Cole Valley Salon

Probably one of the worst pedicures I’ve received. I walked in and they told me I could start right away, which actually meant in 10 minutes. They didn’t even have me soak as I waited the 10 min for someone to be ready. As I sat there, other customers walked in and I watched as the employees told them all «15 min».
Once my pedicure started, I could see the woman was rushing through. (Because now, she had other customers waiting). She barely cleaned my feet, which needed some more attention since it had been a while since my last pedi. She didn’t care. The massage was mediocre at best. No care or thought put into it, she never even touched my heel.
Very disappointing. I won’t be coming back.

Unfortunate as this is my local salon.
I got a gel manicure — I did appreciate that they tried to please me, and gave me four coats as the original color did not turn out the way we expected. However one nail chipped after three days and my cuticles looked raggedy from the start. I should have gotten a regular manicure, paid much less and avoided the UV damage to my hands. Lastly, she used her nail to clean up around the edges of my nails, which I’ve seen many manicurists do before, and she dipped her long thumbnail into acetone periodically to «keep it clean», but this is a gross practice.
Two stars for customer service

Hands down, the WORST gel manicure I’ve ever had. Normally, I wouldn’t take to Unilocal or any social media forum to complain about a service, but this was SO bad and SO painful that I feel it is necessary for both the salon (to improve their services) and the patrons (to avoid until the services are improved) to read this review.
Let me count the ways this was the WORST:
1) I was told it would be 5 min, but waited 35 min
2) I was told AFTER she started to remove my previous gel polish they would charge me an additional fee since the polish was not put on at this salon
3) I have 6 infected cuticles
4) She left my hands under the black light dryer for almost 30 min, despite me saying it was burning my skin.
5) The gel was flimsy and broke — normally, gel manicures should be strong, long lasting and sturdy. That is, after all, why you are paying extra, yes?
6) Within 3 days, every single nail broke, ripped off, and are now beyond repair.
Net/​Net — never go here. Ever.
I would love to get my money back, but that would require having to go back here. Not worth it

This is such a solid place to get your nails done. The women are very sweet, it’s very clean, and the prices are excellent. It’s a particularly good place if you’re waiting for laundry at Wash Club as it is right next door. It’s also very spacious, which is nicer than most salons which can make you feel cramped.
The popular place down the street at Cole/​Carl on the other hand has turned me away three times now — totally fine, they are busy, but they’re pretty rude about it every time. Not apologetic in the slightest.

The women here are so kind. I’ve traveled across the city to get waxed here as I have always been satisfied. I’ve been coming here for 9 years. I got my mani/​pedi done one time and felt absolutely beautiful afterwards. It’s a rare occasion to get my nails done and I’m grateful I was here.

Awesome manicure. Everything was super clean and thorough. She did a great job with my gel manicure

Such a thorough manicure, and caring. I really appreciated the time they took. Best manicure I’ve had. I’d go back.

My family and I have coming here for at least 6 years. My husband gets his weekly manicure and occasional pedicure. My daughter comes less frequently and gets a manicure, pedicure and occasional wax. I come every 2 weeks for acrylic nails and pedicure. Excellent and reasonable. Takes credit cards but not for tips. Must have cash for tips.

I’ve come here numerous times over the last eight years that I’ve lived in the neighborhood, and the women are very sweet so it saddens me that they do such a mediocre job. Everything I’ve gotten done here hasn’t been done very well. You may think it’s one of those situations where «you get what you pay for,» but I’ve gotten amazing manicures and full sets of acrylics for the same price. They never paint ALL of your nails, they always miss several spots and don’t paint to the edges. The acrylics are never shaped uniformly, and they tend to become loose after a week or so which invites fungus and infections! The leg waxing I got missed several large chunks, and the manicures are only worth it for the massage chairs.

I came here to get my eyebrows done. It was a quick in and out, so efficient that I was able to catch my bus that I thought I’d miss lol. The lady (sorry, don’t know her name) who waxed my eyebrows was nice and did a good job, and luckily no burning! That’s sometimes a concern of mine when I get waxing instead of threading done.
When I came in, I was a bit unsure where to go or who to talk to since I only saw one pedicurist and the payment desk was empty. The pedicurist was the one who asked me what services I wanted, but I had some trouble hearing her since her attention was still mainly focused on her task at hand.
That being said, overall I liked this place and I would go back again if I’m in the area. $ 12, not too bad. Maybe next time I’ll get my nails done too :)

I like this nail salon. It’s cheap, convenient, and relatively clean. It’s not an ambient or glamourous salon… but if you’re looking for a quick and easy mani or pedi, this is the place. They also do acrylics, which is hard to find in the neighborhood.

The price is cheap and there’s almost never a wait. That being said, you pay for what you get. If you value your lady parts, I suggest you either:
a) make sure Mary isn’t the one doing the waxing. She kept going over the same section multiple times… that’s like beheading a guy and not getting the job done the first time around.
b) head over to Natural Salon in NoPA for Cindy to give you a painless wax job at a cheaper price.

Called ahead for a pedicure and they said to come right in. I had no wait which was awesome! I thought they did a great job with the pedicure and I loved the color selection. Not a fancy place but clean and good pedicure!

I have no complaints. The women here are so nice and friendly and do a great job! I recently did the gel mani and it almost been two weeks and they haven’t chipped! They use warm lotion for the massages and it’s amazing. I would definitely recommend! And they stay open until 730pm during the week so it’s very convenient!

Diana amazing! She’s sweet and does the best wax job. I love coming here for all my maintenance. They do a fantastic job on my pedicure and actually remove callus. Price is good and ppl are nice. Did I mention their massage chairs is strong and really work!

If I could give this place zero stars I would. I came to this place to get a gel manicure and a pedicure .The woman (I don’t know her name) who did my gel manicure tried to use the same nail clipper set that she already used on the woman who was sitting chair next to mine. Luckily, I spotted on time and asked her to use a new set. So good luck with that!
She cut my nails completely unevenly and made my cuticle bleed. She poorly shaped my nails made them look horrible. Worst experience ever.
My pedicure was decent.

Went here to get a mani pedi because Haight Street Nails was crazy busy. I should have just been patient! I spent the extra $$ to get shellac on my nails and it started peeling and chipping within less than a week. The ladies were very nice & that is why I am giving 2 stars & not one, but for $ 50 I should not need to redo my mani pedi within a few days.

i was meeting a friend in the haight and got there early. my eyebrows were in need of waxing so I walked into Cole Valley Salon. they were able to take me immediately.
the woman who waxed my eybrows was very nice. in fact everything seemed fine until she put the wax on my eyebrows. it was incredibly hot, so hot that my eyes started tearing before she even pulled it off. i know wax can be hot so i didn’t say anything. i checked the shape afterward and my eyebrows looked great but the skin around my eyebrows looked painfully red and raw.
i left the salon to go meet with my friend and noticed that the skin between my eyes and my eyebrows hurt much more than normal after a waxing. i was able to check them out in a mirror and my skin around my eyebrows was not only red but noticeable swollen. i woke up the next morning with scabbing above my eyebrows. the wax definitely burned me.
it is a month later and i have slight scarring from the wax. i’ve been getting my eyebrows waxed for years and have never had this happen. do not get waxed here.

Great place for mani /​pedi AND waxing.
Nice place, simple and affordable, and hard working ladies.

Please, just head over to Haight Street Nails or Relax Nails. However, you came here for a review so…
I came in Superbowl Sunday at 1:30 and told the ladies I wanted gel nails and a pedicure and asked if they could complete both in 45 min. They said it was possible. What they didn’t say is that they would be cutting corners literally!
The attendant working on my hands didn’t understand I wanted my nails cut not just filed and then when I cut one to demonstrate the length I wanted, she did not take enough off. I kept saying my nails grow fast, but she was set in doing what she wanted. To her credit, she did do a great job filing.
Both attendants skipped the massage and the attendant doing my feet barely touched them with the pumice stone.
When I was up paying, I then noticed that 3 fingers had bubbled already. But she had already swiped my card. She said to come back Monday and she could fix it, and when I told her I worked late, she just said, «You come.» When I got outside into better light, I noticed she had not painted close enough to the cuticle. So while the color won’t chip for two weeks, I look like I have on Lee Press-​On nails after only one week. This was my first time getting gel and they are a bit pricier ($ 28) so I had higher expectations.
Not the worse job, but I’ve had better, in the hood and beyond (shout out to Glen Park Nails!).