Sophia Spa & Nails

First off, I need to know what kind of base and top coat they use at this salon because my nails, polished with regular Essie polish, look as thick and shiny as gel polish. Will it last as long? I don’t know, but for a $ 12 manicure I’m more than satisfied.
The woman who did my nails was super friendly. The tools were sterilized. I even got a free massage for about 10 minutes. It was awesome.
The only complaint? The other patrons. Most of them were standoff-​ish and cold with the nail techs but that’s a reflection of them, not the salon.

Excuse my language but HOLY SHIT this was by far the BEST pedicure I’ve ever had! The extra care and attention that went into making my fingers and toes look and feel great was shocking. I’ve been getting regular mani/​pedis for the past 12 years and this blew any other experience out of the water. The salon is cute and clean and the staff is super friendly and pays attention to all the small details. Today, I felt like a princess. I want to scream from the mountaintops for everyone to leave their current salon and come here. I drive 15 mins out of the way to enjoy the 5 min oiled leg massage and hot stone treatment that is included in the regular ($ 30) pedi. I’ve found heaven on hearth!

The reflexology pedicure is unreal, especially when combined with sitting in a massage chair. The spa is clean, everyone is super friendly, and you can’t beat the prices for the quality of the mani /​pedi!

I was in need of a last minute appointment and my usual nail salon was already booked so I thought that I’d give them a try considering all their rave reviews. As soon as I walked in they were clearly overbooked. Despite the dated atmosphere and what appeared to be unsanitary tools I moved forward with my appointment. If there were so many people there it had to be good, right? Their nail color selection was disappointing, thankfully I brought my own for this exact reason. The woman who did my nails did her best but they are nothing close to uniform. There’s also clear polish all over the tip of my fingers. Not worth it at all. The search for a secondary nail salon is still on…

Being the girly girl that I am, I get manis and pedis as regularly as my schedule allows. Being that I’ve lived in Philadelphia now for over 12 years, I’ve tried handfuls of nail salons (and dedicated to some for years — Christie’s in Manayunk).
With that said, my experience at Sophia’s has been like *none other*!!! Notice how I haven’t yet written a review about any other nail salons? Well that’s because 1) I haven’t been that impressed before or 2) something went wrong (bad quality, terrible salon manager (see Euphoria Nails in Manayunk — I stopped going there because watching the manager interact with her employees made me so uncomfortable. She doesn’t seem to treat them very well).
At Sophia’s though, let’s start with the owner. She is an angel!!! An absolute doll. Every time I come in, she treats me like her own — so sweet and makes me feel like I’m family. She trains her employees perfectly — they are all consistent and provide great service. Friendly attitudes, very welcoming! You will never feel like anyone there is talking about you in their language (like you might feel in most other salons). All of the women there are kind, thoughtful, and patient– and I’ll say it again: Sophia herself is the sweetest lady.
Now, what do you get during your visit here? Well, don’t come here without getting a pedicure. For the price, you are getting WAY more value than any other salon in the area. You get one hell of an amazing massage (literally, best neck and foot massages I’ve ever gotten and I get them often!) included in your standard pedi. After 15 minutes of being spoiled and having your feet and legs rubbed incredibly, they give you a hot stone massage. Yes! ANOTHER MASSAGE! Praise the pedi gods! After all the heavenly massages, they give you a paraffin wax treatment on your heels — it’s the magic trick that gets rid of all that dead skin and icky, dry schtuff on your feet. Makes them baby soft new again!
The salon itself isn’t as fancy as Zazen or maybe some others in the area, but don’t let that fool you. The quality, customer service, and rapport they build with their clients far exceeds any other salon.
And again, the massages!!! If I could stay there for the whole day, I would.

Amazing pedicure! With thorough massage and hot stone!!! Love! I also received a nice, strong massage on my shoulders after my manicure! Worth my $

This was easily the most thorough gel manicure I’ve had, despite me walking in 45 minutes before closing time. The manicurist was very gentle and attentive. She asked if I wanted my cuticles cut or just pushed back, which I really appreciated — usually I have to ask the manicurist not to cut them. Towards the end she noticed that one of my nails had an imperfection, and redid it from start to finish without a moment’s hesitation. Great neck, back and hand massages to boot. Will definitely be back again.

Took 3 teenage girls and myself to get our nails done. I have to say I can’t believe the quality and value of the treatments we received. The girls all loved their hand massage and said it was THE best nail experience they had. I had Ms. Sophia (owner) do my nails and she was meticulous and I will be going to her from now on. I’m pretty picky and hard to please– a perfectionist as my husband always says it. I don’t mind paying for quality but appreciate a good deal and what a deal this was! The reg. price is only $ 15 for regular nail treatment (she gave me 10% off student discount but I felt bad so gave her an extra generous tip). I would say I have paid over $ 30 for my nails at other places and was not as happy with the results. I will be referring all my friends and patients to Sophia.

Terrible experience here. They put me with what looked like the most inexperienced girl. She would barely get the tips to stay glued on. I asked for an almond shape, she said oh oval. No. Almond and oval are different shapes. The girl finally finished my nails after two hours and they look terrible. The lengths aren’t even and you can see the tips right through the gel even though from the beginning she told me it would cover up. Then, Sophia looked at them and kept saying how beautiful they were. I was hoping she would offer to fix them or something… I will never be coming here again. Was so excited to come here. Left very unhappy.
UPDATE: They charged me 2 times and are refusing to refund my money. Went to my bank and they said I have to fill out a fraud form so either way they are going to give me my money back. Regret coming here.

Love this place so much! Everybody here is so friendly and really takes their time on your nails. My manicure looks perfect and I’ve already gotten a few compliments on it.
If you show your student ID you get 10% off and if you pay in cash you get 10% off, as well.
I can’t wait to go back!

The best place i found for Pedis. I am new to the ardmore community. And happy that i found somewhere that does feet. I have never gotten my nails done yet. But plan on it in the future. The gel refills seems a bit pricey. But the pedis, are well worth it! Massage for the calfs and hot wax for the rough parts of the foot. Pedis last for 2 wks no chips:))) and they take their time.

Very friendly and really good service! You can bring your own beverage (byob), which is a bonus for a relaxation! Pedicure is only 30.00 which is very cheap for a mainline. A great place! Definitely returning. I recommend making a reservation!

I only went here because of the convenient location to the house and also because they were basically the only nail salons open on the 4^th of July. The manicure (regular, not gel/​shellac) was only $ 15. It was super cheap and there was parking in the back. My main issue was that the technician kept injuring my cuticle which hurt a lot. Otherwise, I found a new favorite color nail polish and I enjoyed the experience.

Right when I entered, I was rudely greeted. After two days, my manicure is already messed up. You can also see the top coat strokes. Staff left cuticles on both my hands and feet.
Only thing that was worth it was the extensive massage on the legs/​feet. But if I wanted a massage, id go to a spa!
Highly disappointed. I was looking forward to this location because of its high reviews. But I will NOT be returning.

Great pedicure. Best one that I have ever had hands down. The hot stone massage on my feet was amazing, I will be back every two weeks for the pedicure for sure!
I walked in with out an appointment and it was pretty busy, but I was help very quickly. I was a little nervous at first because it was extremely quiet, but I started to relax. I got a manicure and pedicure, the pedicure was for sure better then the mani, but I will still be back for more!

Cute, clean salon in Bryn Mawr. The ladies who work here are very friendly and did a great job with our mani/​pedis! They had a large selection of nail polish colors as well as gel polishes. My friend brought her two-​month-​old baby and the staff was so accommodating and genuinely excited to have him there. I thought the prices were reasonable for the mainline, will definately return!

Well kept, CLEAN, relaxing environment. The ladies are extremely nice and helpful. Killer back massages that are free and don’t forget the student discount!!!
Easily the best nail salon on the mainline.

A calf massage with a hot stone and paraffin wax on the heels during a pedicure.
A hand massage and paraffin wax on the hands during a manicure.
The offer of water or green tea as your feet soak.
A shoulder and neck rub while your nails dry.
This place is a gem, and they don’t charge as much as they should for such stellar service.
Make an appointment with Sophia (the owner) if you can — she excels at her business.
They prefer you tip in cash but there’s an ATM right in the shop, and they’ll make change!

After seeing all of the perfect 5-​star reviews on Unilocal,I decided to bypass my usual pedicure spot in Wayne, in favor of Sophia’s in Bryn Mawr. I called the day of and made an appointment with Sophia.
When I arrived, I was greeted right away, and acknowledged for my appointment. I sat in the pedicure chair, my feet soaking in the hot water, and was greeted warmly by a smiling technician, who offered me some water or green tea.
Sophia came over and went right to work. She spent a couple of minutes buffing my heels and feet until they were silky smooth. She approached each element of the service — the scrubbing, lotioning, toenail cutting, etc. — with an equal eye for detail and finesse.
After the pedicure, I opted to get a manicure as well, even though it wasn’t part of my original plan. While my nails dried, Sophia gave me a lovely shoulder massage.
The mani-​pedi was $ 45 total, but since I paid in cash and had my student ID, she gave me 20% off. The total was $ 36. I had no hesitation tipping 30% for a job well done. I had a wonderful experience at Sophia’s, and though I don’t get my nails done often, I’ll certainly return to Sophia’s next time.

Sophia is the best pedi mani person and place I have been to on the mainline.
Love this nail spa, they do great waxing to.
Prices are great.
Try it you will not be sorry.