Frequently Asked Questions
We know you've got questions and we want to answer them all, but if we spent all of our time on the phone answering questions then no one would get serviced, right...right! Instead we have created this page so that you can submit your questions and one of our delightful operators or receptionist can answer the questions between guests so that the services of the current guest are not interrupted; this is the same courtesy that will be extended to you when you visit.
Please send your questions to bwminfo@simplynailz.com. All questions will be answered as quickly as possible by either posting the question to this page or you may receive a direct reply if the questions is something that would not be relevant to the general public.
To make things easy, click on the links here to jump straight to your question.
Where are you located?
Westmont, IL 60559
We're located on the south side of the Burlington North Metra Tracks at Westmont Station, we're surround by great food from local business e.g. Vincitori, La Petite Sweet, Amber, LaLa Li Bakery and many more. How do I get there?
See the Map to the Right.
The map to the right will give you the best directions based on where you are. We could type up lots of individual direcitons, but that wouldn't be a good use of technology now would it?
Where should I Park?
Over here...over there...
Westmont is a pretty laid back village. They believe in supporting their downtown businesses so there is plenty of street parking and parking lots in the area that offer FREE PARKING...you know like the space on the Monopoly Board. Here are a few places you might want to look first.
1. Right in front of the building. There are at least 4 spaces directly in front of the building and an additional 5 spaces just south of the building on the same side of the street all of those are FREE 2-Hour Parking Spaces.
2. Just north of the building 1/2-Block on the South Side of the tracks (same as Nail Salon) , and just before the railroad tracks. Don't park in the permit only Metra spaces, there are spaces in front of the businesses that are FREE 2-Hour Parking Spaces.
3. Just north of the building, but on the North Side of the railroad tracks. There is an open lot, just for downtown businesses and since we're one of them feel free to use one of those FREE 2-Hour Parking Spaces.
Just about anywhere in the Village you see
FREE 2-Hour Parking Signs Will a No Chip or Shellac Mani damage my nails?
Not at Simply Nailz...but this one is lengthy so hang in there its worth it!
Whether any product applied to your natural nails will damage them will depend on the application technique used by the nail technician, the same as you would experience with your hair coloring. When the industry came out with "No Chip" manicures it was in response to the many complaints and concerns nail technicians have received from people such as your self about how frustrating it is to get a manicure and have the polish chip just days later. Each manufacturer offers their own version of "No Chip Manicures" for Creative Nail Design (CND) it is called Shellac, for OPI it is called Axxium Soak-Off, for IBD it is called Gellac, etc. The application of each is slightly different, but the amount of damage done to your natural nail will depend greatly on the nail technician that applies the product.
Though buffing the shine off of the nail is recommend, it is not required. This means that it is up the nail technician to establish techniques that preserve the natural nail of the client while offering the lasting shine and beauty that they want. At Simply Nailz our technicians have worked on refining these processes for each and every service that we offer to reduce and eliminate potential damage both during application and removal of the product.
In the cases where we do have to buff the nail we have ensured that all of the products that we use simply require a light buff with a fine grit (240 grit) buffing block. This is the same buffing block that would be used in a 3-4 step High-Buff Shine process which gives the natural nail a healthy glow.
When looking at whether or not to get a No Chip manicure regardless of the color or manufacturer it is offered by consider the following things!
1. Not all nail technicians are concerned about the health of your nails! Find a nail salon that has experienced nail technicians who understands product chemistry and application. These won't be the salons where you can get the service super cheap without a coupon, because the level of expertise they have takes time to gain and so does the application.
2. Make sure that technician is not using an electric drill on your natural nail. This removes layers of the nail and that is what makes your nails weak after products such as gel, acrylic, and Soak-Off (No Chip) gels are applied, not the actual product itself. This is counterproductive for clients who want a natural manicure but have considered a No Chip for the long-lasting wear benefits.
3. Did you know that most of the damage is done during the removal process by inexperienced and uninformed techs? The use of metal implements to remove a No Chip or Soak-Off gel is not recommended by any of the manufacturers and neither is intense scraping, if they are not gently pushing it off your nail plate...RUN!
At Simply Nailz an electric drill will NEVER EVER be used on your natural nail, so the layers of your natural nail will remain intact. Many of our clients have noticed that their nails have actually become stronger because of our procedures and the high-quality products that we use. Every product is tested extensively before it is offered in the salon as a service.
What's the Main Difference between Shellac, No-Chip and Soak-Off?
Not much...but here's the scoop!
Creative Nail Design (CND) recommends that Shellac be removed every 2-3 weeks. The longer the product is on your nails the longer the soak-off time to remove it. In general it only takes 10-minutes to remove when the product has only been on for 2-3 weeks.
OPI encourages backfilling Axxium Soak-Off Gel Lacquer (Axxium No-Chip Manicure) & Overlay. This is very useful for women who wear the same color each week or who go from light to dark as it reduces the number of times you will be required to soak-off. The soak off time is still approximately 10-minutes for an application that is 2-3 weeks old, but can be longer for older applications.
These are just two of the Soak-Off (No-Chip) manicures offered. Each has different properties and which is right for you will be determined by both your lifestyle and needs. Our nail technicians will customize a service to best fit your needs.
The terms No Chip and Soak-Off are used interchangeably by many of the manufacturers for marketing reasons. The purpose of any Soak-Off color is that it should last up to 14-days without chipping. The same is true for a No Chip service.
Ask your technician about which of the manufacturers colors might be best suited for your needs...or simply go with whichever color you heart desires...none of them require any commitment beyond professional removal, which is highly recommended.
Does the No Chip Mani/Pedi include Shellac?
No it does not, but... (March BWM Only)
We thought of that, so a No Chip Mani/Pedi can be upgraded to Shellac Mani/Pedi at an additional charge.
In creating a set of offers that were both interesting as well as varied for the BuyWithMe promotion we chose to select specific services and highlight those. In order to offer a No-Chip Mani/Pedi at such an extraordinary price we had to choose 1 of our 4 (the 5th one is currently in testing) offerings as the starting point, but it is one of the collections with the largest number of colors, is overstocked due to an ordering error and offers many options, including mixing to create your own color at additional cost...but not much more $$ and all of this benefits you! These colors can also be backfilled if you wear the same color often, reducing the number of times you have to soak-off and does not include the cost of a soak off for that reason.
Is the No Chip more of a Gel that Requires Fills?
To Fill or Not Fill that is the Questions...
No, not at all, none of the No Chip Manicures REQUIRE a fill. The ability to fill a No Chip service is determined by the product that is used.
The term No Chip Manicure is one that has been used generically throughout the industry to refer to a nail finish that offers 14-days of Chip Free beauty for the nails. Some of the manufacturers such as OPI (Axxium Soak-Off) and StarNail (Eco Soak-Off) offer Soak-Off colors that more closely resemble the properties of traditional gels. In this manner they can be mixed and layered to create new and exciting colors and looks. They are applied the same way as traditional gel is applied, with a gel brush and a liquid that looks like gel...not the powdered stuff they tell you is Gel! Other manufactures such as CND (Shellac), IBD (Gellac) and Harmony (Gellish) offer their colors in a bottle much like traditional nail polish/lacquer and thus the application is very similar to that process. These colors can not be mixed, but they can be layered for additional looks.
No matter which No Chip/Soak-Off color you choose, all of them have a 10-minute removal procedure, all of them are safe for your natural nails, all of them provide some additional strength to the natural nail, most of them offer an overlay so you can have beautifully long nails without the commitment and some of them will even help to promote healthier nails.
What is the cost of a No Chip Mani/Pedi Upgrade?
That was EASY...50% of the difference (Mar BWM Only)
This question has come across in several emails and phone calls from women who want a Shellac Mani/Pedi and wonder why its not in the offering list. Well the short answer to why its not in the offering list is that 3 offerings is a good number and the No Chip Mani/Pedi was meant to have upgrades. We wanted to put everything in, but the smart people at BuyWithMe recommended that we leave room for upgrades...we agreed with them, but didn't know how many women would want the upgrade until now.
So as the pink text states, the upgrade cost will be 50% of the DIFFERENCE between regular salon price of the two services. So for instance lets say you really want a Shellac Mani/Pedi, well you would buy the No Chip Mani/Pedi Voucher and then upgrade it to a Shellac Mani/Pedi for $7.50 more, due the day you receive your services. If you're giving the service as a gift and want to give a Shellac Mani/Pedi, please email us at bwminfo@simplynailz.com and we will give you additonal instructions on how to do so for your special someone. So the the Shellac Mani/Pedi is $52.50 in total (Value $105), it will be covered by the $45.00 Voucher (No Chip Mani/Pedi) and then $7.50 due the day of your service...but you're still getting 50% off!
What will my maintenance costs be for ANY of the services?
We recognize your loyalty
We understand that many women frequent the salon every 2-3 weeks faithfully and we want to reward you for your loyal patronage. For those of you that become our loyal customers we have several programs geared toward clients who have regularly scheduled maintenance which allows us to have an on-time schedule. Please ask your technician the day of your service or review our Promotions page for more details. I missed the offer...is there still hope?
Of Course...just visit our Promotions Page!
If you missed the BuyWithMe Offer, no worries! We still have other offers available, visit our Promotions page or stop by the salon for more details. Sample offers:
$30.00 Shellac Manicure w/Gift Certificate (No Limits)
$35.00 Mani/Pedi w/GiftCertificate (No Limits)
What's with the hours, payment request & cancellation?
Hmmm...good questions!
We tried to have walk-in hours, but too many BWM customers tried to walk-in for their appointments so we went back to by appointment only. There will be online hours for appointments that can be booked 2 hrs in advance through bookonline.simplynailz.com, however BWM customers still need to book 24 hours in advance eventhough the scheduler will allow you to book less than 24 hours in advance. If your appointment is booked less than 24 hours in advance you will be sent a PayPal Money Request for the full amount and be subject to cancellation if payment is not received.
We are sorry for the inconvenience however several BWM clients have booked in less than 24 hrs and not provided the BWM Voucher #, which allows us to confirm your appointment as a first-time client. Sadly this has caused a large amount of confusion which we wish to avoid in the future.
