Lan Nail Salon

They charged me for services that I did not request.

I don’t write reviews very often, but just had to after seeing some of the low ratings for LAN. I have been coming here periodically for 2 – 3 years for manicures (regular and gel) and pedicures. I LOVE this place. It is not fancy and it isn’t a spa so don’t expect that, and yes it is cash only (I didn’t know the first time and my nail lady pointed me to the Bank of America a block away AFTER my mani/​pedi and smiled and said I could run over and come back). The women are sweet and aren’t super chatty (which I prefer) and they ALWAYS do a good job. My regular manicures last 5 – 7 days and I work in a hospital so I am constantly using and washing my hands. I recently moved to Assembly Row and still make the trip back to the south end to go to LAN. I’ve tried 10 – 12 other nail places in Boston and while some compare in certain aspects, you can’t beat the price, service, and quality at LAN.

This is by far the worst customer service I have ever gotten with a nail service. The technician was literally aggressive grabbing my leg to put it up on the step and pushing it into the water… not relaxing. Not a nice environment. AND they have NO sign posted they only take cash. Would have been awesome to know when I walked in. Thankfully I had my checkbook, but I am confident I will never be going back!

I’ve been to this salon for two pedicures. One in September 2013 and one in May 2015. Overall, it’s affordable (bring cash, though) and not the greatest quality; ‘you get what you pay for’ is an apt description. My nails didn’t look as clean and even as similarly priced salons had achieved in the past, the massage was shorter than average, and after two visits, I won’t be returning. There are better salons in Boston and in many other cities.

Unbelievable that this place has absolutely no sign that it is cash only and such prices for being a cash only place! I had to write a check — what century do we live in that you can’t take a credit cards? Mani/​pedi are good but nothing special and they skimp on the massage.

This small little gem was my savior when my regular «waxtician» was booked up. My girl referred me to Lan for a Brazilian and at first I was like oh man idk but I took it into consideration. She charges $ 25 which is a killer save when it comes to Brazilians. This was the cheapest Brazilian I’ve ever paid for.
This salon uses soft wax (wax with the strips)
She makes you very comfortable and she’s really sweet. She uses gloves and is very clean. I thought wax with strips hurt more than hard wax but it didn’t. (But then again I’ve been waxing for years now) I’d say it doesn’t do the same job as hard wax. I was bare but it was different from what I was use to with April’s Salon in Somerville (by Davis Station). She did a great job!!! I was and still am very happy with her service I’m going to try Lan’s out for awhile and see how I feel next time since this was my first impression.

Lan is the best! I’m picky about my nails and Lan has never steered me wrong! I’m glad my friends turned me on to this place!

I came here on possibly the busiest time and day– the Thursday afternoon before 4^th of July weekend. It was packed but they moved along quickly and I barely waited.
I only got a pedicure and they did a great job. I don’t go to a nail salon for «chit-​chat», I go for quick and quality service. Oh and price. If you come here in the middle of the day it’s 25% off, so a pedi is $ 20. Worth it.

The lady did a decent job with my polish change. She just lacked customer service. She chit chatted with the other ladies the entire time she did my nails. She didn’t even say thank you after I paid and tipped. She really didn’t deserve that tip.

Overall good experience here. I’d have to say it is just a pretty average nail salon, but is clean and the service was very prompt with no wait time. The pedicure bath water was the hottest I have ever felt and I had to ask the girl to cool the water down since it really was too hot to stand. Then she immediately cooled it down to almost room temperature… The pedicure was just average too, nothing wowed me but nothing too objectionable either. For a place that is conveniently 2 blocks from my apartment I may be back again.

If I could give zero stars I would.
I went in today for a gel manicure. I have a few old acrylic tips that I’ve been growing out and just have trimmed each time I get a mani. The woman that did my nails today insist on taking them off. I told her repeatedly that she could try but if they weren’t budging to just leave them. Nope. She ripped one off and split my real nail across the middle. It started bleeding and she just ignored it. When I said something she said it was better and what color do I want.
It is going to take months for my nail to heal but more importantly I have the added worry my nail and finger will get infected. Then they charged me for a manicure after I stopped them from doing anything else.
I have been there a few times for a lunch time mani with mediocre results but it is one of the few places close my office. I will never return and I’d advise you stay away if you care about your nails at all.

I’ve been going to Lan for my nails & eyebrow wax for over a year and still love it there! It’s convenient — they offer quick service and with the midweek discount, you can’t go wrong!

This place is horrifying.
I walked in when there were 4 women waiting before me, and the guy running the shop was lying to people saying the wait would only be 5 minutes.
I sat down (waited for a half an hour) and quickly realized that this is a borderline sweatshop.
The owner doesn’t have enough staff, and he funnels customers in under the impression that the wait isn’t long. I watched as every staff member was doing at least two manicures at once!!! The poor girl doing mine was also doing another manicure across the room and a pedicure all at the same time.
Each employee there has to RUN, literally run, between customers while the owner continues to let the line grow. I felt so badly for them.
Also they don’t take credit card.

Love! I’ve been wasting so much time and money going to nail salons on Newbury Street when this hidden gem is conveniently located in my neighborhood. I went here yesterday on a sunny, Spring, Sunday afternoon without an appointment and was taken to a station immediately.
The girl that worked on my nails was super quick. I got a mani (which was only $ 12!) and she cut my nails perfectly, trimmed back my cuticles carefully (without any cuts), and did a fabulous job applying the polish — no bubbles and the color looks divine. I will most certainly be back!

I really love this place. I get manicures here regularly and for $ 12 (or $ 10 with the deal) I never leave unhappy. I think the service is consistent, the people are friendly, and I’ve never had to wait more than 3 minutes to be attended to. It’s great for walk-​ins, just make sure you have cash on you. I would also recommend this place for a Brazilian (Amy did mine, and she did a very good job). At $ 25 you really can’t beat the price. That said, I’ve only gotten below the belt waxing at higher end spas/​salons before and this is definitely a different experience. Basically if ambiance means anything to you and/​or you feel uncomfortable lying down, half naked, spread eagle in front of a stranger with a sheet for a door then this place isn’t for you. However if you want quick and efficient work and can get over the self-​conscious part of it, you’re good to go.

This place is pretty bad. The prices are great if you get the 20% off, but I definitely would rather spend a bit more money and get a much better service. I don’t speak their language, and I’m not trying to, but you can tell when someone is talking about you. The entire time I was having my pedicure, my nail technician was rolling her eyes and making fun of all the customers to the other technicians. It was the most obvious thing I have ever seen. Just so rude. You can’t relax because all you can hear is them screaming and making fun of everyone.
The service was also just plain awful. Each nail of mine was shaped differently and the whole pedicure lasted about 15 minutes. The entire time I was in pain because the girl was so rough and cut me about 5 times. Spend the extra $ 5 and go to another salon.
Seriously avoid this place.

This salon is mediocre at best. I’ve gotten regular manicures here a few times and always felt like I could have done a better job on my own — and saved $ 12.
You definitely pay for what you get — the low prices reflect the bare minimum services.

I used to visit here. I changed nail salons, because:
— a foot fungal infection after visiting
— shoddy job at nail painting, with the 2^nd coat not covering even half of the entire nail on most visits
— lack of attention during pedicures, including not scrubbing the bottoms of feet (less than 30 seconds total, both feet, on multiple visits)
— having to avoid at least half of the employees due to their regular habit of cutting me (hands and feet) to the point of drawing blood
— painful ingrown nails, «hang» nails and/​or infected nails/​cuticles within a few days of visiting
With so many other choices, why bother here.

Pleasantly surprised — I had 15m to spare so dipped in for a polish change and came out w/​hot pink nails befitting a 12y/​o going to a bat mitzvah — a week later, the polish is chip-​free and I’m still feeling A+ abt it.
It’s totally bare bones and they don’t exactly pamper you, but for $ 8 I got a little spring in my step and abt an hour of time back that I would have spent trying to make my own nails look like someone older than 3y/​o painted them. Win.
Clean-​ish, cheap, okay selection of OPI and Essie — though the colors at My ManiPedi are better/​seem fresher. I’d never recommend that someone go out of there way to hit up Lan, but in a pinch, it gets the job done.

This review update is for the gel manicure pedicure I received last time I went to Lan before a getaway to Mexico. I was going to do pink-​and-​white nails, but at $ 60 my wallet was screaming (hey, going to Mexico ain’t free!), so the ladies convinced me to go for the gel manicure.
I have gotten gel manicures at other salons and I know they can last 10+ days if you use your hands quite a bit, and 3+ weeks for most people. I’m in the former category, but I went two days before vacation so I knew I’d be okay.
*ON THE WAY HOME FROM THE SALON* I noticed what appeared to be some bubbles under the gel. It was a light color so I thought maybe it was just a small error, and I could live with it. Boston is about 45 minutes from my house and there was no way I was going back to have it corrected for something so small.
The next day as I was packing, I realized two nails had started to lift! I have NEVER experienced this so soon after getting a gel manicure done. I was infuriated! I had no time to go to the salon to have it done so I was really panicked (it may seem shallow but who wants shabby hands on a tropical vacation!?). I ended up going to Trade Secret to get the same shade (Moon over Mumbai) in regular nailpolish to cover up the error, but honestly the shade in the polish and the shade in the gel were different, and by mid vacation, about 6 of my nails were one shade, and 4 were the original gel shade. Yuck.
I called the salon to complain, and while they told me I could come back to get it fixed, I had no time before vacation and as I said, it’s 45 minutes away (without traffic). After vacation, I was too busy and mad to go back. All in all, I lost 6 nails’ worth of gel within 4 days of having the manicure done. My pedicure (regular polish) also started to chip on vacation within only a few days. Very unprofessional job! Super disappointment.
I will say this, however: I got a brazilian again with my nail services, and it came out great — the same $ 25, results definitely better than you pay for, little more painful than a high-​end salon, but totally worth it. It’s all I’ll be coming to Lan for from now on.
Overall, if you go to Lan, just be weary — some nail techs are more experienced than others, some services are better than others, and some days you just get better results than others. Not everything here is bad, but when I’m paying $ 30 for gel nailpolish, $ 25 for a pedi, and $ 25 for a brazilian ($ 95 after tip!) — I want consistent, reliable results.