Katie Elliott

Review of Teknik Salon and Spa

I went in for an appointment for a shellac manicur...

I went in for an appointment for a shellac manicure just over 2 weeks ago. I was told my appointment would be with Kim, who had done a great job on a shellac manicure I received the previous summer. I arrived on time for my appointment and I told the receptionist I had an appointment for a shellac manicure with Kim. She told me that Kim wasn't there yet and asked me to have a seat in the waiting area. She didn't seem very interested in helping me or tracking Kim down but I noticed that she asked the next customer, a young man, if he wanted coffee, tea or water (I was not asked). I waited for over 20 minutes, during which time I was asked by 2 different employees who I was waiting for. Finally the second employee, Pam, the esthetician, approached me again and told me that the appointment was actually with her. Pam told me that Kim no longer does shellac manicures and I was surprised that the receptionist did not know this and that Pam and the other employee also did not figure out the mix-up sooner. Unfortunately my experience with Pam was not great. She cut two of my fingers along the side of my finger with the nail file, which felt like the equivalent of a paper cut and stung a lot when the polish remover was applied afterwards. My nails were fairly well shaped to begin with but she continued to file them aggressively even after my fingers had been cut. I needed 3 coats of colour because the polish application was streaky and there were a couple nails where the application was uneven (i.e. thicker on one side than the other) and did not extend all the way to the side of the nail. There was also a clump of hardened polish at the bottom of one nail and one of my nails chipped after 1.5 weeks. When I returned to have the polish removed 2 weeks after the initial appointment I again received a cut on my finger, this time at the cuticle, as a result of her aggressive use of the buffer block and had to endure more painful stinging from the polish remover. It took the better part of an hour to remove the polish and the only explanation I received for this was that bio gel polish was used for my manicure and it is more difficult to remove than shellac polish. Normally a metal tool is used to remove shellac polish but she was only using an orange stick so I think that might be part of the problem. At least I wasn't charged for the removal. Honestly, I have received better manicures from new grads. I have never had my fingers cut up so much from a manicure and this is not the quality of work I would expect from someone with several years of experience in the industry. I will not be returning.