Pema Nails

I got gel which took 45 min and was done really sloppily. The massage was good but I Want nails if I want a massage Ill go to an office that specializes in it. Two days later it was marked up which makes me think the products are of poor quality. The place wasn’t hugely clean. Also they were very cold and will speak no english with you unless its «square or curved», wait the hour for the other place down Broadway to open.

Usually my main nail salon was busy, so I decided to go here. The staff is very friendly and its a very tight small place. Anyways I asked for a manicure and the women who did my nails didnt even bother to cut my cuticles or anything like that. Took maybe like 15 minutes to just paint my nails or so! Felt like I was being rushed and the utensils dont even look clean so this will be my last time going there!

I love this shop. Great service. Mani pedi is never rushed. Massages are awesome (foot and body). Techs have great personalities. Recommend to any and everyone.

I hate posting a bad review, especially for small businesses, but I had such a terrible experience today that I felt like I should warn other customers. I always go to Pema for pedicures and waxings. I’ve never had an issue with getting a pedicure here however I’ve had a few issues with waxing. I went a few months ago for a lip wax and one of the women took off a layer of skin on my top lip. It was not only extremely painful but I had a scar for weeks. After that incident I swore I’d never go back but upon visiting the nail salon right next door and having been kept waiting for 30 minutes and dealing with the extremely rude manager, I decided to give Pema another chance.
So every time after the lip incident, I would always tell whoever was waxing me to please be very gentle because of what had happened last time. They were very accommodating and I had no issues until today. I went for a lip, eyebrow, and sideburn wax. The lip and eyebrow wax were fine but then they completed messed up my sideburn wax. I only ask them to wax a tiny bit so it has a clean appearance but this time, the woman who was waxing me put too much wax by accident and got some on my actual hairline. Upon noticing it and panicking, I kept asking her to stop, and that it was too much already. She proceeded to rush to put more wax on to keep going further and kept saying «no hold on» even when I kept telling her to stop. Seeing as there was wax all over my actual hair, and trusting that she wouldn’t do anything too terrible, I didn’t get off the table and leave right then as I should have. She was so rushed to fix her mistake that I could barely get words in between rip after rip after rip. I finally stood up after having her ignore my request to stop and to my dismay, saw in the mirror that she had actually gone and waxed hair from my head… it looks AWFUL. I was VERY polite in conveying how disappointed and upset I was at what she had done. To my reaction, she pulled in another worker to take a look. They both were laughing while giving me half-​assed apologies saying this is what I asked her to do. WHY WOULD I WANT YOU TO WAX HAIR OFF OF MY HEAD?! I stayed there for another 10 minutes arguing with them about how terrible it looked and about how I DEFINITELY did not ask for this. to this, the other woman goes «don’t worry the hair will grow back in 2 days». Are you effing kidding me?!
This is not the worst yet. The worst part is they actually had the audacity to charge me for my lip and eyebrow wax when they had messed up SO SEVERELY. She waived the charge for the sideburn wax as if it was a favor to me. not only does this place do a terrible job in waxing (they’re clearly not trained well/​experienced), but their customer service aspect is also terrible. Who the hell laughs at a customer after they mess up so badly on a job?
Safe to say I will never be coming back and I will also warn all of my friends and family members about coming here. I’ve never been so disgusted before. Thanks ladies.

I checked this place out as per recommendation from a friend and have been coming ever since. The manicurists are super friendly and nice. They do a great job with your mani and pedi. They take their time and do it right. If you come for a mani/​pedi, it costs $ 20. Not bad at all. They are very efficient and do it in half the time because one is doing your mani while the other is doing the pedi. Plus they take their times when they give you a massage. Definitely check this nail salon. Its small but it has all you need.

This is my first time writing a review for anything but I am so disappointed with my nails.
I get a gel manicure every two weeks in San Francisco, last time I got them done in San Francisco I got a gel manicure, a pedicure and an eyebrow wax, it took 50mins and everything was perfect.
I spent 1 hour and 15mins in Pema Nails to get the worst gel nails iv ever seen.
Only that I spent so long in here I would have asked them to take it all off.
I paid $ 30 for it.
Also when they were cleaning and filing my nails, I’m pretty sure the tools they were using were not sterlised either as they came out of an opened bag and did not look clean

I can’t express enough– I love these angels. They are so warm, so friendly, always sweet and making sure you are comfortable and happy.
inexpensive for how attentive they are & definitely the strongest hands on the block for those post-​mani massages.
the interior is also so cute. they always have the news on and are quick to engage in a conversation about what’s going on– or not, if you prefer to enjoy your mani/​pedi in silence.
Just wonderful ladies– thank you, pema.

I went here for a mani/​pedi after quite some time.
Their prices have gone up a little. It’s now $ 20 for a mani/​pedi but service is quick and efficient.
They do a little massage on your legs and a shoulder massage after they are done, but they will try and have one last do your pedicure while another does the manicure. This might be annoying for some people but I didn’t mind as I wanted to get done quickly.
All in all a great deal and a decent mani/​pedi.
Good OPI color selection.

Nice people, nice masagge after manicure and pedicure for free. I just recently tried the brazilian wax and it was good.

I love this place, the ladies are so sweet and always do a great job. Nice and relaxing!

Definetly worth your $ 20 for mani/​pedi
Nice personnel, great massage and great result.
I will come back

I’d been to Pema a few times when I couldn’t get to my regular salon near my office in the city. They always did a good job for their price ($ 7 for a regular manicure) and I never had a problem.
I always bring my own color, base and topcoat. That’s just my preference. For the last few months I’ve been using CND VinyLux polish — it’s the same company that makes the Shellac polish. It’s applied like regular polish, only no base coat.
Many of the salons have it now and it’s just a regular manicure — not all the steps you do with a gel mani.
Most salons charge $ 4 or $ 5 extra for VinyLux.
I’m explaining this because I bring my own polish and that goes for VinyLux too. I buy it online along with the special topcoat.
Last week at Pema they tried to charge me an extra dollar for the mani. I asked why and they said «you’re using VinyLux.»
Yes, but it’s mine. I brought it with me — it’s not yours.
They insisted and I refused to pay it and was going to leave before they did any polish.
They finally relented and didn’t charge the dollar.
You may be wondering what the big deal is. But it’s wrong — if I bring my own polish and don’t use the salon’s supply, you don’t charge me extra.
So now they’ve lost a customer. Permanently.

Positives:
Opens early, at 9am
Pedicure was great
Best massages
Everyine is very friendly and accomodating
Mani and pedi done simultaneously
Negatives:
Gel manicure was horrible, messy and uneven gel paint job
$ 40 for a gel manicure and regular pedicure
No sunscreen or gloves provided for use with uv lamps
Since i was leaving this past Tuesday for Wildwood and knew i would be swimmng, i decided to get a gel manicure so i wouldnt have to deal with the polish chipping. I went to Pemas, because i noticed it was 9:45 am and it was open. I had been here once before about two years and liked it. Its just a small salon, and it gets very crowded so i usualy opt for a larger salon. Anyway i had brought my own china glaze gel, which includes the base coat in the formula. The nail tech was very apprehensive because i didnt have the china glaze top coat and she was reluctant to try my china glaze with their shellac top coat. She then offered a similar color but i declined wanting to get my toes and fingernails painted in «pool party» brightness. I changed my mind and decided to change to a reg pedi and save $ 18 dollars. Pedicure was great and was done by one nail tech, while my mani was done by another tech.
Right after i paid for the reg mani and pedi, the nail tech handling my mani asked if i wanted to try the gel anyway but with their shellac. I said ok, lets try it — as long as it stays on for the duration of my trip — i will be happy! So i paid the $ 18 dollars and away we went.
She started the gel and kept asking me to confirm that the base coat was included in the china glaze (gelaze) and also asked me to read and info printed on the bottle. While i dont know the first thing about gel manicures (i have only had 2 prior this one) the printing on the bottle said base included. She started with a base anyway and kept remarking that it shouldnt be so sticky. After all the steps, it dried hard and shiny which was great, but the paint job was extremely messy. The cuticles and sides of my nails are covered with this hard paint. The tips of my nails have no paint on them, and the bottom of my nail above the cuticle is painted so sparingly that you can see through to my nail.
While i may go back because the massages were phenomenal, i will never get a gel mani at Pema’s again.

The photo of that man’s hairy legs is disgusting. Someone should remove it, because it’s the first thing one sees.

I had been to Pema several times for regular manicures, and never had a complaint. The women are exceptionally friendly and the massages are the greatest.
However, I was there over the weekend and decided to splurge for a $ 25 gel manicure. At first, my nails looked great and I was SO happy with them. That changed 3 days later, when I noticed the gel was already peeling away from my nail and was getting cracked around the edges. I would have never gotten a gel if I didn’t plan on it lasting AT LEAST 2 weeks, so I decided to go back the next day after work to see if they would be willing to fix it.
The women were extremely apologetic about my nails, and acknowledged that they were peeling. I asked if they would be willing to fix it and they said yes of course. I sat down, they took off the gel, and went to work on re-​doing them. Throughout doing it, I thanked them constantly and apologized for being a pain. When my nails were done, the woman looked at me and said, «You’re going to have to pay $ 15.» ARE YOU KIDDING ME? After apologizing, saying they would fix it, and being incredibly sweet, they charged me only $ 10 less than the gel originally was and double the price of a regular manicure. I would have NEVER gotten it done for another $ 15, and I acknowledged that they did not tell me that from the start and it was completely ridiculous. The woman said I had to pay because «it had been a week». I would like to clarify that I got my nails done on Saturday afternoon, I noticed my nails peeling Tuesday night, and went back promptly after work on Wednesday. When I pointed this out (rather angrily) she agreed that I could pay $ 10, and that the owner wasn’t there and that was the best that she could do for me. I was absolutely enraged, paid the $ 10, refused my massage, and will absolutely NEVER be going back to pema for any services. These women completely rip you off. I’d also like to point out that my nails look like absolutely garbage this second time around.

Unfortunately, I had a terrible experience at Pema Nails.
I asked for a french manicure, using pink for the base and black for the tips. I showed pictures of exactly what I wanted — I wanted the top part to be angled (sort of like a «v»), not straight across as in a traditional french. I have had this done many times at other nail salons. But, no one at this place could really get the hang of it, or understood how to do it. One of the ladies finally did something that resembled what I wanted, but it looked awful: as if a young child had painted them. I finally spoke up and told her I did not like it and asked her to take it all off. She tried again, then again, then again: removing everything, then starting from the beginning.
At that point, I realized I had been in there for an hour. I just could not bare to stay any longer, so I asked her to remove all the polish because I wanted to leave. She did such a bad job of doing this menial task, that I now have pink and black nail polish along the edges of my nails, cuticles, and underneath my nail — I have black nail polish underneath my nails, so my nails and fingers look absolutely filthy. I want to cry.
As I was getting up to leave, she offered me $ 4 back. «Four dollars? That’s what you’re giving me back?» I questioned.
Essentially, I just paid a total of $ 12 ($ 11 for french, $ 1 for «speed dry» and a $ 4 tip) so I could walk out of there with filthy looking nails.
To add to that, I am terrified that I am going to get a nail infection. When it was time to push back and cut my cuticles half-​way through the manicure, she searched for the appropriate tools in the drawer in front of her, not from a sterilization machine. With each one that she picked up, she examined it to see if it had left over gunk from the previous customer. Finally, she picked the «best one» and sprayed that antiseptic stuff on it before she proceeded to use it on me. I should have known from then to just walk away.
I will never go back there.

The vibe is not luxurious, but these ladies are exceptionally friendly and good at what they do (both nail care and the all important post-​massage). Prices are very reasonable.

3.8 stars.
It was my first time trying at Pema Nail.
My experience at Pema Nails was overall positive and good. But I actually could understand and agree with a review that contains information about nail infection. A lady did my nails was a young (not Pema) and she pushed my cuticle really really hard. I thought of getting hurt! Fortunately nothing happened but really I was really scary!!!
But overall, good service and price. I will go back there again.

I just found this place after years of walking right by. I’m not sure why I never stopped in before, but the services and prices are amazing. As other people mentioned, it’s not the cleanest or the most up to date, but the length of massage is amazing. A manicure/​pedicure with amazing massages was $ 20. Then last night I tried a gel manicure there and had my eyebrows done. The gel mani was $ 25, which I think is a really great price. Also, the woman who did my nails (maybe the owner/​manager?) was not so precise, but she gave me a massage for about 10 minutes while the gel was drying under the UV. Seriously, for $ 25 I got a gel manicure and about a 10 minute massage. I’m a little scared after reading the reviews about the number of people who got nail infections here… but I think the reward is worth the risk!

Christina M. was not kidding! I also got a nail infection from this place! I was experiencing pain and swelling of my three my toes and I ignored it at first, but the pain got really bad. I finally decided to take off the nail polish and thats when I noticed my nails looked yellow! Scared shitless is an understatement. I went to the doctor and the first thing he asked was «where and when did you get your last pedicure?» At first I thought he was dissing me for looking like a slob, so there I am explaining to him that its been a busy week and that I havent had the time to get my nails done, BUT I quickly realized what he really meant… dun dun dunnnnnnnnn. NAIL INFECTION!!!
Gasp. Yes ladies. Pema nails is to blame.
Dont get me wrong, everybody working there seemed nice, prices were cheap, but clearly the tools they’re using are not sanitized. I’m scarred for life. I’ll be painting them myself for a while.