I’ve never had one before, and I’m thinking it’s about time. I don’t know how to go about finding a good one, though.
I googled for pedicure places in my town and see a lot, but how do I know who is good without just going there and spending the money? I’ve asked some friends and everyone of them has a different recommendation. Big help, guys.
Thoughts?
Check Yelp? I found my current place by checking the Yelp reviews for the various nail places near my house.
That’s actually great news–it means you have a lot of places that are all perfectly fine.
And honestly, unless you’re wanting serious nail art or acrylics on your feet, “perfectly fine” is a high enough bar. There’s just not that much you can screw up on a standard pedicure.
For an expensive pedicure place, check yelp.
For a cheap pedicure place, just pick one. They’re cheap, even a bad pedicure isn’t going to be that bad, and you’ll know not to go there again. If it has a line, it’s probably a good sign.
Try Yelp or Google reviews. Look for nail salons with a majority of good reviews, especially when it comes to cleanliness, customer service and quality of service. When you come in for your appointment make sure to tell them it’s your first pedicure so they can explain everything they’re doing.
It took me a few tries to find a nail salon I really liked. It’s owned by a Vietnamese family. They are about the only salon in town with manis/pedis that don’t start chipping as soon as I walk out the door.
I’m not willing to go to a really cheap place. Without going into details, I went into a really cheap place for a manicure and I had a horrible experience - rude service, obnoxious workers, talking nasty stuff about you in a different language (I understand just enough of the language in question). I was so disgusted I left and haven’t gotten one since.
I’ll check yelp. Thanks!
Just follow your toes, they always knows
As a person who gets a lot of pedicures, this is a tough question because different people have a lot of different reasons for liking their pedicure place.
I would ask your friends for more specific comments about their recommendations, so you can narrow down what you think you might like about it.
Do they like their place because it is a relaxing experience and they view a pedicure as an extended foot massage? Or because the aesthetician attacks their feet with a vengeance? A lot of people like the former, but I prefer the latter.
Is their goal more to have nice looking toenails, and so they like a lot of variety in polish options, or is more like they have a particular issue with their feet, so they want a very specific feature, like callus removal?
Do they like it because it is cheap? Or because they don’t mind paying a little extra to get the more spa-like touches, like tea and soothing music and hot towels?
Really though, if I was going to a new area and needed to find a new pedicure place, I would go into it with the assumption that I was going to have to try a few until I found one that was a perfect mesh with my pedicure needs. I wouldn’t expect it to be the first one I tried.
Yelp is good for most things. My thing is cleanliness. So I always look around a bit to find a place that looks clean.
I don’t get acrylics or nail art. So to me, its all pretty standard.
+1
I’ve been to almost every nail place in town. I know where to go when I want fast and cheap… or relaxing. They all do a good job with the actual nails.
Well, I made an appointment for Monday at the Yelp highest-rated place in my town - which, to my surprise, was not one of the high-end spa/salons, but an average place. I actually drove over there because I wanted to see it and gauge the place. It was clean and professional looking, although no privacy - everyone is just in one giant room. That’s not such a big deal, though. The prices look reasonable, and best of all, when I walked in, they smiled and greeted me and welcomed me. Little customer service goes a long way.
So I’ll go there and see how it goes. Thanks!
The risk of going to cheap salons is foot fungus. Not really something you want to risk. Good on you for taking the time to visit and see that it’s clean. Just make sure they sterilize, everything they use on you should come out of a barbicide container or an autoclave package. Failing that, you might ask if you can buy your own tools for them to use on you, and bring them every time you go.
Toenail fungus is gross! Not deadly, but a huge pain in the ass to get rid of. So just keep your eyes open.
It’s so hard to guess which places will be good and bad without having a pedicure there first. People online all have different criteria, which has been brought up.
In my experience, the price point tells you nothing. I’ve had an expensive pedicure at a place that turned out to not even have a real pedicure chair–they put me on a folding chair with my feet in a plug-in foot spa. I’ve had a cheap pedicure in a place that gave me tea and a hot stone massage.
Maybe one of my own criteria for a snap judgment is how the place smells. The very worst places will smell of chemicals, cigarette smoke, and the employees’ lunches. The high-end OMG nice places will smell of the very faintest lilac. An okay place will smell like not much.
It was…wonderful.I would highly recommend them. Friendly, courteous staff, very nice and polite. I gave a good tip because they went above and beyond with the massage and everything.
Thanks for the help, guys!
From what I hear, massage seems to be standard service these days. The only difference is whether it’s done by an actual person or machine.
At least, everyone I know who got their first pedicure has said they were surprised at all the extra stuff besides just getting their nails done, with the massage being the highest rated part.
Sounds lovely, Anaamika!
I think I need a pedicure soon. I’ve found some places give massage and some don’t for the same price.
I tried to buy a gift certificate for a good place for someone who lives in another state. It is pretty much impossible to tell from Yelp reviews. One place had a couple of rave reviews, then a bunch of disses, and then another bunch saying all the bad reviews were from disgruntled employees. But a place that has lots of disgruntled employees probably has a few problems, too.
IME there are various levels but they all should give a foot massage, it’s part of the deal.
Oddly, the poshest places I’ve been have not had a built-in tub, but have hauled in a bucket of water for me to soak my feet in. (I usually go to cheaper places, though, because you can just walk in when the fit strikes you as opposed to a three-week wait.)