Not sure how much to tip your nail artist after a great service? You’re not the only one. Many people in the entire USA have this same question. But before we talk about tipping, have you ever thought about why women love going to nail salons? There are many reasons why women care so much about their nails, and in this guide, I’ll share all of them with you.
So, if you want to understand why women love doing their nails and learn the right way to tip your nail artist, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s learn about the world of nail care and find out the tipping etiquette!
Why do Girls Paint Their Nails?
Many women in the USA spend hundred and thousand of dollars in paint nails at nail stations. And the causes are numerous. After talking to multiple women in the USA, a few reasons were revealed.
These are discussed below:
- Women paint their nails for aesthetic purposes.
- Women feel beautiful when they paint their nails.
- Some women have short nails which they dislike and that’s why they put fake nails on their fingernails and paint them.
- Women paint their nails to match their closets.
- To stay distracted from the outside chaos.
Where Can We Get Nails Services?
Mainly nail salons, beauty parlors, spas, etc provide all the services related to fingernails. Nails-related services are basically associated with putting fake nails, nail paints and designs, nail filing, manicures, pedicures, hand massages, waxing, oil treatments, etc.
Who Does Our Nails?
We learned about nail-related services and now we have to know who provides this kind of service. Generally, the people, who provide nail services at nail parlors, beauty parlors, and spas, are called nail artists, pedicurists, and manicurists. These names are interchangeably associated with those who provide nail services to customers.
However, in the USA, you must encounter that one single person, who is giving all the services related to fingernails and toenails. In other countries, it might be different; For example – one person cleans your nails and removes the old nail polish and cuts and trims the nails. Another person washes your hand or toe and scrubs with scrub ingredients.
This is how they differentiated work from person to person. So we will take the broad examples of Manicurists & Pedicurists in the USA and in our further discussion, we will look at the service details, their costs, and how much to tip them.
What is a Manicure?
Manicure is one kind of cosmetic treatment that women and men both can get. Generally, women manicure more than men as I said before a manicure is a cosmetic treatment for hands and fingernails and it has many types as well.
Five types of Manicures:
Basic Manicure:
A basic manicure is a very minimal process. It usually takes 10 to 25 minutes. In the basic manicure, the manicurist has to do the followings:
- First takes off the old nails polish from your nails
- Soak your hands in luke water for two to five minutes
- After soaking the hand, the manicurist brushes your hands and takes off the dead cell
- Then again soaks your hand in the luke water tub and wash them off
- Then the manicurist will apply cream and nail polish to your nail and with that, the basic manicure is done.
Acrylic Overlay:
An acrylic overlay is a vast popular nails services all over the world. To make acrylic overlay nails over your real nails the manicurist will apply “acrylic powder” and “monomer liquid” to provide a long-lasting, hard nail on the surface. It takes 20 to 35 minutes. After washing your hands and nails, the nail artist turned your nails into acrylic overlay nails. It is likely to stay 2-4 weeks.
Gel Manicure:
In the gel manicure, the elementary process is the same as the basic manicure but the additional thing is that the nails are cured with UV or LED light to make it long-lasting. It generally lasts for two to four weeks.
French Manicure:
For a french manicure, the primary steps are the same as the basic steps. However, in the end, the manicurist put the white polish at the edge of your nails. It lasts up to two to three weeks.
Hot Stone Manicure:
Hot stone manicure is known as one of the most expensive manicures. It takes 40 to 50 minutes to complete. In the process, the manicurist uses hot stones and eminence organic products. It works as a therapy since hot stones help to expand blood vessels, which raises blood flow throughout the body.
We have learned the main types of manicures that people usually prefer, but then again the types of manicures vary from place to place. Now let us see how much a manicure costs in general:
| Types of Manicure | Cost of Manicure |
| Basic Manicure | $15-$20 |
| Acrylic Overlay | $25 – $55 |
| Gel Manicure | $35-$60 |
| French Manicure | $30-$40 |
| Hot Stone Manicure | $40- up |
Five types of Pedicures:
Types of pedicures vary from parlor to parlor. But usually, there are a few types of pedicures that we witness more or less in every salon.
These types are discussed below:
- Regular pedicure: In a regular pedicure, the pedicurist will soak feet in the water, scrub, file the nail, and lastly shape your nail and put nail polish on it.
- Spa pedicure: In spa pedicure, the processing is the same as regular pedicure but “Paraffin dip”, “masks”, “mud” or “seaweed treatment” are added to the water.
- French pedicure: A french pedicure has all the basic steps included in the beginning. However, in the end, the pedicurist will put the white polish at the edge of your nails which will last up to two to three weeks.
- Mini pedicure: In mini pedicure, it does not include foot massaging; rather you have to only soak your feet in hot water, clean them, and lastly shape your nail according to your preferred size.
- Stone pedicure: In this type of pedicure, the stones will be used while giving a massage to the feet. Apart from that, all processing is the same as a regular pedicure.
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Now let us take a look at how much these pedicures can cost in general:
| Types of Pedicure | Cost of Pedicure |
| Regular Pedicure | $30-$40 |
| Spa Pedicure | $60 – $70 |
| French Pedicure | $40-$50 |
| Mini Pedicure | $20-$30 |
| Stone Pedicure | $65-$75 |
The prices mentioned for both manicures & pedicures are general expenses all over the USA. The price can also be lower or higher depending on a few factors-
Location of the salon
Experience of the nail artists
Selection of the nail salon
Your desire for ornamentation on nails
Do Nail Artists Deserve A Tip from the Customers?
Since nail artists do their best to create a sense of enjoyment in us, then why should we not tip the nail staff? Julie Kandalec, a famous manicurist from New York City and the establisher of Masterclass Nail Academy, asserts on the tipping matter, “Absolutely, 100 percent yes”. Further, she added that “The tip should be part of the final price that a client expects to pay”.
What Are Some Good Reasons to Tip Your Nail Artist?
Since nail artists deserve a tip from the customer, the nail artists deserve a good tipping for some good reasons.
They Make You Feel Happy & Special
As the nail artists spend hours providing you with polished nails that give you aesthetic pleasure within yourselves, you should always appreciate the nail artist for making you happy and special.
Gel Nails Requires A Bit More
When you prefer gel nails, it takes longer and requires additional skills from the nail technician. So try to consider tipping more generously for this service, even above the standard range, if you are truly happy with the outcome.
Tip More for Lower Costs
A low-cost treatment usually means a smaller tip if we consider the percentage. So with a low-cost or discounted service, even though the service person is probably earning less, they still have to do the same amount of work required for the treatment. So try to tip them just like you would do for the medium-priced services.
A Good Appreciation Can Help Bond Better
When it comes to the case of the nail artists, tip is a pretty straightforward way to tell them that you like their work. A generous tip can truly give the feeling of appreciation to your nail artist, so consider this as a pretty good reason to tip. This will also help establish a bond between you and your artist, which is pretty much vital when you decide to come back in future for another service.
Festival Seasons Require Generous Tipping
During the holiday season, you can nicely show your appreciation to your pedicurist by tipping them generously. Because that is the time when most of us get our nails done for the festive look. When you tip generously and add up a bit more on top of the usual amount, it can really mean a lot for your nail artists.
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How Much To Tip for Nail Services?
The president, owner of Mannersmith, and an etiquette consultant, Jodi R.R. Smith, asserts that tipping should be 15 to 20% at the nail salon. If you receive excellent service from your manicurist, in this case, you should offer more than just 15-20%. You suppose 25-30% of the total bill if you get excellent service and 10-20% when the service is low-rated. If we make a chart on the bases of the standard tipping range and the costs of manicures & pedicures discussed so far, it would be:
| Types of Manicure & Pedicure | Costs of Manicure & Pedicure | Minimum Tipping Amount (Starting from 15%) |
| Basic Manicure | $15-$20 | $2.25-$3 |
| Regular Pedicure | $30-$40 | $4.5-$6 |
| Acrylic Overlay | $25 – $55 | $3.75- $8.25 |
| Spa Pedicure | $60-$70 | $9- $10.5 |
| Gel Manicure | $35-$60 | $5.25-$9 |
| French Pedicure | $40-$50 | $6-$7.5 |
| French Manicure | $30-$40 | $4.5-$6 |
| Mini Pedicure | $20-$30 | $3-$4.5 |
| Hot Stone Manicure | $40- 50 | $6-$7.5 |
| Stone Pedicure | $65-$75 | $9.75-$11.25 |
Note that this breakdown can vary from place to place. We have just presented the table data taking into consideration the average cost structure and tipping standard.
Can You Present A Gift to the Artists at Nail Salon?
Certainly! A few gifts can be considered as a tip for them. Such as-
- Gift cards
- Discount coupons to any coffee shop or restaurant
- Flowers (if you have a deep relationship with any pedicurist, you can always offer her flowers as well)
- Chocolates etc.
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When You Should Avoid Giving Tips?
Not all salons appreciate tipping etiquette. In other words, there are places where tipping is prohibited. Hence you have to perceive when you should offer a tip and when you should not. Below discussed a few moments when you should avoid giving a tip:
- Tipping is prohibited: You are supposed to visit any salon and notice that the salon has hung a banner on the wall quoting “any kind of tipping gesture is not allowed”; in this case, you should not offer any tip to the artist.
- Avoid giving tips to senior artists: It means that there are salons where the senior artists dislike taking tips from customers. Since they feel that being in a superior position, taking tips from customers seems vulgar to them.
- Low-rated Services: When you get low-rated services from the salon, you should avoid giving tips as firstly you spend thousands to get nails but instead of giving you polished nails, they end up destroying your nails. In this case, it would be great if you offer them no money as a tip.
- Discourtesy from the nail technician: There is a saying that customers bring a fortune with them and thus they should be treated with respect. If you are treated with disrespect by the salon staff, you should not pay a tip to the nail technician. Since the customer offered tips to showcase their gratitude towards the salon’s staff and while they were treated rudely by the salon staff, they should not pay a tip to the salon people.
- Unreasonable pricing: We never appreciate the excessive pricing of any services. Pricing needs to be fair, and in other ways, the salon ends up losing customers. Customers who are found over the price for nails, and manicures without any reason, the customer will feel a sense of discomfort. It is possible that they may take the services by spending a lot of money on them but might not offer tips to nail artists.
In short:
In short, it can be said that giving tips to nail salons is a tradition, especially in the USA and many other countries. Being a predecessor of the tradition, you should continue this norm further by giving tips to the salon staff or nail artists. But then again you can avoid giving tips under a few aspects such as if you encounter discourtesy from salon staff or excessive cost for service etc.
