When I was 16 my mother paid for me to get a manicure at the Gene Juarez Salon in Bell Square. I have not stepped foot inside a nail salon since. I know a ton of people who do get their nails done though and love it. But it’s just not for me.
I haven’t really given the whole nail thing much thought until I ran across an article in the New York Times about the poor wage conditions of manicurists in New York City {and surrounding areas}. I. Was. Shocked. Apparently, by in large, the whole manicure game in New York is basically a sweat shop for Chinese immigrants. They are often required to “pay” for training, and live on tips until the salon owner deems them valuable enough to earn a daily wage {as low as $30 a day}. The industry is apparently largely unregulated by NY, and with manicure prices at an average of $10.50, no wonder no one is making any money. I see sign around here all of the time for a manicure–they are usually at least $25.
The article goes into a lot of detail on the life of the manicurists–living far below the poverty line. Many of them live sleep/live in bunks in the back of the salon or share one room apartments with several people. It reads like the stuff we learned in history classes on the life of early immigrants. I’d like to think that a lot of it applies largely to NYC and surrounding areas, and that this isn’t the case around the country.
The whole thing was so fascinating, I thought I’d throw it out to you for comment. Do you get your nails done? How much do you pay? Do you tip {if so, how much?} Have you ever wondered about the people getting doing your nails and whether they are getting paid fairly? {No judgment here, I just have never even thought about it myself, and wondered if any of you have.}
~Mavis
This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.
Monica says
I get pedicures and I think they are around $35. I only get them in the summer months, so maybe 2 or 3 a year. I usually tip between $3-5. I sometimes worry about how the tips are distributed though.
Crystal Rose says
If usually just do my nails at home myself now. If I do get my nails done it’s with a monthly pedicure at the local beauty school, usually during the summer. They have the best prices and I don’t need to worry about the quality or conditions. Everything is supervised.
Crystal Rose says
Oh, and I always tip 10-20% depending on how much I have on me at the time. The cost is maybe $20 there. (It’s been awhile.)
PattyB says
The nail salon owner, always a man, kept the tips too. So I didn’t tip. I felt that the pain and the blood they drew was enough.
PattyB says
When I worked in “Corporate America” I did my nails and toes. Hair salon all the time too. Now that I’m retired and playing in the dirt all the time, I find it easier to clip my nails super short and use a nail brush to get them clean. I don’t like nail polish or anything else stinky and chemical-ie on my fingernails. But I do miss the foot and hand massages.
Julie says
Nope, not anymore!
The few times I did get a manicure, I was sorely disappointed by how fast my nails would chip. I discovered that if you buy a decent nail polish (my favorite is Essie), that DIY manicures are not only MUCH cheaper, but they also last so much longer with the right polish.
But I haven’t done my nails hardly at all since last year. Last July I managed to get two fingertips slammed in a door jamb, right above the door hinge. I had just ordered a large delivery of mulch at our new house and I was so excited that I was telling my husband while hanging onto the door frame before replacing a door stop, and the wind kicked up at that very second. It resulted in a Monty Python-esque blood spurting incident, along with a nasty emergency visit involving broken fingers, x-rays, needles, and many, many tears. My nails eventually grew back, but having anyone touch that hand makes me really uncomfortable.
I’ll never forget visiting my mother shortly after the accident- my hand was still bleeding, so I was bandaged up and miserable- and she suggested (SERIOUSLY) that we get manicures. Um, no thanks, I’ll pass.
Emily says
In the summer, I regularly get pedicures from a nail salon across the street from a community college; the majority of the women who have done my pedicures were college students. The pedicure, which includes a scrub and massage from the knees down, costs $25 and I add a tip of $10.
Shannon says
No. I got a pedicure once, when my sister got married. I hated it and won’t go back, ever. The salon was full of white ladies sitting on elevated chairs while people from other countries worked on their feet. It made me feel just icky. I’ve heard all the arguments saying that its a good job, etc. But I want no part in it.
Jenny says
In the winter, I do my own nails. I find it relaxing. The rest of the year I keep them short for gardening.
Susan says
Have never had a manicure. Too cheap 🙂
lynne says
I’ve had one. For my wedding 24 years ago. Had nail extensions put on, and though I told the lady (it was locally owned, with local manicurists) I wanted ‘shorter’ extensions, I still ended up cutting 1/2 of them off before I walked down the aisle. then, on our honeymoon, I lost over 1/2 of them. wasn’t worth the price, and I’m playing in the dirt too much, and cooking too much…the thought of losing nail polish in my bread dough as I’m kneading it turns my tummy!! 🙂
karen says
This made me smile. The rare times I get pedi/manicures i pay probably 35-40$ and I tip directly to the manicurist at least 20$. Usually, I just keep my nails very short, try and scrub my feet once a week with a file, and done. I dont use any polishes at all, if anything, I will put oil on my nails for some shine. Done.
Earlene says
I get a pedicure about every 6 weeks. I have had both knees replaced and bending them to clip my toenails, paint them, and all that is very hard. I pay $35 and leave a $5 tip. My girl does a fantastic job and I love visiting with her!
Linda says
GIRL?
Is she under 18?
Jenn says
I don’t get manicures, I am way to hard on my hands. However I believe in monthly pedicures. We have all hardwood floors and I walk around the house and sometimes the yard with no shoes on so my feet need the pampering. My pedicures are the one thing that I do for myself. It costs about $30 and I always leave a at least a $6 tip, if not more. Depends on how well the person did giving me the pedicure. There is one older man that gives the best pedicure ever. He takes his time and doesn’t rush though it. I always try to leave him a little bit more.
Cindi says
As a Mother’s Day present from my daughter, I had a pedicure in NYC in 2010. I got a horrible case of toe nail fungus. It took two years to get rid of, plus several trips to the podiatrist. Had to put expensive medicine on it and wait for the nail to grow out (thus the 2 year wait) otherwise the nail had to be surgically removed, which I did NOT want to have done.
I WOULD NEVER EVER HAVE EITHER MY NAILS OR MY TOES DONE BY ANYONE, ANYWHERE, EVER AGAIN. I’ve been doing my nails like since forever and I want to continue it that way. Nail fungus is a nasty, nasty thing.
Mary Ann says
I am a terrible cuticle biter and never wear anything other than flip flops (Southern California), so I need a mani/pedi at least once a month. I get polish on the toes and pay $5 extra for a sugar scrub on my legs, but on my hands, no polish, just get them buffed shiny.
The cost is $38 and I tip $10. It goes directly to the girls (normally one does the hands and one does the feet).
Anna says
When I saw the title of your post I thought you would be referencing the New York Times article this past weekend, “Perfect Nails, Poisoned Workers”. Wow. I had nooooooo idea these poor women are getting cancer, painful skin afflictions, miscarriages, having babies with low birth weights and/or disabilities from chronic exposure to the chemicals in nail products . Very enlightening articles about nail salon workers. To know that they put their health at risk at crappy wages is pretty awful. Acrylic fingernails and polish is too fancy for me. I keep mine short and polish free. However, on rare occasions I’ve done a pre-summer pedi at a very reputable local day spa. I tip a minimum of 20% and it goes directly to the esthetician. This summer I think I’ll just stick to painting my own piggies.
Deborah says
I’d rather put that money into my garden. 🙂
Linda says
I have never had a manicure or pedicure. The thought of a stranger touching my feet gives me the heebie jeebies. Plus, I do not want a toenail fungus.
Debbie says
Up here in the southern interior of BC, Canada, the going rate for a set of gel or acrylic nails is $75 minimum.. Not for this girl. :). I have had pedicures though, and they range from $50 to $90, depending on the services you receive.
Pam says
Once upon a lifetime ago – when I was playing the corporate game – I got mani/pedis every 2 weeks. Cost was $55.00 for both and I tipped $10.00 to each of the 2 girls who worked on me (total visit was $75.00). Now – I look at my hands and can barely see any white on them because I clip it before it grows. Why give the dirt a place to hide? I do my own feet every 2 weeks now – Soak, scrub, nails clipped/filed and polish put on. That’s just a personal choice – I happen to like polish on my toes. When I was getting the services done every 2 weeks, I was using a small shop that was owned and operated by 3 ladies I knew personally. I went to one of those “mall salons” once. The young lady who worked on them seemed to have NO idea what she was supposed to do and was so busy talking to the other girls, she neglected to pay attention to what she was doing. When she cut my feet for the second time, I stood up walked out.
Ronnica, Striving Stewardess says
That story made me sick.
I don’t get a manicure (unless someone else is paying for it!), but I do like to pain my nails weekly. I’m too cheap to have someone else do it.
sarah says
I commented on fb without reading the whole article yesterday(little tots under foot) I get one every so often as a treat. but mostly during the winter. A basic manicure with normal paint runs about $20 with my tip where i go. I go to a small salon and have known the owner for years! i know the place is kept clean and the conditions are nice. I avoid places like the article mentions, a cheap mani isn’t worth the risk of catching something or feeding into the “demand” allowing the owners to treat the employees poorly.
Beks says
I actually do my own nails (I’m a Jamberry consultant), but if I do go to a nail salon, it’s for pedicures. I have issues with ingrown toenails (apparently there’s a right/wrong way to trim your toenails?), and they’re able to get them out. I rarely go, but I try to tip them if they do a good job. There was one nail tech who did my nails who was unbelievably rude. I couldn’t tip him in good faith. I don’t go to that salon anymore (there were rumors that they didn’t disinfect their tools, and that children worked in the back room, too). The place I go to now, everyone is very friendly, and knowledgeable.
Brandie says
This is interesting.. I went to beauty school and you are required to have a state issued license to work as a nail tech here (AZ).
Vy says
I do my own nails in the winter (I had a manicure once, watched what she did, and knew I could do it myself thereafter). In the summer I cut them super short and paint them black because I hate wearing gloves unless I’m pulling blackberry vines or other painful things. I’m a very tactile person and can’t stand having a barrier between me and the plants. I love bare hands in fresh clean dirt, but my nails don’t!
Maritza says
I use to do my nails when I was in highschool as everyone wod do it. Then I started in the medical field and was taught about all the fun things that grow in beautiful manicured nails with or with out extensions and have never gotten them again gross. So now I’m so grossed out that if I can see my nails past the tip of my fingers when I hold my hand up palms facing my face I trim and I won’t wear nail polish either. My choice and hey to each their own but I pass on all the fun things that grow in nails and I like adding spice to my food but not all spice was created equal lol.
Maritza says
*would
Kellianne says
Ick. Long nails gross me out. Years and years ago, we had a new sandwich shop open up in town called Subway. (Yeah, I’m old!) The sub makers were all women with looonnnggg nails. Ew, they weren’t wearing gloves and would pick up each slice of meat, cheese or veggie with their disgusting fingernail. Like it was a fork or something. As I recall, I ran out of there screaming in horror!! I wonder if that was common practice for Subway back in the day?
Ellen in Clackamas says
I have been getting manicures for the past 12 years. I started out going to a shop that was run by a group of Asian ladies. The owner and her sister were really good but every time a new relative finished beauty school they gave me to them. After a while my nails were always coming off, they would cut my cuticles and I just wasn’t getting good service. I switched to a salon closer to me and was rewarded with a marvelous, artistic tech. She has been doing my nails now for the past 8 years every 3 weeks and I love them. She uses the “gelish” polish and they don’t chip or peel and always look nice and she enjoys scanning Pineterest for new fun styles. The cost is $30 and I tip her 10%. That and the occasional summer pedicures are my splurge for work.
nancy says
I will not ever have one. Period. It has nothing to do with the cost as that is inconsequential. It does have to do with germs and disease. Many times while having one they break through the skin causing bleeding with their sharp tools. Are these tools, which are reused, cleaned appropriately? They don’t reuse needles in a hospital but it is ok to reuse instruments which may have blood on them in a nail salon. No, thank you. My daughters girlfriend had it done and every nail was lost to a infection from dirty techniques in the salon. She had no fingernails left, just icky stumps which finally healed. When I see ladies with those square white nail tips they look so unnatural. JMO
Teckla says
No, I don’t and won’t. For me, it’s like throwing the money in the trash. My nails have always been very weak and break easily. A manicure wouldn’t even last a day. On top of that, I don’t like the feel of polish on my nails. I try to keep them clean, trimmed and filed smooth and use lotion every night before bed and whenever I remember during the day. If I did get a mani or pedi, I would tip unless the service and/or work was really poor. As several have said, each to his own.
Lynn T says
I am sad…this article opened my eyes. No longer will I be getting manicures and pedicures. Normally only got them a few times a year…but not worth it. This article just breaks my heart. Thank you for sharing.
WendyinCA says
I only ever had a pedicure done–once. My MIL treated me to it, but I must say my feet were so ticklish I spent the whole time laughing and trying not to scream. Though I didn’t mean to, I would say I definitely disrupted the ‘spa’ feel for the other ladies that day, lol! Also, a friend had a pedi done locally and wound up with a HORRIBLE case of nail fungus that was so bad, I will never ever get one (again). Shudder!!!
Michele P says
I’m too frugal to pay someone for something I can do myself.
Lorrie says
I used to, but then I lived in California and you wore sandals all the time. Now that I moved back to the Pacific NW, only in warm months. I love the gel/shellac nails though. They last for about 3 weeks and my nails never break with it on. . I now have a hard getting it done at a salon because they use the exact same polish I use now on my own and set with my own light box. It was a birthday splurge with a sale and coupon at Sally’s, but I am so glad I did.
Brooke says
Oh my gosh! I’ve told my husband many times that the $100+ I spent was the best money ever spent because I’ve saved so much doing them myself at home. I teach classes at work several times a week and I feel so happy when I see my pretty nails. Worth every penny.
Lisa says
I am unfamiliar with the regulations in NY, but the salons profiled in the article must have been breaking the laws. It certainly doesn’t mean every salon is like this. Most salons are clean, with licensed employees getting paid either by the employer or work for themselves as independent contractors.
My heart goes out to those nail techs because nobody deserves to get treated like that, and the salon industry needs better regulation. However, most salons do not resemble those profiled in the slightest. Always ask to see the license of the nail tech, if should be on display.
It’s always good to tip! Even the independent contractors don’t make a lot. Gel polishes withstand my garden digging and pet tending for weeks. Pedicures are wonderful! I don’t even care if they use polish, I love the foot massages.
Lori says
I am in corporate America a diet my nails done every 2 weeks (gel polish) and a pedicure once a month. In Texas, the nail salons are run by mostly Vietnamese immigrants and they have a strong middle class standard of living…many are my neighbors. But they work all.the. Time.