Nails by Karen

Karen and Wendy are great! They’ve done my nails a few times now. They’re very nice and they do an excellent and very precise job on my nails! I’m eager to try ombré nails by Wendy as I’ve seen them on others and they look great! I highly recommend this place for an inexpensive but excellent manicure!

My first time coming to Berkeley so I decided to stop by Nails by Karen to get my nails done. Customer service wasn’t as bad as I expected. I requested Wendy for ombré nails and I loved it. I got many compliments on how well it was done. Cuticle was cleaned and polish was on fleek. I recommend this Nail salon to others. Always as for Wendy for ombré nails. Trust me you won’t be disappointed.

My husband is still recovering from cellusitis, from his pedicure. He returned to our own physician and has been placed on more antibiotics.

If I could I’d give ZERO stars. People should be aware that this place is not clean. I got a skin infection from a pedicure there. I will never return.

I ONLY WENT HERE BECAUSE ASHBY NAILS WAS PACKED WAY BEFORE THEY WERE EVEN OPEN AND I NEEDED MY NAILS DONE.
I came in here on sat ¹⁰⁄₄ around 10ish. Totally empty… The lady asked me what I wanted to get done and I told her Gel Mani… Then she asked me if I wanted to just get polished or would I also like my cuticles cut? Who asks that? I thought a manicure does it all. This was the first time I was ever asked that question and I’ve been to tons of shops. I told her I wanted it all done. That’s why it’s 25 dollars right. I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to get over on someone and make them pay 25 for just the gel polish and not cut their cuticles.
I took a seat at the first station near the door and picked my color. The lady I assume is Karen tried to get me to do my hands and feet. I told her NO it’s ok I just got them done last weekend and she still insisted. NO means NO… Don’t try to persuade me in doing something I don’t want!
One think I thought that was weird was that she doesn’t use the cuticle cream. She just soaks your hands in HOT water and push your cuticles back then cuts them. This is the first time I seen someone NOT put the cuticle cream one your cuticles. «Red flag»
When she got to filing my nails usually everyone asks «what shape do you want?» NO she didn’t… She did whatever she wanted… I told her before she started since she didn’t ask me I wanted box shape and she ignored me. I thought she heard but I guess she didn’t since she started doing the round shape. I immediately pulled my hand back and told her «NO that’s not what I wanted I asked for box and you made my nails shorter… It takes me forever to grow my nails and you just made them short.» She told me she would fix it and make it box but I kept telling her no. I told her in order for her to make my nails boxed then it would have to file it shorter. I just kept saying NO NO NO NO NO… She she was like fine I won’t file any more then and I’ll just polish. I snapped and told her NO you have to make all my other nails even. Keep the length but make sure it’s straight. What am I paying her for to mess up my nails and do whatever she want?
When it came time to polish she was terribly sloppy and missed some spots. She was going to leave it. I made her go back and paint the spots that she missed like on the sides of my nail. Who the hell does that. She was in no rush. There was no one else but me in there and another worker.
I will never come here again. She costs the same as Ashby nails and she does a horrible job. No wonder she has no costumers. SAD… I only tipped her a dollar. I usually do 5 for my nails. Really I shouldn’t have left anything but I’m all about tip karma.
This was quite the experience that was a first for me.

I have been to Karens before & will continue to come back to her. She does great work and she really takes her time when doing a mani or pedi. There was another lady there and she asked me over and over if I wanted a pedi and I said no thanks. After several declines from me she stopped asking.
I came here in a Tuesday around 2pm & it was empty– which was surprising. The salon is on the small side but it looks to be clean and organized. Sure it’s outdated and could use an updated paint job but I’ve seen worse salons. The air in here is very much ventilated and won’t smell like acid in here when you walk in.
During the weekends I recommend that you call to see how busy it is or make an appointment be helped quickly. The parking here isn’t the best but you will always manage to find parking here. Parking in front of the salon is $ 1.50 an hour so not bad if you much park inside. I paid $ 25 (plus $ 3.00 tip) for an acrylic French manicure. She asked me exactly what I wanted and didn’t push for something I didn’t want.
Really recommend going here if you haven’t been here before. I will keep coming here :)

I’ve come here for a long time now and I guess that means Karen thinks she can treat me like shit because I’m soooo loyal.
I made an appointment with her. First she did my eyebrows but when another customer walked in she decided to work on her first instead of me! It took me 2 hours for her to finally finish my pedicure because she kept taking new customers! I also got a fill and she didn’t get to finishing that until 3 and a half hours later! And when she finished, she didn’t even let me stay long enough for them to dry, coming to a grand total of $ 67! Screw this! I found a new spot on Telegraph that will respect my reservations of time and will charge me less on top of a 10% student discount. Sorry Karen! Maybe you should have thought about this before shitting on my relaxation experience!

Karen and her staff do an outstanding job on my pedicures. I get compliments at work on how great my feet look. I got the best facial I’ve ever had at Karen’s. I highly recommend them!

Went there for gel nails. Price seemed ok and I don’t mind the low-​key hole in the wall. Unfortunately, Karen did a bad job and her products are bottom of the line. She did the gel so close to my cuticle that ALL my nails were open at the bottom by the end of the day that she put them on. That is really terrible. By the end of the week I had inflitration on all my nails, urgh! What an ordeal. I will never be back. Do not go here for nails. The price is not competitive and the products are awful. Don’t go there.

I’ve been going to Karen for years! She does my nails and my waxing!
I agree, Karen, you need to update your nail polishes! Buy new ones please! Gals/​guys, bring your own bottle of nail polish if you dont want to sort through the mess. Karen is pretty good about letting you try different colors though. She wont rest until you come across the one you like. Granted, her selection is limited to the typical red, pinks, and purples.
Waxing wise – Karen does a great job! She’ll get every little bit of hair out. And, I mean it! So be prepared for some plucking in your nether region when she’s done with the hot wax. $ 35 for the $ 65 jobs you find in Beverly Hills? I’m sold!
Karen recently hired a new employee and I’m not a fan. Call in beforehand and make sure that Karen is there. The new girl isnt too good. She made my eyebrows uneven! Karen says that she still has a lot to teach the new gal. If Karen isnt in, go up the street to T & T Salon on Telegraph. They do amazing eyebrows. Karen can sometimes make them a bit too thin.
This is a no hassle, no fuss place so dont expect too much. In fact, dont expect anything at all except a job well done. That’s quick.
Karen can and needs to upgrade her facility, but eeehh… she does a superb job, and I’ll keep on coming!

The reason I decided to write an update is because my last French manicure was not very good at all!
I got my nails done on Wednesday evening. They looked great, but… on Thursday, I noticed a couple little chips here and there on the French tips. On Friday, I noticed those little chips were not so little anymore. On Saturday, large chunks of polish were already coming off a couple fingers. And by Sunday afternoon, the French tips on every single finger were quite damaged and the polish on my left thumb peeled off completely! The entire thing just came right off! Mind you, I was on vacation during those few days. It’s not like I had been typing furiously at my computer at work or doing intense chores around the house.
A mani/​pedi is $ 25. To upgrade to a French manicure with regular pedicure is $ 35. With that upgrade, I feel the French manicure needs to stay intact for at least 5 days. They probably just glob on way too much polish for the French tips. They do excellent regular polish jobs though. I’m usually surprised by how long those last.
Go to Nails by Karen for a regular mani/​pedi, but if you want fancy spancy French tips that will last… go somewhere else.

Granted they were one person down as «Karen» was MIA, but I could have done a cleaner job on a manacure at home. I would have complained had my female companion not been treating.

I’m no stranger to hole-​in-​the-​wall, low-​budget, peeling-​paint, «PICK-​A-​COLOR!!!» nail salons. In all honesty, I love them– why pay $ 40 at a hoochie-​goochie salon where I feel like I need to put makeup on before going in to be considered even somewhat worthy, when I can get a $ 25 mani/​pedi in a vibra-​chair?
Which is why I feel bad dissing Karen. I know what she’s working with. But still– really, Karen, how hard is it to stock a nail salon with, uh, NAIL POLISH?
Not only was the polish selection slim (no deep, dark, or chocolaty reds?) the polish itself was all jank. I couldn’t open the bottles on most that I tried, so caked with dried & rubbery polish were they. And on two of them, the tops came off, leaving the brush-​part inside. Great.
I guess they were in a rush, but who cuts cuticles with no softener? No water, no oil, no cream, nada. Just cut, cut, cut.
The 2^nd layer of polish doesn’t completely cover the 1^st, and the job not only uneven but when someone’s blonde hair that was attached to the fan flew into my polish, she looked at it, said, «quick dry will take care of it», waited for it to set, and used the clear to blob over it. My nails aren’t even cut evenly, and my toes are even worse. Oh, and they charged me $ 30, not $ 25. Flexible pricing = not a good business decision. I should’ve just done ‘em myself. Thinking about it, I should’ve just had the 6-​year-​old lemonade saleswoman down the block do ‘em.
«Woah, what cuticle butcher did you go to?» my friend asked when I walked in the door. They are THAT BAD.
Listen, Karen. You are nice, you are friendly, you are funny. You’ve got a great location.
Now, why don’t you shape up your salon?

Don’t go to this cuticle butcherer! My mani-​pedi was more painful than relaxing. What an f-​ing rip off!!!

I usually go to a really cheap salon but it is farther than walking distance and I needed a fill for my acrylics quick. I found Nails by Karen on Unilocal and they seemed pretty cheap still and they were well-​reviewed.
It is a more relaxing and well-​staffed place compared to my usual salon. Karen did an amazing fill for me and my nails look awesome. The fill was only $ 15 and no tax. She was very friendly and quick.
Nails by Karen is not the ultimately cheapest place around, but it is still very inexpensive compared to most salons. Your visit will be a quick and positive experience and they will do a great job on your nails.

I LOVE Karen!!!
I come here for Brazilians… Karen really is no-​nonsense. If you’re at all squeamish about someone seeing your nether region, I wouldn’t suggest coming here at all. You don’t get a cover up and if you’re a screamer (or not a person who tolerates your hair being ripped out from a really sensy region), the only thing separating you from the rest of the salon is a curtain. BUT she’s super quick and gets the job done as quickly and painlessly (HA!) as possible. She’s also super friendly and nice.
Just don’t come in expecting a day spa type place. It’s pretty small and cramped, and super WHITE! But like my repetitive word choice, this place is overall SUPER: O)!!!

Small –no frills– kind of place.
Karen is indeed, very nice, quick, to the point. I came in for a manicure and the first thing she commented on was my eyebrows: «Your eyebrows are crooked! You do them yourself? I do for you! I fix them, they are terrible!»
Some time ago, I would’ve deemed that rude, nowadays, I appreciate the frankness. My eyebrows needed work in fact; Karen corrected them and they looked beautiful by the time I walked out.
If you are looking for diplomacy, you are not likely to find it here. Instead, you will get a good job for a good price.
The only reason why I give 4 stars is my nails. They were OK, but I wasn’t wowed.
Maybe next time… we’ll see!

Boy, whoever said Karen’s is no nonsense is completely correct. I went here yesterday for a clean up brow wax (my boss loooooves getting her brows done here), and was in and out in about 10 minutes. Zip – wax on! Zip – hair off! Very, very quick. The wax was hotter than I prefer, but it was so quick I barely had time to think about it. The fluorescent lighting in the waxing area was hard on the eyes, making me squint a lot, which was off putting.
I’d go back if I was in a hurry – but probably not otherwise. My skin is NOT HAPPY today, worse than usual after a wax. But hey, it was reeeeally quick, so I can’t really complain.

I was in a desperate state with my nails. Was cruising Berkeley area for a quick fix. Ran across this place.
Totally no-​nonsense, but professional. There was only one guy getting a mani-​pedi. I got quick service and my nails are still perfect after a couple of days.
The place is small and doesn’t have the spa ambience that you are sometimes in the mood for.
I would come back again… and would recommend to others looking for a no-​nonsense quick fix.

Too strongly smelling of chemicals.