Expo Beauty Salon

I had 2 great experiences here and 1 terrible one. I will NEVER go back, and I recommend you think twice before you go. I had a pedicure here that was by far the worst pedicure I’ve ever had.
The lady was cutting my nails, catching skin while cutting them and laughing when I pulled away from the pain. At that point, I asked her to only paint the nails, and she did not understand or was not paying any attention and kept filing and trying to cut them. The paint did not dry smooth, and she charged me way more that I was expecting — mainly because she clearly did not understand which service I asked for do to a language barrier.

If you go here, you must ask for Tina. She’s the best! She does amazing French pedicures and takes her time to make sure your nails are done right. I’ve seen other technicians and they cut me repeatedly. I won’t go unless Tina is working… so I call ahead and make my appointment with her. The price is right with the right technician. There is a reason why Tina is always booked while the others are not. Just my two cents…

The absolute quickest spa pedicure ever. Was very rushed and rough. It was extremely uncomfortable. Will not be back nor will I recommend! Such a bummer.

The short review: poor quality work and unprofessional attitude. The long review: Did a walk-​in for a mani/​pedi. Got «Nancy» or someone using instruments with that name on them. The pedicure was a rush job in spite of the place being empty. No biggie. But the manicure was an outstandingly awful experience. I had brought my own polish b/​c I like CND Vinylux. I use 2 coats in an opaque white-​ish and then put a coat of the sheer beige-​ish over the top to tone it down. At first, I thought Nancy wasn’t understanding this due to a language barrier, which I would have been understanding about. But when she put on two coats of the white and then reached for the top coat, I told her to please add a coat of the beige. She said that wouldn’t work and reached for the top coat. So I said, then leave OFF the top coat, and I will add the coat of beige and top coat at home… because I don’t like the bright white. (Picky, I confess. I normally overtip immensely to compensate for this.) She grabbed a light pink color and suggested she try IT over the white. I said, sure, let’s see what that looks like. She put it on my pinkie nail, which became bright Pepto Bismol pink. We both nodded our heads «no,» indicating we agreed that wouldn’t work. I expected her to remove it and at least repaint the white. BUT NO! She just said, ok, bye… I clarified that she was seriously sending me out with 9 white and one bright pink nail — she was. I was pretty vocal in my discontent, but no manager stepped in to help.
I immediately went down the street to Primary Colors Salon in Fairlington Centre and asked the manicurist if she could just paint that one nail white for me. She pointed out that a few of the nails had been painted with cotton gunked up in them and offered to fix those, too, plus add the coat of beige (WHICH WORKED) and top coat to them all, for less than half the usual cost of a polish change. My advice if you’re still reading: start there instead!

I regularly went to this salon to get a pedicure and my eyebrows plucked — primarily because it was close and easy to get into. Also, because I never had a problem before. Although, last Wednesday (1÷15÷14), I went to get a spa pedicure, and by Thursday afternoon had a severe infection on both of my legs. I went to the doctor and they prescribed me two antibiotics (oral and topical) for Folliculitis and Cellulitis. I will NEVER go back to this place again. Both of these are attributed to dirty water from hot tubs or pedicure tubs. It’s taken over a week for my legs to heal (not quite yet healed), and was very painful to endure. I would recommend avoiding this salon and finding another one.

RUN do not walk away from this place. As others have stated the techs do not speak very good English (they did talk extremely loudly to each other) but I’m not here to chit-​chat. I was however looking for a decent manicure and instead got my cuticles BUTCHERED! I have cuts on not 2, not 3 but 4 of my fingers from this (yes after the 2^nd one I probably should have made her stop and just left… but 2 of them didn’t start to hurt until after.) I got the Shellac and it wasn’t the worst but not too great either. There was basically no massage during the manicure overall one of the worst experiences ever. Don’t even bother. There was nothing relaxing about the salon or the service.

This place is awful. My daughter and I went ONCE. NEVER AGAIN. They are rude and they place is filthy. One poor woman wanted an eyebrow wax but the only waxing room was occupied so the technician waxed the customer’s eyebrows while the customer was sitting in a mana/​pedi chair getting her feet done. It’s a churn and burn place. They techs also let their own kids run around, which is unsafe for the kids and annoying for the customers.

Went here today and was in and out the door in a record 24 minutes. This includes my pedicure AND my daughter having her old toenail polish removed and her nails poorly painted. Oh, and they also ruined her brand new, white sandals when they put her feet in them (nails still wet).
This place has no seating. We entered and saw a low bookcase and we were asked to go sit elsewhere. Ummm. ok…guess we’ll try, ummmm THE FLOOR? I concur with other Unilocalers that the people who work here barely speak a lick of English. They do, however, communicate with each other VERY LOUDLY and constantly.
As far as the pedicure itself: my feet soaked for about 20 seconds. She used pumice bar on one foot and not the other. When she cut my toenails, she cut the ends at an angle, presumably so the nails would appear «curved,» however that causes ingrown nails, so I asked her to stop. Now the nails on one foot are squared off the way I like them and the ones on the other foot are rounded. RiDONculous. There was zero massage to speak of. I noticed she used a base coat on the nails on one foot and not on the other. Same with my daughter’s nails, whose polish was all over the toes themselves when completed and now, 2 hours later, is already rubbing off.
Their claim to fame is their children’s pedicure chairs, but they’re uncomfortable and loud as heck.
Live and learn, Unilocalers… live and learn.

If you’re expecting a calm oasis, this won’t be your place. It looks like a bunch of stations and pedicure chairs were just placed haphazardly around the storefront, and there is limited English spoken. My basic manicure was fine, but I prefer a more relaxing experience. There is parking along the storefront.

Not the best, not the worst. Staff was friendly enough and I live right across the street.
Pricing is cheaper than my usual nail spot (Modern Nails in Pentagon City) but I love my nail tech there, Tam, and for good reason – she knows how to work my feet.
My tootsies look good, but the paint job could have been better – it was a little sloppy around the edges. I’ll be back, I’m sure, due to proximity.

Overall, their lack of English speakers is a complete turn-​off. The décor is pathetic & the pedicure spa chairs are worn out. Go elsewhere.
Here’s my experience: I stopped in here while awaiting routine car service. I was expecting to pass the time away in sheer relaxation but I was sadly mistaken and quite disappointed. The nail tech would barely let me soak during the pedicure, despite my specific request (the shop was near-​empty, so it’s not like they needed to move me along).
When a «regular» customer came in, they switched off my nail tech and sent another tech, with what appeared to be Pink Eye! When I inquired, they responded (in very broken English) that she had allergies. I asked why only one eye was affected… and was filled with puss & crust… like with Pink Eye. No intelligible answer. I asked the Tech to put on gloves and she snatched her gear and walked away. Needless to say, I dried my feet and walked out! Horrible service and even worse health practices!
Overall, this place is not user friendly. They lack proper English language skills necessary to do more than ask what service you desire and then to quote you a price. Additionally, the categorization as a salon is a misnomer, due to their actual services. If you’re looking for a great mani/​pedi, GO ELSEWHERE!

They advertised a mani/​pedi for $ 32, so I figured why not. In the end I was charged $ 42 — I didn’t bother asking why, but I figure it was the fact that I got my nails buffed instead of painted and I got a french pedicure (they like to charge more for that). All in all, it was a fine place to go for a quick mani/​pedi (they did them both at the same time for me). But if you’re looking for a soothing spa relaxation, I wouldn’t recommend this place.

I thought this place was a really nice surprise. It doesn’t look like too much from the outside, but there was ample parking right out front (a huge deal when King Street spots are barely plowed out!) and most importantly, it was CLEAN.
I opted for the «spa pedicure» as it had been… a while and I deserved it. It was $ 37, but ordinarily a pedi is only $ 22. Well worth it.
Pedicure looks fab, feet are smooth, I am happy and will be back! (Tips are cash only, fyi.)

I’d give this place a third try. I bet it’ll be a charm.
This was my second mani-​pedi at Nail Expo. The first time I went there, it was January 16^th, and all of the techs «thought I was Michelle Obama.» Need I mention my services that day were top-​notch, A-​1, numero-​uno, on point? I returned because of the great experience, knowing full-​well they couldn’t possibly think I was Mrs. Obama twice yet hoping they’d give «top-​notch, A-​1, numero-​uno, on point» service at least twice.
This time, the manicure was fantastic and the pedicure was a relaxing soapy oasis… up until 1 point. Um, yeah, during the ‘razor’ portion of the pedi, she cut the skin tag off my foot. That thing would NOT stop bleeding. And when she doused it with antiseptic three times, I thought I would jump out of my skin.
Eventhough she continued on with things and still charged me for the pedicure, the experience was not deplorable. Truth be told, I’ve often filed that thing down to a nub so cutting it off (if I hadn’t lost a pint) wasn’t totally bad. This place is really clean, has lots of colors to choose from, let’s you get your mani first, has the UV dryers and fans, and also does some other services in the rooms in the back (neckrubs and eyebrow waxes, I suppose).
Nail Expo is A-​OK…