Tina’s Nails

sadly as i arrived today i noticed that they are closed and the phone is disconnected

2 stars purely for:
–calm, quiet environment, despite some chatter between the staff, it’s at a nice respectful volume
–great shaping
–great color application
Overall not great and will not be back:
–does not sterilize tools, they WASH in the sink in the area next to the pedi chairs, at least they are open and honest about their bad practices
–files and buffers are reused
–they put Walgreens ads on the floor to protect the area below your feet, weird
–SHORT massage, about 45 seconds each foot
–specifically asked for dead skin to be removed under and around the toe, wasn’t done
–jarring throughout when he was moving my feet and legs, the pumice stone portion was terrible, some grace and finesse please!
–gloves are kept on the entire service
–Got to appointment on time, at 2PM, took 5 mins to get seated, once seated another 10 min, I didn’t get out of there till 3:10PM, was going to get a mani too, but this was WAY too much time, two technicians for 3 clients, you do the math
The guy was very slow and gingerly doing everything. Not confident at all, the lady seemed like she was the owner and she was taking care of the blue haired acrylics client, of course. He’s careful, so he doesn’t cut/​nick anyone, then they would finally have to dispose of SOMETHING.
Good thing I didn’t bring my designer bag, my flip tote was covered in sticky blue goo after it was next to me on the pedi chair. Disgusting. Still can’t get it off.

The location is nice, convenient and clean, Unfortunately I did not like the way she waxed my brows. I tried to explain but she just didn’t get it.

I’ve been a customer for a year now! woot woot! Every 3 – 4 weeks I’ve visited this place and made a great relationship with Cindy, the owner. OMG that lady is awesome! Not once have I had a problem with my fingers and toes after leaving.
She is very sanitary and thorough, so make sure you give her a heads up before you come so she can call back up if she needs to! If not, prepare to wait. But it will be so worth it!
Most of Tina’s Nails pictures are from me. I LOVE my glitter tips but decided to do pink and whites for about 2 months now. Your fingers will last forever! I got my nails done over a month ago, February 28 I believe, and it’s now March 31^st! Is it dull? Nope. Cracked? Nope. Chipped? Nope. Aside from the regular outgrowth, they look fab! Your toes will look and feel great too! Cindy is the only person on the planet Earth that I trust with my ingrown nails! She is a Ninja when it comes to taking those suckers out! Hands down the best pedis I’ve gotten! She has a great selection of polishes too!!!
Keep up the great work Cindy!!! I hope to have more visits with you in the future!!! ;D

First and foremost, I love this place because it’s so clean!
My mom is a cancer patient so it’s very important for her to go to a place that makes a good practice of using clean «tools». They will do a thorough job, making dull and dusty feet feeling re-​energized and new. They have plenty of colors to choose from as well, using brands such as OPI and Essie.
There are only two massage chairs for pedicures, so it would be good to call before planning to go here. The place is well decorated, feeling clean and trendy. Parking is also not a problem.

I understand that my mother and I were walk-​in appointments, but damn. I didn’t even get a manicure and that’s what I paid $ 25 friggin’ dollars for.
I was there last night and normally I patronize nail salons near my house, my mom and I decided to be sporadic and try someplace new. BAD IDEA. I wanted to get a shellac manicure because I’ve been hearing raves about it so I found this place with decent Unilocal ratings and went in to try it. It was 4:00 and they close at 7 according to the sign on the door. Well, the place is very nice and clean but it’s the size of a bathroom. 2 pedicure chairs facing the front door because otherwise there’d be no walking space. I asked if they had time for 2 pedicures and one shellac manicure, they said yes and seated my mom in a pedicure chair. I waited for about 30 minutes, breaking off my remaining 3 acrylic nails so that I wasn’t charged $ 10 for removal, before the nail technician started on me.
She thanked me for breaking off the acrylics myself, ‘saving her time,’ and began filing the tips of my nails. Now ladies time to put on your thinking caps: what do your nails look like after you take off acrylics? CRAP, right?- dry brittle, flaky, thin and broken. Well, this lady did a quick once over with a thin file across the tips of my nails and then began painting on the shellac base coat. I had no idea how shellac worked or anything but I was sitting there thinking «Aren’t you gonna soak my fingers? Aren’t you gonna trim my cuticles back? Aren’t you gonna file the nail smooth on the surface?» but she didn’t. She stuck me in the nail dryer and went to her other walk-​in client in the pedicure chair next to my mom. Every couple minutes she’d come back and paint on the polish, then another coat, then the top coat but I was SO displeased when she said «You’re all done!» and my fingers were looking dry, my cuticles weren’t trimmed back, and my nails were NOT manicured! HOW DO YOU SKIP THE MANICURE IN A MANICURE?
It’s especially after taking off acrylics that your nails need that kind of attention, any knowledgeable nail technician knows that. I wanted a manicure to rejuvenate my hands and all she did was paint them and charge me $ 25. Don’t waste your money on this place, they are overpriced, understaffed and ridiculous.
oh and I walked out of there WITHOUT my pedicure, turns out «We don’t have time to do your pedicure. Come back tomorrow, I give you phone number and you come in any time tomorrow.»
uhhh… no, I won’t EVER be going back. I love the shellac, but I can get it done somewhere WITH a manicure thank you very much.

I’ve been coming to this salon about once a month for the past year or so, and I’ve got to upgrade my rating. This place is awesome, especially for the convenience and price. As a working mom, I find it hard to squeeze in «me» time. But this place has great hours (including Sundays and evenings until 7pm) and always makes me feel like a million bucks — without costing me that much. I love that they know me by name, offer a friendly and relaxing atmosphere, and do such an awesome job on my nails. Seriously, my polish lasts forever. And, my feet are super smooth and well groomed afterwards. This kind of place is one of the reasons I love Alameda.

Lord knows how bad I needed a pedi after being unemployed for the last four months! As soon as I was offered this new awesome job, my feet instantly perked up anxious for the treat!
I walked in without an appointment and was instantly greeted by Cindy. She was super friendly and was just finishing a pedi for another customer. Just my luck! I only had to wait five minutes before posting up in the massage chair and settling down with a delicious glass of soothing red wine.
Errrr…rewind…I would have LOVED to be posted up with a bottle, I mean glass of merlot, but hello I am in a nail salon! Dang it! Despite my lingering craving for some red, Cindy captured my attention with how meticulous she was. My feet instantly turned into a million bucks!
A few people came in when she was working on me and she decided to call another employee to come in so the other customers didn’t have to wait long! Now that’s service!
Can’t wait for my next pedi treat… and a glass of wine!

egads, this place was horrible. i came in here hoping for a salon that would offer a mani/​pedi at a cheaper price. the pedicure alone is cheaper than most places at $ 18. unfortunately, the combo mani/​pedi price is the same as every other place in Alameda at $ 26.
the quality of both mani and pedi were horrid. the polish jobs were extremely sloppy — i still have polish left on my skin and the streaking is very visible on both hands and feet. the guy who did my nails also seemed to be in a rush and my nail polish ended up bubbling shortly after he finished painting them! he ended up having to redo 2 nails because of the bubbling!
i don’t recommend this place at all. go spend your money elsewhere that’s more deserving.

I came in on a Thursday afternoon and got a pedicure, it was okay. Nothing to write home about. The leg massage was the best part of the pedicure. The woman who did my toes didn’t put on a clear base coat and the final polish job was pretty sloppy. She used a mechanical file which looked like a dental drill on the tops of my toenails. I thought my toenails would be super smooth after all that, but there were still ridges after she was done. And the bottoms of my feet weren’t very smooth when she was done either. She really speak to me at all, but became very chatty when one of her regular customers came in. Also, they do not take credit cards.

I recently moved to Alameda and Tina’s is a 3 minute walk from my house. i needed a mani/​pedi on Memorial Day and they were open (which was awesome). There was only one person working, so it took about 2 hours for my mom and I to both get mani/​pedis, but they did a really good job and I’ll go back for sure.

This place deserves 3.5 stars. The nails salon is SMALL. It has 2 spa pedicure chairs and 3 nail stations. Squished together, only one person can walk to get around. It’s clean and decorated nicely. Quan is excellent at his handiwork. He takes his time and I love that they try not to leave lines. However, a good nail place will always try to do this. Unfortunately, they do minimal to keep new clients. They pay more attention to existing clients and I often felt I was interrupting their lunch or down time when I came in for my appointment. I was even ousted out of my chair early so they could take a mom and daughter who walked in for services. The last time I went in for a pedicure it was an hour before closing time. Chanel looked irritated and did a quick job. So fast she cut me and just dropped disinfectant on the cut without telling me and it BURNED! I yanked my foot away and she said, «oh you have a cut» and placed my foot back in the water. Um, didn’t that just take off the disinfectant? So why put it on in the first place? She then painted my toe nails and after 10 minutes said I could go. I was skeptical and said so. She said I was fine. Of course when I got home, my big toe had a big gash in the polish. Argh. The edges of my feet were still rough. I know she could have done a better job as I witnessed her handiwork on others while getting my gel fill.
Speaking of gel fill, they use the powder, but failed to provide the UV clear gel top coat. For $ 30, it’s too pricey and dare I say rip off. I came here multiple times and got tired of asking for it. On the same day, a walk-​in haggled and got them to thrown in «french» for free because they didn’t have enough money. Great, I just provided tip, paid for gel fill and french tips and didn’t receive either. They couldn’t wait to complete that transaction until I left. I was clearly irritated. They never reduced the cost when I pointed it out. I don’t think I’ll ever return. Even though it’s a few dollars I don’t like being taken advantage of. I receive better customer service, the same treatment at C&T Nails on Park street. It’s half the cost although they are extremely pushy of their add-​on (waxing) services.

Let’s just say I fly all the way from Los Angeles just to go here. I get off the plane in Oakland and I head straight over. I’ve yet to find a place that gives me a pedicure as fabulous as this place — not to mention an eyebrow wax! The owners (Chanel & Kwan) know everyone by name and really take their time. I can’t say enough about Tina’s Nails. Parking is easy, bright and clean, my pedicures last me almost a month and I’ve never had a problem getting an appointment. Just be prepared to wait awhile as they do get quite busy.

I have been patronizing Tina’s Nails for the past 10 years now.
Throughout the years, I have attempted to try out several different nail salons for various reasons at one point or another, but I always find myself driving back to Alameda, CA to get my mani/​pedi, fills, and waxing done at the best nail salon ever!
The salon is very clean and the instruments are very well sanitized. This is one of the main reasons why I have continued to stick with this salon. I can’t imagine why the previous reviewer felt that the salon was not clean. This is so far from the truth!
They use massage spa chairs that make me feel so relaxed and comfortable while getting my feet done. .
Chanel gives the most amazing pedicures! I have YET to find anyone anywhere that can make my feet feel as smooth, soft, and as well-​maintained as when Chanel does them. When I get my pedicure with Chanel, it lasts me for more than 2 weeks. The polish stays on, my feet look & feel great, especially in my summer sandals!
Quan was once a teacher at the Alameda Beauty College who taught students on manicures, pedicures, and various nail techniques and it shows! He is the only person I will ever allow to do acrylic, silk or gel nails whenever I have a special event to attend. My nails always come out looking so nice!
Oh! And if you ever need a brow wax – Quan is your man! He is fantastic! And if you decide on a bikini wax – Chanel is amazing! Especially if you have never had a bikini wax done before. It didn’t even hurt!
I now live in Vallejo and I will still drive all the way out to my old stomping grounds of Alameda, just to get my nails and feet done at a place that I trust to get my monies worth. Sure I could spend a little less and go to a salon a little closer to home, but I would not get the kind of treatment and care that I have found to expect by going to Tina’s Nail Salon in Alameda. They really are one of the best at what they do!

When i first moved to Alameda i used to go to Tina’s nails… until i caught something. This place is not clean and i reported them. If i had not caught something i would havre put up with the over booking, small damp space. Now don’t think that i didn’t bring this to the owners attention, I made every effort to go to them first but they felt that their standards were up to par with what we were paying. The place is very close to my house so it is a shame that i have to go else where… maybe someday i will try it again but I am still very nervous about it. Prices are good, always over booked, space is small, don’t bring ten kids with you there is no room for all the strollers.

I’m starting to realize that I’m a strict Unilocaler. Things have to be near-​perfect for me to give a business a 5-​star rating. So after checking out a couple potential apartment rentals, I decided that I would kill some time refreshing my manipedi while John finished up his golf clinic. I drove around Alameda, getting a better sense of my home. I came across Tina’s Nails and decided that it would be the best place that would re-​file my nails, get some new polish on them and clean up my brows and underarms (sorry for the graphics). The place is super cute. It looked brand new. New paint on the walls. The art? Cheesy, but typical to most dime-​a-​dozen nail salons. It worked, though, with the overall decortations (don’t ask… John’s word :|). First things first. I got my UA’s waxed then my brows. UA’s are hairless. Brows look awesome. I turned a couple heads afterwards… shoot. Esta vieja still’s got it like that… unh huh
…
Oh yeah, the manipedi…
My mani came next. Perfect. What can I say? The guy (yep, a guy) was meticulous with the shaping, filing, and painting of my nails. I can’t remember the last time my mani took 40 minutes to complete. And that’s all a testament to how detailed my man was. Thumbs up. Straight up. Then my pedi started and it was just as refined. This time, I got a metallic brown on my toes. John even liked my toes. If you read my review on Vicky’s Nails you’d know that he prefers colors that aren’t so «goth.» Sigh. Whispering… he’s not so hip to the current trends. Shrug.
The pedi was done. I felt good when I was done and I ended up paying 80 bucks for everything, including tip. It’s not the cheapest, but it was definitely worth it. What I really enjoyed was that every person that strolled into the salon while I was there was known by their first name. The salon is a owned my a Vietnamese couple and the patrons have been their regulars for years. So in fact, the salon is not new though it looks new. It’s been around for at least 10 years. A lady that was walking by poked her head in and asked how their family was doing. It’s like the Cheers of nail salons. I love it!
I walked out of their feeling good, nails done and feeling like I had just become part of a new family. Weird I know, but the owners make you feel so at home and they’re so generous that they even offered some tips on where to live in Alameda.
So $ 80, tip and real estate advice included, is a bargain if you ask me.
Go see them NOW!!!