COLORMUSE NAILS

Colormuse Nails works out of a private suite in Arlington, Texas, so each client has the room to themselves rather than sharing a salon floor. Shaina Fantroy owns the business and does the nail work herself, and the portfolio shows her range, including BIAB, polygel, hard gel, Apres Gel-X, acrylic and Russian manicure sets with French tips, nail art, crystals and cat eye polish.

It is a hard gel overlay with no fill, priced at $100 and set aside about 145 minutes. Removal of about 90% of the product is part of each visit, and removals are included for sets the technician applies. The business says this method leaves nails looking fresher, grows out more gradually and touches the natural nail plate less.

For weaker natural nails, the BIAB builder gel manicure starts at $80 and takes 75 minutes or more. It opens with a standard cleanup of clipping, filing, buffing and trimming the cuticles, then adds a builder overlay using Builder in a Bottle, a hard gel polish made by The Gel Bottle Inc. Polygel can be used as an overlay or to sculpt a full set, from $80 and 80 minutes or more, and polygel sets include gel polish while other add-ons are charged separately.

Fills are offered for nails two to three weeks after the initial service, from $75 and 75 minutes or more. Nails four weeks or more after the initial service need a full set instead. Clients who need a cut-down at that point should add it as an extra service so enough time is booked. Nail art is priced separately from fills. The dry pedicure is a water-free treatment using an electric file, priced at $85 and taking 75 minutes, and includes a scrub with hot towels, collagen socks and removal of previous gel color.

Deposits are required for some services: $20 for the Russian manicure and $15 for the dry pedicure, both non-refundable. Appointments can be rescheduled or cancelled up to 24 hours ahead. Cancellations inside 24 hours are charged 50% of the remaining balance. Clients have a 15-minute grace period for late arrivals, after which the appointment is cancelled and counted as a same-day cancellation. No-call, no-show clients may be barred from booking again. Hours are Monday through Thursday 9 AM to 5:30 PM, Friday 9 AM to 5 PM, Saturday 9 AM to 6 PM, and closed Sunday.

The business says it is committed to a healthy environment for clients and favors a hard gel Russian method that it says touches the natural nail plate less.

A private suite, so clients are not sharing a salon room.