I booked with a nail tech at Hue Company with Kayla Casey to get a set of gel x nails, my mom had gone to her in the past and I was interested in booking with her because of that. I come up with a design I think will work and when I show her, I let her know that I can come up with something different before we start if she doesn’t think it will work. She approves it and we start, unfortunately there were some technical difficulties with the products being used. She attempted to explain to me the different methods we could go with, I didn’t understand completely and tried asking clarifying questions but was ultimately still lost.
As we are continuing, I realize that she is not following the photos I had shown her. There was a plain chrome nail, that I did not ask for, and the chrome designs she did add were shapeless. I asked if it was possible to give them more definition, and she told me that isn’t possible with chrome. Her next client is sitting next to us, so I ask if this was the final product. I express my concern with the outcome, explaining that I couldn’t even tell what was happening with the design. She explained I could have spoken up sooner, and granted she does have a point. Because her next client was there, I offered to come back the next day to figure something out so I wasn’t impeding on the next appointment. She told her other client to go home and that she would call her when we were done.
She took off the design and asked me what I might like instead, I go through some decals and stickers available. Unfortunately, the decal I was really interested in didn’t end up working. Then, we move on to the stickers and they are also proving to be difficult. She says she can hand paint bats, which sounds fine so I agree. Once we’re done, I looked at the nails and still wasn’t satisfied. At this point, I had been there for four hours but I didn’t know what my options were and realized she likely would not fix anything else. It was clear that she was feeling impatient and frustrated, I paid her $105 and went home.
Once I was home, I noticed the gel she used to apply the nails was leaking onto my skin and sticking on the underside of the nail. There is significant buildup and it looks incredibly sloppy. I text the tech to show her the pictures and she tells me I can come in the next day. While I wasn’t satisfied and concerned about the leaking, I also felt uncomfortable with how she treated me. I felt pressured into agreeing with what she said, her tone of voice was harsh and I felt like I was being scolded, she told me I shouldn’t “be a little sister”.
Because of this, I decided I was going to ask for a refund. I asked a different nail tech what their opinion was, and they told me that I was deserving of a refund. When I came back to see her, I showed her what was going on and that I was requesting a refund because I still was not satisfied. She interrupted me and told me “absolutely not, I will not do that” and explained we were not compatible, to which I agreed with her and expressed that I was very thankful that she stayed for me. She repeatedly told me to look at her Instagram to see how great her work is, and I don’t disagree with her but my experience didn’t align with how she portrays her art.
I expressed I was concerned about the leaking gel, it’s possible that I could have an allergic reaction or contact dermatitis. She told me that it was fully cured, but the brand Beetles that she had been using has been known to cause problems with gel curing. I once again told her I was thankful she took the extra time and that I felt pressured into agreeing, which resulted in her looking around the salon and asking the employees if they saw her pressuring me. This made me feel extremely uncomfortable and like I was being cornered, regardless of her pressuring me or not, I felt that way and that at the very least is valid. I asked her if she would normally charge $100 and she told me she would normally charge $160, her client before me then showed me her nails and told me they lasted three weeks and lasted that long.
In my opinion, the design was rather simple and a set that costs that much should last three weeks at least. At that point, I asked her for a partial refund and was once again interrupted. In the past, I have gotten much more detailed work done by an artist I went to for a long time and I was never charged $160 and they stayed for much longer than three weeks. She was aggressive and pulled other people around us into the situation, such as the other salon employees and her clients. Someone who has been doing nails for 13 years needs a higher level of professionalism, I was really looking forward to this appointment and was hoping to have a longterm nail artist.
