How much for just a polish?

[Knucks]

Hi

I'm a real newbie geek and have been asked to do a polish only for a bride.

How much should I charge? She will already have false nails on so I just need to paint them.

Thanks:lol:

[lynn amber]

I charge £11 for a file and polish I would charge the same on top of enhancements to :-D

Sent from my LT18i using SalonGeek

[Knucks]

Thanks, I was thinking £8-£10 as a mobile?
Is that a salon price or mobile?

[josheardown]

Hiya, I work from home and I charge £8 for a file and polish. If they're having french it's an additional £2 xx

[PixieBeauty]

I don't really offer just polish as I don't think I can charge more than £10 and don't want to be going out for a £10 appointment. I have a manicure at £15 but if you're happy to go for it I'd say about £10 and rave about the products you're using, cuticle oil etc and try and upsell while you're there

eg, specially for her wedding does anyone else in the wedding party want a file & polish, mother of the bride, bridesmaids all to match their dresses, does she have cuticle oil to maintain her enhancements, doesn't she want matching polish on her toes, or to purchase the colour to take on honeymoon & then she'll have the bottle as her 'wedding polish' (lots of brides do this with perfume why not polish?) or if she's off on honeymoon sell something to get her feet in top condition, for me cucumber heel cream, ideal for sunburn etc etc.

[Knucks]

Excellent advice, thank you all

[EmJZ]

I don't really offer just polish as I don't think I can charge more than £10 and don't want to be going out for a £10 appointment. I have a manicure at £15 but if you're happy to go for it I'd say about £10 and rave about the products you're using, cuticle oil etc and try and upsell while you're there

eg, specially for her wedding does anyone else in the wedding party want a file & polish, mother of the bride, bridesmaids all to match their dresses, does she have cuticle oil to maintain her enhancements, doesn't she want matching polish on her toes, or to purchase the colour to take on honeymoon & then she'll have the bottle as her 'wedding polish' (lots of brides do this with perfume why not polish?) or if she's off on honeymoon sell something to get her feet in top condition, for me cucumber heel cream, ideal for sunburn etc etc.

well put! :)

to me it sounds odd that she's gone to get enhancements already but only wants polish for her wedding? usually bride's want to go all out for thier weddings. I would at the least suggest a full manicure, if not a fill.

also mobile prices should, in my opinion, not be any lower than salon prices. You're offering the same service, but at the clients convenience. Don't sell yourself short....you may not have the same overhead, but you have to factor in travel time, fuel, set up, take down. Straight polish, no less than 10 :)

[Zooks]

Just about to do this myself. Shes booked in for a a F&P but doesnt want a file and has her own polish!

Some people make it hard. I still have half an hour booked in so IM still going to charge for a file and polish ( I hope)

[Martin Duffy]

The least I do is a file, cuticle tidy and polish as anything less than that is going to look shabby, and to be honest is not worth my time. I charge £19 for that and it takes about 20 mins. I would charge the same even if they want their own polish.

[PixieBeauty]

The least I do is a file, cuticle tidy and polish as anything less than that is going to look shabby, and to be honest is not worth my time. I charge £19 for that and it takes about 20 mins. I would charge the same even if they want their own polish.

Love it

[411]

I know this is a old post, but I needed to know what to charge for a polish.

I had a customer ph up and ask how much do I charge for just a polish.

I didn't really know as I was planning to charge £10 for a file/polish/cuticle oil.

The lady said her sister gets polish on both hands and feet for £10 in the salon in town.

I said to her that sounds about right!
I also told her to ask her sister to see what products they use. It will be plain bottles no name on it, so you don't even know what they are using!

They never use a base coat, and the top coat is in the same plain bottle no name, and then you sit under a dryer for 15-20 min.

They never use cuticle oil.

In the end I said £5 for just a polish, nothing else. Is that right?

[Sarah89Nails]

I would stick to your guns 411. You are offering a quality service with correct application so value your time and expertise. I am starting my home salon and wouldn't charge less than 10 pounds for a file and polish. You need to think about the fact that if it took you 20 mins it has to reflect how much money you could make in 20 mins from other services such as Shellac or Gelish or any other treatments you offer. I am setting an amount I charge per hour then adding a bit more for treatments that cost me more.

If you are offering a quality treatment, better than those in cheaper salons then let it reflect in your prices, if you are too cheap people might assume your treatment is cheap too.

Good Luck!

:)

Sarah xxx

[josiejo]

8 for plain polish and ten for french xxxx

[JuicyLucy]

I had a customer ph up and ask how much do I charge for just a polish.

The lady said her sister gets polish on both hands and feet for £10 in the salon in town....

I said to her that sounds about right!....

In the end I said £5 for just a polish, nothing else. Is that right?

You should not let clients bully you. It is not relevant how much they charge in other places if you offer a quality service your price is your price. I have rarely had anyone say that sort of thing to me, if they do I ignore it. Penny pinching clients are not what you need.

I really don't think Harrods/Selfridges/John Lewis staff would be interested in me telling them I can buy cheaper lower quality products in Wilkinsons, they certainly wouldn't lower the price if I mentioned it.

[Martin Duffy]

As the others have said, don't be beaten down on price or you'll never make any money in this game. Also, just be aware that when they say "just a polish", you can bet that when they arrive they'll be a "I might need a couple of nails filing a bit as they are uneven" or "could you just nip that bit of cuticle for me"! Personally, I would say you only do a file/cuticle tidy/polish and nothing less, to do less gives a shabby result and is not something any therapist worth their salt wants to be associated with!!

[Beauty4all]

The least I do is a file, cuticle tidy and polish as anything less than that is going to look shabby, and to be honest is not worth my time. I charge £19 for that and it takes about 20 mins. I would charge the same even if they want their own polish.


Ditto! I don't do quickies!:eek:

[essentia]

As others have said it needs to be cost effective. If it takes 20 mins plus 10 mins to welcome and pay you need to cost out for half an hours work - that should give you your price.

[blossom]

I think I ought to charge a bit more as I only charge £5 for a polish. (It's included with infills or new sets though)

I don't charge extra for French as I find them just as easy to do as a colour and it takes no longer.

It takes under 15 minutes, add 5 mins if I have to remove their old colour first. Hardly do any though, really, just now and then.

[Anna from Toronto]

Guys, come on
A successful business is not about picking a price out of the hat asking if that's ok
Seriously. You have to figure out how much time you have to charge per hour and add the cost of the product x2
How long does it take you to do file and polish (including polish removing)?
It takes me about 20 minutes. Don't forget the time you spend picking color!
Can you fit 3 clients in an hour? Realistically?
If 2, then you should charge for 1/2 hr
We don't do polish changes. We don't even have them on the menu
Just manicures, nothing less.
You never get someone with immaculate nails coming just for polish.
It's always people with ragged cuticles and chipped nails in CLEAR need of a manicure
Then they say (after they book "just polish"). Oh, could you just tidy them up? So you file, push back the cuticles a little (read: use your tools), just a little buff... Then you put some cuticle oil because they look so dry.
Basically they get a manicure for the price of polish change.
Not a smart business decision in my opinion

I know this is a old post, but I needed to know what to charge for a polish.

I had a customer ph up and ask how much do I charge for just a polish.

I didn't really know as I was planning to charge £10 for a file/polish/cuticle oil.

The lady said her sister gets polish on both hands and feet for £10 in the salon in town.

I said to her that sounds about right!
I also told her to ask her sister to see what products they use. It will be plain bottles no name on it, so you don't even know what they are using!

They never use a base coat, and the top coat is in the same plain bottle no name, and then you sit under a dryer for 15-20 min.

They never use cuticle oil.

In the end I said £5 for just a polish, nothing else. Is that right?

[Anna from Toronto]

Just to add.
I want the clients leave the salon with PERFECT nails. Wow nails.
I don't want anyone to leave my salon with polish pooling in their cuticles and their nails uneven and then say to people "look, Anna did my manicure"
I really don't get how people would be happy with us just slapping the polish on. If they want polish slapped on, why don't they do it themselves?
If they want professional and perfect polish job, then they need a mani.

I'm not saying upsell them on some fancy stuff but here is what I do with a basic mani
- good hand wash
- cuticle remover, push back cuticles, anything waving up- trimmed gently (5-10 min)
- file to shape (5 min)
- using fine sanding band an e file I buff the calloused corners of the sidewalls. Sometimes the sides of the pointer fingers need that too (5 min)
- hand/lower hand massage (5 min)
- clean the nails with acetone
- apply base/dry/ color coat/dry/color coat/dry/ top coat (15 min)
- wait 1 min
- spray with Solar Spray
40-45 min ($30 +tax)

Also, while doing the mani I ask "ok, when it comes to color- what do you feel like?"
I never ask clients to pick their own color. I'm the professional that knows what would look good on them and what they can "pull off"
Do you ever go to a make up artist and line up all the colors for them?
No
Most of my clients let me just pick for them. If client has idea, for example "something bright" I usually pick 3-4 colors bring them to the table and see how the colors look against their skin
Clients almost always agree with my pick :)
That's why it's always good to do a mani before. So you have an opportunity to get the feel for what color would be a good fit
We make a big deal about that. We are like a good restaurant describing a fancy dish made by a chef. It's an art
Describing a color even makes a difference.
It's not "red". It's a happy poppy red with a hint of fine gold shimmer.
Or it's deep burgundy wine with ultra-fine blood red and magenta shimmer at its core that glows along the center of the nails, framed by slightly darkened edges.
Or it's an elegant take on black, very chic and grown up but with a little edge.

We use brands like Chanel, YSL, Dior so we like to play up the "special" part. I love my job :)