Next Salon

SHORT VERSION:
Pro: Good manicure, Was reimbursed (sort of)
Con: Employee was hungover, My property was damaged (RIP new boots, our 3 outings were amazing), Chunk of my toenail is missing (whereabouts currently unknown), My flesh was burnt, They made me bleed my own blood
LONG VERSION:
I’m not from Philly so my cousin was the one to pick this place. I was getting a mani/​pedi but my finger nails had gel polish on them already. The girl working on me over saturated cotton balls with nail polish remover and put them on each finger by wrapping them in tin foil, commonly done with gel. However, the nail polish remover would ooze out and fall like a mini waterfall with each application. She realized this within the first few nails and decided ‘why get this on the floor when I can do it over the foot bath that the customers feet are in right now and get it in there?’ Now this didn’t seem correct to me but, of the two of us, she was the professional and didn’t seem concerned.
Maybe I should have been concerned. She went on to say she drank WAY too much the previous night as she started with my pedicure. I start talking to my cousin and when I looked back she cut a chunk out of the side of my big toe nail to which I even pointed out to my cousin in a joking manner ‘weird move right?’
At this point my right ankle, which was in the bath, started burning a lot. When I tried to bring it to the woman’s attention she just kept speaking in a different language to her coworker. I was about to say something again when she pulled my right foot out and I had a four inch blotch of redness wrapping around the front of my ankle. I assumed this was because of the nail polish remover in the water so I opted to not put my feet back in for the rest of the pedicure.
As she finished I contemplated asking for someone else to do my manicure but it seemed all other employees were busy. Within minutes I have been sliced with the cuticle cutters. As I washed my hands I got to see my blood flow like lava into the sink. When I sat back down she stopped the blood with a tissue and pressed on. Now I know people say, ‘if I could give no stars I would.’ This is not the case, save the gash on my pinky, the manicure came out good. Thank god because this girl needed a win.
So I’m done with my beautification and it’s time to pay. I walk back to the pedicure area to retrieve my shoes and purse. When I picked up my suede boots I noticed shiny blotches all along the side of the right one. A single sniff confirmed my fear; nail polish remover.
The girl at the front said to use water and it will take it out. I went to the bathroom and scrubbed to no avail. I then sat with my cousin who; One, is a repeat customer and two, is a south philly fiery ginger. She did not take this information well.
She started talking to the owner about everything that happen to me in a stern but still respectful tone. He tried rubbing alcohol on my boot which took the color off. At this point, I did not care enough to put up a fight but what the owner did next made me write this.
He returned back with a gift certificate for $ 25. I kindly thanked him and said I wasn’t from the area and wouldn’t be back. He still insisted he felt bad and wanted me to take it. I said if he felt bad he could just give me $ 25 and I would harbor no bad feelings. He then said it was not policy to give money but if I wanted I could use the gift card to get some salon products before I leave. I was irked at the suggestion because that means the only ‘hit’ he would take is what he paid for the products not what they were selling for on the shelf with his markup added. Also, no product would come out to exactly $ 25 so that means if I go over that he would get more money out of my pocket and if I went under he saves even more cash. It was a pretty empty gesture. I didn’t need shampoo, I needed new boots. I then took the gift card and gave it to my cousin, who didn’t pay yet, to use and she just gave me $ 25.
I’m usually not a fan of review sites given the line of business I’m in because people tend to type while they’re still angry. I figured I’d give a level headed account of my experience.
*And in case you’re wondering homegirl still got an 18% tip. I’m a restaurant manager, you could literally set me on fire and I wouldn’t give less than 18% to someone in the service industry.

They’re a little pricier than most neighborhood nail salons, but, they do such a great job and definitely are dedicated to customer service.

I went to Next a few times & to be honest, I really think it’s not all that great. I did not like my haircut or color. I also got a pedi/​mani, The pedi came out just okay. I felt like the person doing my nails was in a rush to get to the NEXT client. The prices are a little high compared to other saloons in the Pennsport area.

I heard about Next Salon from a friend who wouldn’t shut up about it. One day my regular place couldn’t fit me in and I needed to get a cut for an event that night. I decided to try Next and have been going there ever since.
Although I had gotten a haircut from a few of the stylists, I quickly settled on Jennifer as my regular. She is quick, professional, and her capacity to remember EXACTLY how you want your hair cut is uncanny.
The prices are fair — $ 15 for a mens cut — but when you add the shampoo, conditioner, and complimentary scalp, neck, and back massage, the prices are downright amazing (even after including tips for the stylist and shampoo attendant).
I’ve never waited more than 10 minutes, and last time I was in the front desk staff even offered me a cookie!
I highly recommend giving them a shot. You’ll get a great cut for a fair price, and hey, you might even be offered a cookie.

I went to this place on a whim and will defiantly come back again. It was $ 35 for a mani/​pedi, I typically pay $ 25, however my feet felt so smooth. They took alot of time.

This place has renovated itself twice over the last few years, and finally settled into its various attractive pedicure/​nail/​hair/​waxing stations.
I try to go early, so I don’t have a long wait, but despite this I have never had an issue waiting forever like some other salons that make you wait at a station for half an hour before addressing you.
The girl I use is Mae, (not on purpose, I found myself seeing her every time I came in and she does a great job so now I ask for her). Usually I get a combo of Pedicure with french finish, and refill with french tip and Gel overlay that lasts FOREVER, so I only need to return every 3 weeks or so. For getting 6 different services in one sitting, the prices are still really good.

After hearing about Minh Tran hair stylist and colorist at Next Beauty Salon in Philadelphia, my wife wanted to give him a try. My wife has very long, thick, natural hair that is very hard to manage and what Minh was able to do was amazing! The color looks perfect and curls are great. Since then he has done my mother-​in-​laws and wife’s sister hair as well and everyone looks amazing and very happy! I am going to recommed him to all my friends and their wife’s and plan to have him style my hair the next time I need it cut.

What I found most interesting about Next Beauty Salon was their compartmentalization of their many services.
They are a full service deal: haircuts, waxings, manicures, pedicures, massages, tanning beds etc. And each service has its own little place in the small to moderately sized location. The pedicures for example, are in a tiny little room in the back… across from another room that houses perhaps facials, I couldn’t really tell. The best deal here is the haircuts, particularly for men. They are regularly $ 15 and 20% off ($ 12) on Tuesdays.
The man who brought me here is absolutely enchanted with how inexpensive the hair cuts are plus the head and neck massages received with each haircut (who doesn’t love having their scalp massaged? mmm…)
I really enjoyed my pedicure. The woman doing it forced me through two levels of buffing and scrubbing (usually I don’t make it past my giggle fits to handle anyone scrubbing my feet that long). There was a great exfoliate applied to my entire legs (glad I was wearing shorts and had shaved that morning!) during the prep process. The preparation process of the pedicure actually took a lot longer than the polishing process. The polishing process was very short. The shortness of the polishing process, plus my inability to not run through the grass barefoot during a barbeque the next day definitely contributed to my pedi chipping no less than two days after I got it. I think with a little more attention and a more sustaining top coat, it would have lasted longer – grass romping or not.
The issue with the basic pedicure was that it was $ 30…which was a little too expensive for this place (manicures are $ 10 by the way).
All in all, the haircuts and $ 1/​minute massages are a great deal; the pedicure was more beneficial to my immediately super smooth legs, rather than my toes. The place could also use a bit of a tidy up, but it wasn’t too much a mess.