The three steps to a basic manicure are cleaning your nails, filling and shaping your nail edge and applying a fresh coat of polish.
The basic manicure price typically ranges from $20 to $30. There can be significant variations in manicure prices depending on where you get your manicure and the grade of mani service provided by the nail salon.
Manicures can use acrylic polish, powder gel polish, and a shellac buff shape, all with various price ranges.
A 10-minute quickie manicure at a nail salon may cost less than $10, whereas in a more expensive beauty salon shop the standard manicure cost may start from $20.
The price list of manicures probably won't go much higher than $50 unless you go for some really luxurious services like paraffin dip or LED light curing (which is more popular these days). These manicure or pedicure services often come with luxury pampering packages at a beauty salon that may also include facial treatments, body scrubs, massage chairs and possibly waxing the bikini line, upper lip, etc. which can increase the standard price.Dipping powder services include $55 for a full set overlay, which includes natural nails without tips but if you want to include tips, it'll be $60. $65 and $70 are charged for a full set of French style (white and pink) without tips and with tips respectively. Merely soaking off removal service is available for $15. Add-on services include removal and reapplication for $5, $15 for a manicure, $20 for 2 colours and $5 for art on a single nail. You'll get a manicure and nail polish combo for $25, a nail polish and spa pedicure for $45, while $65 will be charged for a manicure in addition to nail polish and spa pedicure. Add-on services for manicure and pedicure include $5 each for French nail polish, removal and reapplication, and nail art for every nail. $20 for gel polish either on hands or feet. If you want to include hands and feet for polish, it'll be $35. Gel powder services include $50 for full set overlay excluding tips and $55 if you include tips. Refill costs $40 while soak-off costs $15. Add on services include $15 for a manicure, $20 for polish and $5 each for soak off, French polish, and repairing single nail., Shellac polish services include polishing hands for $30, polish along with manicure for $45, $35 for polishing feet, $65 for polishing and pedicuring, $85 for gel polish manicure and pedicure, and $100 for polishing manicure and gel polish pedicure. You'll be charged $10 for removal . Add on services are around $5 each for soak off and nail part for a single nail and $10 for French gel polish.
The basic mani or spa pedicure is probably the most common type of service you will get. There are just three steps to it - cleaning your acrylic nails, filling and shaping your nail edge and applying a fresh coat of polish on them. If you want, they might also give you a light massage with oils or balms etc before starting this. Other than that there's nothing much to it that makes it different from other kinds listed here. The various manicures include acrylic, powder gel polishing manicure, shellac buff shape and many more.
Some salons do more thorough work on your nails shape by performing two additional steps - fill out any ridges or uneven surfaces on the tip surface of your natural nails and trim off the tip surface in a uniform way to give your nail tips a smooth finish and buff shape. This increases the strength of your nails and makes the shape look better. Some services also include buffing which can be done by itself. Buffing is done with a special machine that buff out any scratches on your nails making it smoother and shinier, much like how car paint looks when it's polished. It also enhances the colour of the paint on your acrylic nails if you have chosen something that's darker, e.g., dark red or black etc.
There are lots of different ways to polish acrylic nails, from glitter polishes to crackle polishes and all-in-one multi-effect polishes. Polishing is done before applying the topcoat of your chosen nail paint. After polishing, you can also get back to the beauty salon manicurist and ask her to do some nail art, perhaps some cute little flowers or hearts on your nails for an extra cost of $5 or $10 more. Extra nail art may include some additional cost.
A full set manicure includes all of the elements mentioned above such as cleaning, filing, polishing and nail art. The only difference is that this process takes more time than just a basic manicure because of all these additional steps. A spa pedicure is done by soaking the feet in water for removal of dead cells and to soften the cuticles. The procedure is almost same.
A full set of regular spa pedicures usually involves applying oil oils or lotions to your nail tips after cleaning them. Heavier moisturisers like shea butter are applied for several minutes before cleansing with water. The moisturiser gets soaked into the nail plates making them stronger and healthier. A basic manicure or pedicure can be made more effective by adding moisturising and massaging. Most spas also offer various special types of manicure like Shellac buff shape, acrylic, gel etc. But the common types of services include Shellac manicures and gel nails. The Shellac and gel polish are different from regular manicures in many ways, some subtle and some obvious.
A paraffin wax manicure or pedicure involves applying warm paraffin wax (wax derived from petroleum) over your hands and then covering them in a thick layer of waxed paper and allowing the warmth to soak into your hands. You might even get massaged by the paraffin wax manicure specialist for an extra $5 depending on your beauty salon. After some time you'll be instructed to remove these layers of paper, usually after 10 minutes or so. On the other hand, a full set of regular manicures or pedicure involve just cleaning, massaging and polishing with no additional treatments like this one provides.
This varies from product to product, coat to coat. The wear and tear typically depends on how often you wash your hands and what kind of activities you do that could chip the natural nail paint faster. Basic manicures usually last 1-2 weeks before chipping or fading away completely while gel polish or acrylic polish can easily last up to three weeks before needing a re-touch. Shellac nail polish tend to chip slightly less than acrylic but not by much. There are various artificial press-on nails available in the market. You can apply with the help of glue and even reuse them later.
It takes around 15 minutes to do a full set of basic manicures or pedicures and 20-30 minutes for a full set or paraffin treatment. Shellac buff shape or acrylic polish or gel manicure usually takes 45-60 minutes depending on the salon and the additional treatments you might be asking for (massages, nail art etc.). You need to plan accordingly for scheduling an appointment. The spas also provide various other services of waxing like g string or bikini line and facial waxing like the upper lip, brows, cheeks, etc.
A basic manicure or pedicure entails cleaning and shaping the tips of your natural nails to a desired length and shape, massaging the nail tip with a blend of oils or lotions, applying a cuticle softener around the free edge of cuticles if necessary and then polishing the natural nails in two thin layers. After that, your hands will get soaked in oil-soak with warm towels for about 5 minutes before being massaged by hand or with a device for another few minutes. Finally, you'll have to wait for your nail tips to soak in completely.
In addition to everything mentioned above, a full set of manicure or pedicure includes filing down any ridges on your natural nails so the tips look smooth and even in texture which makes polish adhere better afterwards. It also involves applying a base coat for strengthening and protection before the colour is applied. A full set of manicure or pedicure lasts slightly longer than a basic one, with most clients reporting it still looking good at around 1-2 weeks before chipping or fading away completely depending on how well you maintain it until then (lotions, household cleaners etc.).
Nail art is a catch-all term for any design done on the acrylic nails that isn't just a plain colour. You might get your nails painted and create various stripes or polka-dots or acrylic, you could also ask for two contrasting colours to be made into ombre (colour gradients), matte finishes etc. The price for full set of nail art can range from very simple and subtle accents to more elaborate patterns and designs.
Beauty salons should be kept to a high degree of hygiene standards, as listed on the NSW Department of Health website.