Ultimate Nail Care

Don’t bother. Place is a dump. It’s not only small but it’s outdated and old. I wanted to soak my gel nails with foil and a cotton ball on the nail. But the workers insisted this is faster. I had to put my whole fingers in a small puddle of acetone that didn’t even cover the entire nail. No thanks dude! Nail salons should be up to date with their stuff. Let’s start with buying a box of aluminum foil is only $ 5 at the supermarket… Sorry… I don’t like writing bad reviews but I did waste 10 minutes being there and I didn’t like the way they handled things.

Service was great. The owner did my pedicure and did an excellent job. The pedicure was great. I especially loved the exfoliant put on my calves and feet. I will be back again.

Decided to try this place since it’s near my job. I was iffy to go in because of some of the reviews but decided to give it a try. I got a pedi and a gel manicure ($ 52 before tip). The girl who did both was friendly and did a good job would definitely go back again.

Helen is So Friendly! Warm, inviting, and efficient! Tucked away on Grove street, I’m sorry I have not been in sooner to treat myself. Being in the beauty business I def apprecaite great customer service, it goes a long way. Not only that but she’s very down to earth! Check out her space.

A small store and nothing fancy but it’s two blocks from the grove street path station and the service is very thorough and professional. The pedicure was a real well executed quality treatment and I was very grateful to the level of attention and dedication to getting the job done perfectly. I treated myself to a gel mani and pedi for my birthday and I’m glad I got them done at Ultimate Nail. I will definitely be coming back.

This my my nail place! I love Helen and her team, I have been a customer for at least 5 years now. They have set the bar high and I can’t go anywhere else. Helen makes you feel welcomed and cared for. I highly recommend Anna (she does my mani and pedi), she listens and pampers me well. I have now moved out of JC, but still come here from Brooklyn,

I have to say that I’m bewildered by the negative reviews posted here. I’ve been coming here regularly since Helen opened the shop, and I have never, ever had anything less than a great experience. I’ve been living in the neighborhood for almost 20 years, and I’ve tried most of the nail salons. This one is always spotless clean, the service is great, the techs are totally professional and skilled, and everyone there is always warm and friendly. I go there regularly for eyebrow waxing as well as for my nails, and no matter how unkempt I feel going in, I always look a million times better when I walk out. Reasonable prices and great service. Is there a wait on the weekends and in the evening? Sometimes, sure, but you get ample warning, and in my opinion, it’s worth the wait.

When I called to make an appointment, she first let me know that they do not take appointments only first come first serve. This was okay for me on that particular day but might not work when I am on a strict time schedule.
It is right across from the Path station so it is conveniently located in Downtown JC. The location could be updated a bit but isn’t terrible. It is very small.
They were pretty clean, but I still think there are areas in which they could do better. I am not a nail technician but watch everything that is done to my nails when I do get them done. Some of their methods were a bit strange compared to other salons I have been to.
They had a good choice of OPI gel colors specifically which I find to always be the best. After doing research they have the cheapest Pedi in the area for 20 dollars. So after a Gel Manicure and Ped it came out to $ 52 before tip. So I didn’t think that was toooooo bad.
I will more than likely come here again but will also be trying other salons too.

I popped in here for a pedicure on my last evening in the US before moving. Getting my toes pampered and prettied sounded like a great pre-​travel idea. The pedicure was nice — nothing special. Have I had better? Yes. But it wasn’t bad, save for the 1^st technician (1 started, 1 finished) on the pedi (who I believe was the owner) who nicked my big toe as she was trimming the nails. Not a biggie, it didn’t draw blood or anything, but I did jump a little and didn’t get an «I’m sorry.» The same gal made me wait a really long time after I’d finished under the nail dryer to pay.
The 2^nd technician who finished things from about the 30% point onward was much better. A week later and the polish is still looking great.
By the time I left, quite a few people were waiting and one gal was turned away due to lack of space so it seems that this place keeps busy enough. The services given were just fine, but the customer service could use some improving.

I keep coming back here and am always happy. Helen really knows her nails. It’s too bad they don’t take appointments, but they’re pretty good about fitting you in. Sure, you could go get a better spa pedicure somewhere else for twice the money. But for the value, this place can’t be beat.

In my experience, if you are not a regular, or friends with the owner, they don’t care about you.
I’ve lived in the area for over 2 years now and have gone to Ultimate Nails purely because it’s convenient. They generally do a good job, which is why I’ve gone back, but their service is sub-​par. This is the only place that has ever yelled at me for reading my kindle while getting a manicure!
Last week I rushed home from work just so I could get a manicure before they closed. I got there 6:43 (they close at 7) and they were already locking up the building! The prior day I walked by at 7:05, and they were still finishing up people that got there before 7.
Between the poor treatment, unreliable hours, and the fact that they’re closed on Sundays, I’ll stick to other nail salons in the area.

After moving to the area and chewing up my nails from unpacking, I DESPERATELY needed a fill and tip repair.
I chose this place as it was closest to my apartment.
I walk in and tell her I need a fill and pedicure. I get the stare down and am gruffly asked what I have on my nails. Acrylics.
She simply told me, (without looking at me and continuing to work on the woman there,) «we don’t do acrylics.» And continued working as I stood there. Sheesh!
There are much nicer salons in the area that also do acrylics with less crotchety women.

I have always passed by this nail salon and really have not entered, until a girlfriend suggested it to me. So glad I listened! This place is great — the staff is professional and the place is clean. The prices are very reasonable as well. They use OPI and Essie polishes, which I love! As I was told, Mondays and Fridays are busy, so I’m definitely going to go on the off days. This will definitely be my new local nail spa!

As I type, I am overdue for my next OPI gel mani and I need to go give Helen and the ladies a visit!
The owner, Helen, and her staff are all a pleasure to spend an hour or two with for some pampering. She is very friendly and I have never received anything less than a warm, professional, friendly experience from her staff. They have a great location on Grove St. in downtown JC, so for me it’s a quick walk from the PATH station. It is smaller than some of the competitors in the area near Newark Ave. but I find it to be much cleaner and never as crowded so it is sincerely an all-​around win!
If you are into long-​lasting gel manicures as I am, Helen has several of the different types available, but the OPI gel color receives my nomination as the best because it is more gentle on your nails than the original OPI gel in the jars, yet it lasts longer than the Shellac. There are tons of beautiful colors to choose from at Ultimate and the prices are VERY reasonable!

First timer. Waited 45 mins for EYEBROWS. then the owner told me i had only been waiting for 10! Even someone in the salon stuck up for me to say they saw me sit through two episodes of the stupid daytime TV show they had on. Not even an apology, which i’m reading is a habit.
The lady who actually did my eyebrows was completely inadequate to handle the task.
Wax burned my face, little hairs left all over, and she shortened my brows with is a REALLY stupid thing to do because anyone who does eyebrows has the common sense to know that depletes your shape. Because the girl didn’t speak english well, when i asked her to stop she didn’t understand and trimmed away.
Horrible, horrible, horrible. Stay home or go elsewhere.

I was brunching on Grove St Saturday and was in desperate need of a pedicure. I Unilocaled what was around within walking distance and found this place.
I was greeted as I walked in and was quickly ushered back to choose my color and sit at the pedicure chair. They have a nice selection of colors from OPI and essie. They also had several gel colors. The lady was very nice and worked quickly. I didn’t see any magazines which was weird but the tv was on so that provided some distraction. I decided to turn on the massage chair and it was very powerful! lol
Overall, a solid 3 star nail place. I have been to better but I have also been to worse. The pedicure was a decent quality and was $ 22 which to me is about an average price. I will probably be back if I find myself if need of a pedicure and am in the area.

After some positive reviews, I gave this salon a try. As a first time customer, only cold service from owner and workers is what I have been treated. But I saw big difference when they faced the regular. The person who did my nail was hard to communicate with and only communicated by demanding dabs on my feet or hands.
Well, a regular always begins with good impression and warm welcome. Apparently I won’t be one. Especially, no one bothered to say thank you or come again when I stepped out of the salon.

It’s cheap (8 bucks for a mani), close to home, and an okay job. I was a little skeptic at first because it looks like a hole in the wall joint and I was used to going to Grace Nails (fancy brand new place opened in 2008), but they did a decent job and the girls/​manager were nice. I had no problem booking an appointment (which I experienced every time with grace nails). The equipments definitely needs an upgrade though.

Stay away from this place.
Last week, the manicurist (I believe she is also the owner, as her name is on the business cards) at Ultimate Nail Salon cut my finger and sent me home without so much as an apology. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, I immediately cleaned the wound with soap, then alcohol once I got home, which is about two blocks away. Within hours, the left side of my fingernail (where the wound was inflicted) swelled up, and has progressively gotten worse each day, despite periodic cleaning and daily application of Neosporin at the site.
Yesterday the pain was unbearable and I started to see pus, so today (4 days since the incident) I decided to see my doctor, who confirmed that I have Paronychia (an infection in the nail region, which may be a bacterial or fungal infection). He said that 9 times out of 10, these are caused by dirty nail instruments at nail salons. This was before I told him that I had my manicure done last Friday and that the nail tech had cut my finger.
I went back to the nail salon and spoke with the owner (?) Helen, who was very aggressive and defensive. When she asked to see my finger, she accidentally (?) pressed the infected part, which caused me to scream in pain, and caused more blood to ooze out of the wound she inflicted on me last Friday. I told her that she never even apologized during my manicure last week, and that again she didn’t even apologize for hurting me even more. Only then did she apologize, and smugly at that.
I told her I had just seen my doctor and he confirmed that it was an infection, often caused by dirty nail instruments. Her response was to point at the toaster-​looking sanitizers (not sure if those were autoclaves) and taunted me to call the Department of Health. I told her that there was no guarantee that she cleaned her instruments before working on me, and our «dialogue» escalated at that point. Before leaving I repeatedly asked her to give me the number for the DOH as I now intended to report her (I had no intention of doing this prior to this), which she refused to do. (EDIT: I have now reported this nail salon to the JC DOH, and am in the process of filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau).
I am uploading a photo of my finger after today’s visit to this nail salon and you guys can be the judge. I am now on antibiotics, and may have to return to my doctor’s office on Friday (7 days after the manicurist cut my finger) so he can slice my finger to remove the pus if conditions do not improve.
Normally I’m a big proponent of supporting local businesses, but I can’t support this one based on the salon’s practices and that owner’s smug attitude.

Snowed in, antsy, and on the fourth viewing of the same movie in a three-​day span, one becomes all too aware that her nails are a disgrace and her face may start to resemble a Wookee’s. Such is the case recently when a dear friend (local) and I (visiting from Boston) decided to find the nearest nail salon from where we were staying at the time and at the very least try find *something* to go well with our red noses.
My friend had passed this place during her normal day-​to-​day routines but had her own go-​to in another part of town, and other friends local to JC didn’t even bother to stay in town when they needed a fix, crossing the bridge to the Other City for their nail care. So neither of us had any idea what to expect, being that we had no reviews to go by — word of mouth or otherwise.
Ultimate Nail Care is a pretty, clean, sweet little place, clearly run by people who know how to do it right. We both got great manicures, and they were attended to quickly and efficiently, and they have lasted quite well considering not just the everyday wear and tear of two working women, but the weather conditions and the necessary use of gloves.
We both also got our eyebrows waxed, and we were both amazed at what a great job our technicians did! Normally, when a new person attends to one’s eyebrows, the results could be almost disastrous — even when the technician is great at her job. It takes time for the waxer to get accustomed to what the customer wants and how they want to look, and while usually after a few trials and tribulations things work themselves out, it’s usually an arduous process. Not the case here. My friend and I were quite impressed with the precision and obvious talent of our waxers (who were also responsible for our great manicures).
Even better are the prices! Very affordable and fair. Cheaper than the other places both of us normally go to, and certainly less expensive than the ones our friends visit in Manhattan.
I think this might just be Jersey City’s hidden gem when it comes to nail care and waxing. I’ll be back the next time I’m in town!