Nobody talks about this until it has already happened to them. You find a tech on Instagram. The feed looks immaculate. You send the deposit, sit for three hours, pay ₦40,000, and post the photos that evening. Five days later the first nail lifts. By day eight, three have gone, and the tech has stopped replying to your messages. Lagos has thousands of nail technicians, and the gap between the best and the worst is enormous — not just in how the set looks, but in whether your natural nails survive it. The good news is that almost everything you need to know is knowable before you book. It takes about five minutes and four or five questions. Here is what to check.
- How they clean their tools This is the one that actually matters for your health, and it is the one almost nobody asks about. There is a real difference between three things that get used interchangeably: • Wiping — a cloth and some spirit. This is not cleaning. • Disinfecting — soaking metal implements in a hospital-grade disinfectant solution for the full contact time stated on the bottle, usually around ten minutes. • Sterilising — an autoclave, which uses pressurised steam to kill everything, including spores. Metal tools that touch your skin and cuticles — cuticle nippers, pushers, tweezers — should be properly disinfected between every client, and ideally autoclaved. A UV box is not a steriliser. It is a storage box. If a studio points at one as proof of hygiene, that is a useful signal about the rest of their practice. Porous items are a separate issue. Nail files, buffers and orange wood sticks cannot be disinfected properly, because the solution cannot reach through the material. They should be brand new for you, or kept in a labelled bag as yours and yours alone. If the file that touches your nails came out of the same tub as everyone else's, that is your answer. What to ask: "How do you sterilise your tools between clients, and are files new for each person?" A good tech will answer this immediately and in detail, often with a hint of pride. Hesitation, vagueness or offence is the information you came for.
- Ask to see work they actually did An Instagram feed is a highlight reel, and in the nail world it is sometimes not even the tech's own work. Reposted photos from overseas artists are common enough that you should assume nothing. Two requests cut straight through this. Ask for photos from their camera roll. Unedited, unfiltered, in ordinary salon light. Anyone doing consistent work will have hundreds and will not mind sharing a few. Ask to see a set at two weeks. This is the single most revealing question you can ask, and almost no one asks it. Fresh nails under a ring light look good on almost anybody. Healed work — two weeks in, after showers, washing up, work and life — tells you whether the application was structurally sound. You are looking for nails still sitting flush at the cuticle, with no lifting at the base and no visible gap. If a tech has no two-week photos at all, they may simply never have thought to take them. But it is worth noting that clients who are happy at two weeks tend to send pictures.
- Get the full price before you sit down Lagos nail pricing is quoted in a way that invites misunderstanding, and the misunderstanding almost always runs in one direction. A quoted "base price" frequently covers a short, simple set in a single colour. Charged separately, often without being mentioned until the end: • Length — anything beyond short usually steps up in price • Shape — stiletto, coffin and almond typically cost more than square or round • Nail art — often priced per nail, which adds up faster than people expect • Removal and soak-off — including removing work done elsewhere • Repairs — for any nail damaged between appointments "Price on request" or "DM for prices" is not automatically a red flag; plenty of good techs price by consultation because the work genuinely varies. What matters is that you get the full number, for your specific set, in writing before you commit. A WhatsApp message stating the total is enough. What to ask: "For [length, shape, colour, art], including removal, what is the total?" Anyone running a real business can answer that in one message.
- Ask what they are putting on your nails You are letting someone apply chemistry to your body for the next three weeks. It is reasonable to ask what it is. Ask which brand of gel or acrylic they use. Established professional brands cost more and behave predictably. Unbranded product decanted into unlabelled pots is a gamble with both durability and your skin. Ask specifically about MMA. Methyl methacrylate is a cheap acrylic monomer that has been restricted for nail use in a number of countries, including by the US FDA, because it bonds far too aggressively to the natural nail and can cause serious damage during removal. It still circulates in discount salons because it is inexpensive. The professional standard is EMA — ethyl methacrylate. A tech who does not know the difference is telling you something. Ask whether they drill on the natural nail. An electric file has legitimate uses: shaping product, removing gel, refining an edge. Running it across your natural nail plate to "rough it up" for adhesion thins the nail permanently. Repeated over months, this is the cause of the bendy, painfully thin nails people blame on gel itself. Gel is rarely the culprit. Application and removal usually are.
- Find out what happens if something goes wrong Three questions, and they double as a test of whether you are dealing with a business or a hobby. How long will the appointment take? A full set is not a thirty-minute job. If the answer sounds rushed, the prep is what gets cut, and prep is what makes a set last. What is the cancellation and deposit policy? Clear terms are a good sign, not a bad one. Vague terms tend to become expensive later. If a nail lifts within a week, what happens? This is the important one. Most experienced techs offer a free fix inside a defined window, because they know sound work does not fail in seven days. A tech who has never considered the question has either not been doing this long or does not expect to see you again. The short version Before you send a deposit, you want to know: how tools are cleaned, what their healed work looks like, the full price for your specific set, what product is going on your nails, and what happens if something fails. Five minutes of questions. It is the difference between a set that lasts three weeks and a set that costs you both the money and your natural nails. Booking without the guesswork The reason this checklist exists is that the information is hard to get. You are piecing together a judgement from an Instagram grid, a WhatsApp conversation and whatever a friend remembers. Ruby+ exists to close that gap. Nail technicians and studios on Ruby+ are verified before they are listed, reviews come from people who actually booked, and pricing is visible before you commit — so the checks above are largely done for you. Browse verified nail techs across Lags on Ruby+.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I go back for a fill? ** Most gel and acr**ylic sets need infilling every two to three weeks, depending on how fast your nails grow. Leaving it much longer changes the balance of the nail and makes lifting and breakage more likely.
Is gel or acrylic better for my natural nails?
Neither is inherently damaging. Both are safe when applied and removed properly, and both cause damage when they are not. Application technique and removal method matter far more than which system you pick.
How can I tell if a tech is sterilising properly?
Ask directly, and watch what comes out at the start of your appointment. Metal tools should come from a sealed pouch or a disinfectant solution, not a drawer. Files and buffers should be new or marked as yours.
What should I do if a nail lifts a few days after my appointment?
Message your tech straight away with a photo, and avoid picking at it — pulling a lifted nail off takes layers of your natural nail with it. Most techs will fix a genuine early failure at no cost.