Ocean Nails & Spa

I’ve now been here twice, both times for a gel manicure, both times I’ve made an appointment with Kathy. She does careful and thorough but quick work. She seems to care that the finished product is well done. Price is the same as most other places and the polish job lasts at least 2 weeks. I’ll be back.

Mike and Cindy are both excellent here. I come bi-​weekly and am always pleased. The people are friendly and do a great job every time. Cindy is great also with my little girls. She makes beautiful flowers. Mike is thorough and detailed too.
I also love that the atmosphere is quiet and peaceful. I love that the TV is off or the volume is off.

Received a RUDE compliment from Mike Seriously? Advising me an extra 5 for infinite shine? Seriously if I want to say that I thought it was pricey I believe it is MY opinion

I have never written a bad review before, but this deserved one. I went in without an appointment to see how long the wait was and they said 5 mins so I stayed. However halfway thru gluing the tips onto my nails the lady stopped and to do another girls nails. I couldn’t do anything now that the tips were glued on, but not cut. Eventually she came back, but continued to switch between me and the other customer, which took a long time & felt very rushed. I would of rather waited to have someone’s full attention.
The worst part however is that my acrylics look HORRIBLE! I’ve had them done many times and have even done them myself on occasion. I asked for oval/​almond nails (BIG MISTAKE) and even showed her several photos on my phone of what I wanted. She nodded and looked as though she understood. They are shaped terribly, completely uneven & not oval at all, my right hand nails are all noticeably longer than the left hand. The surface of the nail is not smooth, and they are just as thick at the cuticle as the tip making them look very fake.
They also POINT UP which looks the worst. When I told the tech that my nails didn’t look right because they point up she started yelling at me saying it was «my fault» because my nails «grow upward». I have never heard of this, nor have I ever had a problem getting acrylics from other salons. Online it says upward turned acrylics is the nail technicians fault for not applying the tips correctly, so the fact that she blamed my nails for this was rude imo. Now because my acrylics point upward I am also at higher risk for nail fungal disease, because more water can get between the acrylic and nail bed. And I have no idea if she cleaned the tools between me and the other lady.
Bottom line, the lady was rude to me and did not spend enough time on my nails or care to make them look good, when I complained she started talking in vietnamese to the other workers. She hurriedly used the nail file to make them thinner, but they still totally point up and look weird. I really just wanted my money back so I could go to another salon, pay to get them removed and then get them redone. Also the nail polish chipped on 5 of my nails within a few days and they didn’t do a top or base coat.

I’ve been there twice (only because I was given gift certificates). I presented the gift certificate before having work done (they were both for mani/​pedis) and was charged for double the value of the certificates each time. The clincher was the second visit. I was told I needed callous removal. It turned out to be «skin removal». My feet burned and ached for days afterward. Thankfully, I’ve moved far enough away that getting another gift certificate is no longer an option!

I love it here. Years ago I used to go to Tina Nails on Milpas street and Jason did my nails! He was the best! I moved out to Goleta and was not satisfied with Artistic Nails so I tried Ocean Nails which is across the street and when I walked in, I saw My Jason there!!! He owns Ocean Nails! He does THE BEST nails! Kathy is my girl when Jason isn’t there. He has since moved back down to run his mom’s shop on Milpas and Kathy manages Ocean now. I had to go to Artistic nails a few weeks ago when Kathy was on vacation and I needed to have my nails done that day… BAD IDEA! My nails were so badly done by Artistic Nails that I wanted to peel them off right after.
They are busier now a days but if you make an appt with Kathy, you will never be disappointed!

I went it in to get a gel manicure done. The lady who did my nails was super sweet but the guy who seemed to run the place (had an American accent) was very rude to her and rushing her through my appointment. There was one lady who worked there who was just sitting in the back while there were 3 other customers waiting for a service. Once the lady finished with me (very hastily, I was cut twice) the guy turns to her and says that she was «lagging». Never going back. It’s not okay to treat customers or employees that way. Not cool at all.

I went in to get a full set of gel nails and I am pretty disappointed. Service was sub par; the lady who did my nails was in such a rush with the whole process. I got French tip seriously five days ago and four of the tips are already badly chipped. And $ 40 for this crap? Never again.

Kathy Kathy Kathy :)
She did a great job and was super fast check out my cheetah print pattern.
Tip: make an appointment they get a lot of customers.

Came here for the first time today and it went well! Kathy did my nails and she was very nice. I went in for a fill on regular nails and it was $ 20. Reason I didn’t give 5 stars is because I thought the shaping could’ve been better on my right hand but I’m just picky and particular about my nails :). Next time I’ll just ask for square instead of slightly rounded. Overall, she did a good job and I think this is my new spot!

A very unpleasant experience.

Got my eyebrows done here and they were great! I only wanted a cleanup and they listened perfectly and didn’t go overboard.
Clean and quick too.

Ocean Nail Saloon is a great place! Friendly, quick, efficient, and low prices. I have been going there for two years for pink and white acrylics, and french pedicures. Their massage chairs are fantastic!

Ever since I’ve moved to Santa Barbara I’ve been hesitant to get my nails done until I went here. Kathy is amazing at acrylic nails and let me tell you do those things last, never have u had a problem with lifting but also they stay on longer than a month. It takes awhile for me to get a fill. I definitely recommend her !

I was new to the area my first time here. Jimmy did a gel fill for me and he was amazing! Great service and a fabulous mani. Sarah also did my eyebrows, which I have only ever gone to one person and was very impressed with what she did. Awesome place

I thought I was on Candid Camera or something! The woman who was doing my pedicure was texting almost the whole time. Until I got up and left — and took my gift certificate with me! If she had said «excuse me, I need to answer this» or something I would have been fine. I have been a couple times before and had a decent pedicure, but this time was my last time.

Have been going for the past year or two while I’ve been going to UCSB. The workers are usually pretty nice but it’s very rapidly going downhill when they feel they no longer need to impress you. The entire time nobody talked to me (they just talked to each other in Vietnamese), and one lady had the audacity of talking on the phone as she did my nails, only to leave before she was finished with my nails to continue her conversation. When they were done, no one bothered to help me put my shoes on because they were all too quick to start giving each other pedicures. I will not be returning. Good riddance to their terrible customer service and overpriced manicures.

First impression of this place is not very welcoming. Starting with me putting my feet in the water well it was boiling HOT! I told the guy and he added cold water but it took awhile for the temperature to come down. The guy who did my pedicure didn’t say a single word to me even when I spoke to him. All he said was «Thank you» when he was done.
He rinsed off my feet and yet again with HOT scalding water!
Even though he did a good job and I like how the tools used on me were sanitized I don’t think I’ll be coming back here. I’d rather pay more for a welcoming environment.

This place has always been great at what they do! Besides the lack of spirit and friendly smiles in the shop, they are good at manicures!
Top 4 things I was satisfied with:
1. Very detailed painting and clean brush stokes
2. Clean and sanitized tools
3. Use great brands for gel manicures that come off without damaging the nail
4. Reasonable pricing… although they are $ 5 – 10 more than most places… it’s completely worth it because I rarely had a problem with my nails or had to come back to fix it
Overall this place is great to come get your nails done! I only gave 4 stars only because they are not as friendly nor care to converse with you. Despite that, great place to get your nails done. Don’t any expect more than that.

I’ve been going here regularly since they opened, which if memory serves me correctly was 2009. In the beginning it was a nice place to go to but over time things have changed…
Waxing: I’ve been here to have my face and extremities waxed (arms, legs). Yes arms, I’m part (insert name of hairy culture here) and can outgrow Robin Williams in an arm hair competition. So after awhile when I finally became brave enough to open my eyes during the torture that is waxing, I noticed that the girl was using the same stick over and over again. That’s just gross. Now I know they do bikini waxing there so I don’t even want to think about wax touching my body after the stick that was on somebody else’s whoo-​haa was repeatedly dipped into the pot. To me that’s like having sex with somebody I don’t even know… kind of.
Nails: Getting my nails done here used to be a breeze. However, the last two visits I made they had this guy (who looks no older than 16) work on me. And it was clear he doesn’t really know what he’s doing. The last time I went in for a pedicure I tried to tell him that I had an ingrown nail that I needed taken care of. First off, he had no idea what I was saying to him and secondly, he had to ask somebody else to cut my ingrown nails for me because he didn’t know how. To me that says he’s not even licensed and probably shouldn’t be handling people’s feet with sharp objects. I was also in another salon
less than a week later having them take care of the three ingrown nails that showed up from my last visit here. They also charge $ 10.00 extra for callus removal, which frankly, is insane.