mystikspiral

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I've had mostly positive experiences except for one time. I was in a pinch and went to a salon on the "transitioning" side of town and their polish was cheap and runny. The people were nice though.

The quality of the work and the customer service seemed to follow the socioeconomics of the area. The nicer the area, the cleaner, friendlier, and better the nail salon. The worse the area, the dirtier, more guarded, and shoddy the nail salon.
 

Valhalla

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The cheap ones in the hood tend to have major attitude. I know some mandarin and there are a few who def make racist or rude jokes about customers, though it's not all of them.

I try to only go to black nail salons when I can unless I'm in desperate need of a touch up, and even then, I only go to high-end ones where they keep the fuckery at a minimum. You get what you pay for.
 

County4Life

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None. My nail tech is Black and she does very well.

She's professional with great customer service. I will NOT spend a penny with Asian salons.
 

Cranesinthesky

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Rude. They like to speak in their own language and you can tell when they’re throwing shade. There’s ONE great nail salon tech in my area who’s an Asian man, and he’s amazing, but I can’t find him anymore.
 

Gorg Godiva

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I saw this tweet saying something along the lines of "black people know how Asians feel about us when we walk into Asian nail salons."

I've never had my nails done, but I have no idea how to wax or thread my eyebrows, so I frequently went to Asian nail salons for that. I've never really had a negative experience with them. The workers there are usually friendly and talkative. Often times they'd comment on how thick my eyebrows are but that's about it.
Same I go to the Asians for my eyebrows too.
One thing I noticed in my years is that they are nicer in white areas than in black areas. Comparing the nail salons I went to in my hometown hood (gentrified but still black) to a salon I go to in my college town (predomentally white), I see them conversating more me and being more warmer when I am at college. When I am back home, they are aloof and are quick to get their money. This is still the same black girl in both areas. I will take note of that comparison for the future.
 

rasclautmangos

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I've never been to an Asian nail salon. My sister and friends that go have never had anything too bad to say about them. Beauty supply stores are a whole other story though.....
 

Goonica

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99% of them have been nasty and rude, which is why I stopped going years ago. They roll out the red carpet for whites but act like black women are inconveniencing them. Customer service is trash, you walk in and they just look at you.

When the employees or owner is non black, a lot of people ignore sh!tty treatment so I wouldn't expect people to be completely honest bc the bar is low for them. They'll allow non blacks to give them sh!tty service but are quick to complain about a black owned business or black employees not kissing their ass and greeting them with champagne when they walk in the door.
 

makeeasweet

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Very sweet and kind. I miss the old one back in my Brooklyn neighborhood.

It was a hood nail salon, the owner knew everyone names and she was always full of life.

Now I go to the upscale one's in the suburbs. They’re still nice, but lack personality.
 

ravenbutterfly

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Last time I went to them for nails was when I was a teenager. They weren't rude but the customer service was non-existent and nobody spoke English. Wasn't all that sanitary either.

My current nail salon is black owned. I'm never going back.
 

ravenbutterfly

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None. My nail tech is Black and she does very well.

She's professional with great customer service. I will NOT spend a penny with Asian salons.

Only been to one once. Nothing special. There's too many black nail techs here I'd rather support.

This. I feel like any black woman choosing others over us is part of the problem unless they live somewhere without access. What I look like driving past a black spot to give my money to folks who hate me?
 

NonBinder

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They nice people the ones that I have attended to when I need to the barber of their shop. Nice family too
 

Syc4m0re

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I’ve never had a bad experience and I get decent quality work that isn’t super expensive. I’d rather support black owned salons but there aren’t much near me where the price is also reasonable. The new age IG salons have too many rules and regulations. They act like they don’t even want you there either lmaooo
 

Huairen

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They're amazing and always caring.

As a former athlete, I have issues where my calf muscles re-lock up. They don't have to do it, but they do go out of their way to massage my calf muscles down and move the pedicure treatments up higher. Also, conversation doesn't seem forced nor awkward. Plus, I love the ol biddies that come up to me and ask me questions. (Other clientele).

The lady that recently did my nails over a month ago was really nice and gentle with me. Especially after I told her I have social anxiety and that large crowds are a trigger. Encouraging words, taps to let me know to relax.

Again, got my nails done last month and they're still holding up. Eventually, I'm gonna get a fill in.

I went to a Black Owned Nail Salon, she was nice but one of her customers was rude to my mom and then one of my nails popped off. I still recommend her since it's only her and she's opened up a school. But that one customer, who happens to be a regular, left a bad taste.
 

IrisOsiris

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I saw this tweet saying something along the lines of "black people know how Asians feel about us when we walk into Asian nail salons."

I've never had my nails done, but I have no idea how to wax or thread my eyebrows, so I frequently went to Asian nail salons for that. I've never really had a negative experience with them. The workers there are usually friendly and talkative. Often times they'd comment on how thick my eyebrows are but that's about it.
i have only had one negative experience out of countless positive ones, and it was just one particular nail tech (a guy) who had an attitude for no apparent reason. i guess he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed cuz all the other staff were friendly every time i came in (once a month). my only issue is that i think they cut corners when it comes to removing artificial nails. they slide a nail under your acrylic and snap it off which is the WRONG way to remove them and incredibly damaging. that seems to be universal with them.
 

CherriGarcia

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I used to go one that was good and I never had a problem but I do my own nails now so I don't need to go into any nail salon
 

KarmasMisery

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The last time I went the tech was rude. Handed us the receipt and told us “sign and get out”. Then tried to act shocked when she got the receipt back and saw the tip line was scribbled out ”no tip?”

No b!tch. We gave the other tech her tip.
 

CelestiaRose

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I tried different Asian owned nail salons and I would always ask for gel nails, which they would bill at a higher price then acrylics. Little did I know that they were in fact doing acrylics with a gel polish, and charging people an extra 30-40 $ for no reason. Every single asian nail salon I went to did that and I'm pretty sure most unaware ladies (like me) who frequented those places had no idea they were getting acrylics nails although they were paying for gel nails. Nowhere in their prices info they showed a difference between gel tips and gel polish. I didn't know better at the time and I only found out about it through youtube (I had no idea gel tips were never done with powder!!!) Unfortuntely, I have yet to find an Asian nail salon in my city who does not do this.
 

LollyLoo

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They talk a lot. Especially to each other. Lol but that’s abt it.
 

Page

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I tried different Asian owned nail salons and I would always ask for gel nails, which they would bill at a higher price then acrylics. Little did I know that they were in fact doing acrylics with a gel polish, and charging people an extra 30-40 $ for no reason. Every single asian nail salon I went to did that and I'm pretty sure most unaware ladies (like me) who frequented those places had no idea they were getting acrylics nails although they were paying for gel nails. Nowhere in their prices info they showed a difference between gel tips and gel polish. I didn't know better at the time and I only found out about it through youtube (I had no idea gel tips were never done with powder!!!) Unfortuntely, I have yet to find an Asian nail salon in my city who does not do this.
That’s one thing I hate about those shops. How they don’t always have their prices listed for specific services. I never got nails/ manicures from them. You pretty much have to be a regular or have a built in price when it comes to nail services. Someone not familiar with nails can get got. With A pedi you know how much it should be. But the different kinds of nails are tricky. That’s why I only prefer black women for nails/manicures. I prefer gel nails too. Those shops are only good for acrylics. The reviews I see on their gel nails are always horrible. Cheap polish that bubbles by the end of the day. People are blessed if they can get 2-3 days lasting.
 
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JaneJane

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Honestly, Asian salons are really not a monolith IMO. Some are downright disgusting, disrespectful, and clearly involved in human trafficking, while some are lovely, with good pricing and friendly efficient services.

However, I'm all for going and supporting black nail salons if you can find one.
 

LazyDaisy

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The Asians dominate this service in my area so there isn't much of an option. My favorite salon happens to be owned by Asians but I don't go often because they're in Manhattan. The only con is that they exclusively do natural nails, no tips. But they include a back massage, hand massage, and foot massage in their basic manipedis. They usually have a short wait time even when they're packed.

If anyone is in the Financial District, it's called Affina Nail Salon on Fulton Street.
 

LazyDaisy

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Honestly, Asian salons are really not a monolith IMO. Some are downright disgusting, disrespectful, and clearly involved in human trafficking, while some are lovely, with good pricing and friendly efficient services.

However, I'm all for going and supporting black nail salons if you can find one.
There needs to be more black nail salons. I keep telling my sister to get her nail tech license and open her own salon but she's laser focused on lashes for some reason. To me it's silly to have such a minute niche like that. To me it only seems profitable as a side hustle, not a sustaining business like nails which are needed by both men and women for both beauty and maintenance. Lashes are purely elective and not a super in-demand service in my opinion. I don't have the willingness to get my own nail tech license but I'd happily start a nail salon and run it if I could find great talent.
 

Pleasantville

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I had one that I used to go to regularly. I felt like we grew up together from when she was pregnant and got married. I moved away and stopped going but recently saw her in a store and she remembered me. She was such a sweetheart.

I currently go to Black techs or do my own.
 

LilCrabDip

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Im currently in school to get my license as a nail technician, and let me tell you... chile... i will never ever step foot in another asian owned nail salon. They are DIRTY and its a easy way to fµck up your hands, feet, and overall health
 
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I only go for pedicures. Well, pre-COVID I would go. The annoying thing for me would be if I went to a new place and had a chatty person working on my feet. I don't want to talk; I want to relax. They start doing small talk and asking if you're married or have kids. Then side-eye me when I say no to both...LOL!

But I never had issues. And I tip well.
Just close your eyes. That’s universal for I want to rest. She’ll get the message.
 

violet1989

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We all know about the racial tension. But that's not the worst thing about it.

( a cautionary tale)
I had never had a pedicure before until I was 22. I just cut my nails every now and then with clippers and used a pedi egg for callous before then.

I went into a Vietnamese nail salon because they had a "special". It was in a dumpy strip mall and I was leaving a grocery store. I went in and got a basic pedicure. I had some slight ingrown toenail issue and I told them not to nip or cut too much around it. I asked if it was clean (the tools) and they said "yeah". A few hours later I felt a little pinch near my toe. Then it began to throb about 8 hours later and became more painful. I sprayed or wirh qlcohol and went to bed.

By the next day it was hot to the touch and my entire foot had swelled up. I had to go to the ER. They said it was cellulitis and maybe another bacteria and I was dosed full of pills. Had to do soaks and had my three appointments to drain puss and blood from my toe which I paid out of pocket for. It was a horrible experience. This was in 2012 and the dangers of nail salon infections were known about but not as widely reported about like they are today.

I have never been back since. I do my own pedicures and my own nails (order supplies on amazon). Never again.
 

schoolandhustle

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i am not a fan, i met more rude than friendly asian-owned nail salons
but the asian instagram nail techs have better customer service and cheaper prices at their home studios imo
 

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