Is this normal for a nail tech to do?

Discussion/Question

I hope this is okay to post here. I got my nails done today. This is the first time l've gone to this place, and the reviews are okay. I just wanted a simple gel manicure, and the nail tech did it in like 15 minutes. It doesn't look great (bubbles and see through patches and some polish on the skin and some of the gel immediately started coming up at the base of my nail when I left), but that's not the issue. When she was doing my cuticles, I was concerned about her tools. The one to push back the cuticles was dusty and had been sitting upright in a box with a bunch of tools-some of which looked used (like had nail polish and stuff). I let that go because it’s not like that tool was going to cut me, but I was a bit freaked when she pulled out her cuticle cutters from the plastic box they came in (like the packaging they initially came in with a strip of cardboard in it). The box had dust in it, too. I felt weird about saying anything, so I just let that pass. When she was done with cutting my cuticles, she put them back in the same box that they came from. I paid for the manicure and gave a small tip (because it was really not great). I called a little while later and asked about the cuticle cutters. The woman who answered said that my nail tech put them in that box to protect them and that she would clean them later. I pressed a bit (specifically about whether it was sanitary to put them back in that box before cleaning them if she wasn't going to clean the box), but I did not ask for a refund. I felt bad about questioning it already. Am I overreacting? I feel bad about saying anything. It's just that I've gotten a nail fungus before from a salon that didn't seem super clean. I feel so guilty about saying anything and for giving such a small tip, but I just need to know if this is normal. Also, she did nip some skin in my finger and caused some bleeding. She put some green oil thing on it, so I hope that disinfected it. She also kept pausing to type on her phone and then used her fingers to swipe around my nails (including the one she cut). I didn't mind that so much. I'm sure that's normal. l'm just wondering if I'm overreacting. Sorry if I am.

Posted Apr 8, 2025, 9:24 PM UTC

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