A guide
How to choose a nail studio
Written for anyone booking nails anywhere, not just here. These are the questions we would ask if we were the ones sitting down in an unfamiliar chair — about the air in the room, how things come off, who is holding the brush, and what happens in the three weeks after you leave.
Start with what you actually want on your nails
Most people book the wrong service because the menu is written in product names instead of outcomes. Work backwards from what you want: length, strength, color, or art.
If you want length today, that is an extension — at Soleil, Aprés Gel-X®. If your own nails are thin, bendy or peeling and you want them stronger while they grow, that is an overlay — builder or hard gel. If you just want color that lasts longer than polish, that is a gel manicure. Art can sit on top of any of them.
A studio that asks what you want your hands to do all month, rather than which product you would like, is usually the one to book.
Our own rule of thumb: start with the gentlest product that will actually hold up for your look and your life, and only step up to something more rigid when the nail or the lifestyle genuinely calls for it.
Ask about the air, not the aesthetic
Walk in and breathe. Some professional products are simply stronger-smelling than others, and ventilation varies a lot from room to room. It is worth noticing for your own comfort, especially if you are sensitive or in the chair for a couple of hours.
We work only in gel cured under a professional lamp, which is why the studio stays low odor. That is a choice we made first for the people who breathe this air all day, and second for everyone who visits.
None of that is a knock on acrylic. It is a real craft, it takes years to do well, and there are artists doing beautiful work in it. Our stance is about air quality and about reaching for the gentlest product that will do the job — not about ranking systems or the people who use them.
You do not need to know the chemistry to ask a good question. "What do you use for length, and how does the room usually feel?" tells you plenty.
Ask how they take things off
Removal is where natural nails get damaged, not application. The thing to avoid is a set being filed away at speed to make room for the next appointment.
Our products are designed to be soaked off. Depending on what is layered over the top — color, chrome, hand-painted art, a builder overlay — your artist may carefully reduce that surface layer first so the remover can reach the gel underneath. That is controlled, unhurried, and watched the whole way, which is a different thing from grinding a set off.
Good question to ask anywhere: "How do you remove this, and how long do you book for it?" If removal is not on the schedule, it is being rushed.
Ask about sanitation
Files and buffers are porous. Anything that cannot be fully disinfected should be single-use and go in the bin in front of you, and metal implements should come out of a sealed pouch at your station.
For feet, ask what happens to the tub between clients. Ours is a simpler answer: our pedicures are waterless, so there is no basin, no jets and no plumbing to hide anything in — the service is done with hot towels, steam and product instead.
Ask who is actually doing the work
In a chain, you get whoever is free. In an artist-led studio, you book a person, and their portfolio tells you before you sit down whether they can do the thing in your saved photos.
Look for hand-painted work rather than only stickers and stamps, and look for it on short nails as well as long ones. Anyone can make a long, flat canvas look good. Painting something delicate on a short natural nail is the harder skill.
Our art is hand-painted and it goes on any medium — short natural nails, a gel manicure, a structured overlay, or a full Gel-X set. Bring the inspo photos.
Understand how the pricing is built
"How much are nails" has no answer, which is why price lists feel confusing. What you are paying for is time and skill: how long the service takes, and how much detail the art needs.
A studio should be able to tell you the total before it starts, and should tell you if what you are asking for needs longer than the slot you booked. Ask at the consultation, not at the register.
Know that aftercare is half of the result
This is the part no one likes to say out loud: the studio controls the application, and you control the next three weeks. Both matter, and neither is to blame when a nail lifts early.
Oil the cuticles daily and use hand cream. Wear gloves for dishes, cleaning and gardening. Do not use your nails to open, scrape or pry anything. Come back before things start lifting rather than after.
Do all of that and the wear times a studio quotes are realistic. Skip it and no product on the market will hold. When the artist and the client are both looking after them, nails can be healthy and beautiful at the same time — it is not a trade-off you have to accept.
Green flags, in one list
- They ask about your natural nails and your daily life before recommending a service.
- The room is comfortable to sit in — good air, no lingering heaviness.
- Removal is a booked, scheduled part of the appointment.
- Files and buffers are single-use; metal tools come out of a sealed pouch.
- You can see the individual artist's own portfolio, not just a studio grid.
- They will tell you honestly when something you want is not a good idea for your nails right now.
- The total is confirmed before the service starts.
- They tell you how to look after the set, and mean it.
Common questions
- What should I ask before booking a nail studio?
- Ask what they use for length and how the room's air and ventilation are handled, how they remove enhancements and whether removal is booked in, whether files and buffers are single-use, who specifically will be doing your nails, and what the total will be. The answers to those five questions separate most studios from each other.
- Is gel or acrylic better for my natural nails?
- How a set is applied and removed matters far more than the category. What reliably damages natural nails is heavy filing at application and rushed removal — and in skilled hands, acrylic can be beautiful, durable and well done. Our own preference is gel only: it cures under a lamp, it keeps the studio low odor for the team and for clients, and it is designed to be soaked off rather than filed away. That is our choice, not a verdict on anyone else's.
- How do I know if a nail studio is clean?
- Look for single-use files and buffers, metal implements opened from a sealed pouch at your station, a tidy workspace between clients, and a straight answer when you ask how tools are disinfected. For pedicures, ask what happens to the tub between clients — or choose a waterless pedicure, which removes the basin from the equation entirely.
- Why do my nails never last as long as the salon says?
- Wear-time estimates assume the set is being looked after. Daily cuticle oil and hand cream, gloves for dishes and cleaning, and not using your nails as tools make a genuine difference — usually the difference between two weeks and four. It is a partnership: your artist builds it, and you live in it.
- Can I get nail art if I keep my nails short?
- Yes, and hand-painted art on short nails is often the more impressive work. Length is not a requirement for detail — book a little extra time so the painting is not rushed.
If Soleil sounds like the right fit
We are at 254 E 100 S in downtown Salt Lake City, open nine to seven, seven days a week. Book online, or call us at (801) 970-8100 and tell us what you are hoping for — we will point you at the right service even if it is not the one you were about to book.
Book NowMore about the studio: our Salt Lake City page and studio policies.