Happy Nails

I started going here at the end of summer to get full sets of acrylics and fill’s as needed. I am in dayton for school, back in NE OH where I am from there is only one place I will go to get my nails done because I know they will do a good job. I was hesitant to go anywhere else, but the ladies here always do a great job. The nails stay on and last a long time. I can go 3 – 4 weeks without having to get a fill or any nails replaced. A full set is a little pricey but not outrageous, I think it was $ 40 w/​a tip and fill’s are around $ 20/​w tip. It’s worth the money when the nails are done well and last.

Was better when they were on Wilmington Pike. Now there is a shortage of staff, the water was cold, and questionable pricing. I did not notice the prices initially. However, I asked how much when the lady finished. She initially said $ 26. Then quickly said $ 28. I then asked $ 26 or $ 28? She said $ 28 with tax… So $ 30.00. I said wow, that’s confusing. I know tax is added, but which is it? $ 26 or $ 28.00. I then asked the manager & he did the same exact thing. Stumbled on the price. I will never go back. I will never do business with companies that appear to price base on the individual or as they feel and not on the actual service. The one star is for distance. I live in Kettering. The place is about a 5 min drive.

I like this place because of the massage chairs but they are not working. They always have fast service. I came in for a pedi.

I would give this place negative stars if I could.
Was in Ohio with my fathers family for his funeral. I went to get my nails done with my aunt. This particular day was the (presumably) chinese new year, because one of the two women in the store said it was a new year in her home country. Understanding this big event, we saw that they were understaffed, but seeing as business was relatively slow while we were there it was initially of no concern.
As for services, I can say (for both my aunt and I) that it was extremely poor. I wanted acrylic nails, and my aunt wanted gel. Instead, they gave us both the opposite. There were limited option with the gel’s colors, which was extremely disapointing for me because I wanted nails that were fashionable yet conservative for my father’s funeral.
While my aunt was getting her nails done, a woman and her daughter walk in and say they want mani/pedi’s. As soon as they walk in, the woman working on my aunt’s nails says «almost done» to these other women. She had only applied two out of the ten acrylic’s to my aunts fingernails. The woman rushed through my aunt’s nail job, giving her different lengths of nails and different shapes, then she says, «all done» and starts setting up the pedicure for these other women. My aunt then tells the woman, «No, you’re not done, I wanted a red heart on two of my nails,» (for valentines day). The lady sits her back down by the spray area. My aunt asks for a small heart, and the woman says «I have a big heart» and then sprays her a white heart. I said, «don’t you have a red or pink heart?» so she gives her a pink heart.
My aunt was charged $ 41, and the services recieved were NOT worth that money. I highly recomend you find some place else to go, because the entire time we were there, we were ignored and our services were rushed and you can definitely tell.

Yo – what is up with the nail and hair salons in Dayton? I consider them overpriced, and that’s comparing them to New York City! I went to Happy Nails last week after doing a ridiculous amount of boring yet always strangely amusing shopping (i.e., The Dollar Tree, The Dollar Store, $ 1.00…basically anything denoting «very, very, inexpensive»), and thus I had no reason to think that a little, standard issue nail salon in the middle of a shopping plaza with a DOTS and Dominos with an adjacent Goodwill Center and more of the junk shops previously mentioned to be… well, expensive. I got a mani/​pedi that was one of those «two people at once» deals (which sounds dirty, but it isn’t – actually, it is just NOT relaxing at all), but figured oh well. The woman who owned the place said I was «late,» pointing at the clock (we did not have a scheduled appointment, so I don’t know how I could actually have been «late,» but I did call at nearly 7pm to see what their hours were, and she told me to come in. I got there in 10 minutes, and when I saw the sign on the door read, «7:30,» felt badly, but I figured since she didn’t care, why should I?).
Now, they do have an outstanding color section – meaning that at least it’s OPI and Cassie, which are SO much better than the standard dollar store brand some nail salons offer – so I quickly chose a deep orange/​red, and that was that. The next thing I know, I have both of these ladies chopping away at my hands and feet, telling me, over and over, that I NEED the gel polish (I HATE the gel polish), that I NEED tips (I just got back from a trip that included WEEKS of hiking. Sorry my nails suck. Tips are just not for me, thanks, I explained. 10,000 times). And yes, after hiking and traveling 10,000 miles in six weeks, your feet are messed up. That’s why I’d gone in. The DIY callus removal was just not working, and my feet actually hurt all the time. She did an okay job: a B-​, totally average, but I was disappointed she didn’t use the razor and only this tool that looks like a cheese grater. Whenever I said, «I need the razor too. Do you have those?» she would just hold up that cheese grater again, so I finally said to forget it.
Very mediocre manicure and pedicure… and $$$. Whoa baby. They did well with the cuticles, but did not go above and beyond for ANYTHING else. I mean, I can still see my old nail polish on two nails. That’s crazy.
AND they charged me FORTY DOLLARS FOR THIS?! Say WHAT? I’m sorry, but a low end mani-​pedi (that’s way better, really!) costs like $ 25 MAXIMUM. I used to get my eyebrows waxed when I lived in Brooklyn, and it would still be under $ 30. I was FLOORED by the prices here! Further, when I took my shoes off when I get home, I had to give myself a second little pedicure, as it was seriously half-​done. Wow. Very disappointed.
Where do I go ladies? I am flat clueless here. :(

This place is just fine for a manicure. They have a pretty good selection of polish colors, and when I asked about one that was in a case for sale, not on the display, they were happy to open it for me, even though I told them I didn’t want to buy it.
There is a language barrier, but that’s pretty typical for an independent nail salon. As long as you’re very clear about what you want, just as you would when you’re getting any service from someone who speaks English as a second language, you should be fine.
Keep in mind the location, and anticipate the locals coming in as patrons. When I arrived for the first time, there were 3 crying, misbehaving children with mom and grandmom. Mom was complaining very loudly about how long she’d been waiting and how she had things to do and that was clearly true, as she was dirty and in sweats. Language barrier or not, I’d have been in no rush to sit them down either.
But as I was about to walk out the door (I don’t like crying children), the rednecks beat me to it. Sweet! Silence and a shorter wait!
The manicure was very well done, she was very thorough and efficient and my nails looked great when I left. It was super cheap, after tip it came to just under $ 20.
Everything was clean, including the restroom and back area (which you have to go through to get to the restroom), and the staff was very nice. There was a guy hanging out there with the two women working, not unobtrusively either, (he sat at the station next to where I was sitting and mostly stared off into space or at his phone), which was a bit bizarre, but as it was close to closing time, I surmised that he was a boyfriend or family member, and he was waiting for them to finish and lock up.
Anyway, I give it two thumbs up, and I’m going back this weekend.
Summer 2011 Update
Well, I’ve been back twice since then, and neither experience has been as good as the first, so I’m taking them down to three stars. The second time I went, the pedicure was only so-​so. The manicure was great. The third time I went was a Saturday afternoon, and though I waited a bit, it still wasn’t close to closing time when I sat down. However, they ended up doing my manicure while I was getting my pedicure, and it was a little weird to me. I felt so rushed, and while the manicure still looked ok at first glance, up close it was a bit sloppy. I guess that happens when you give a manicure without any table support under the client’s hand. I may still go back, but only in a pinch or on a day I’m feeling cheap.

I usually go to Vietnamese-​run nail salons, so it’s not like I didn’t know what to expect. It’s around the corner from Dot’s Market and the place could definitely use a facelift, but you could probably guess that from a place called Happy Nails. The pedicure was great — I plopped into a massage chair and got to spend a long time unwinding while the gal worked her magic. I got french tips and while they were a bit sloppy on the edges, it was a good experience. I had asked to just get my nails shaped and painted so whenever I was done with the pedicure I was motioned over to the guy at one of the stations. Now, I have long, strong, awesome nails so I’ve never had a need for acrylics or anything, and they were super long when I got there. He trimmed them all as I had requested and then pulled out a sander and started ravaging the tops of all my nails. Taken aback, I stopped him and double checked that we were just painting and he said yes so I figured it was just some weird buffing thing they were doing. He continued sanding and then pulled out a pot labeled «acrylic». Hold the phone, what? So I stopped him again and after chatting in Vietnamese to the other lady he figured out I didn’t want/​need acrylics. So after having my nails butchered, he buffed and painted them but I was still charged for the whole thing (it ended up being about $ 40 — again, no comp on the nails for his eff up), even though at that point one of my nailbeds was bleeding from the sander. So yeah, the pedicure was great but the language problems and poor customer service/​lack of goodwill ruined the experience.