Manicure and pedicure,
done with precision

Manicure and pedicure at every salon, and the finish is your choice: no polish, regular polish or gel polish.

Downtown Dubai lists a Russian manicure by that name, priced by finish: no polish, regular polish or gel polish. Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah list the same dry, electric-file technique as an apparat manicure, beside a classic manicure and a file manicure. Palm Jumeirah prices each manicure by the specialist who takes it.

A Russian manicure is dry. There is no soaking bowl, because water swells the skin around the nail and makes it harder to see where living tissue ends. A rotating bit lifts the eponychium and clears the pterygium, the thin band of dead tissue on the nail plate. Gel polish or regular polish then goes on closer to the base, so regrowth takes longer to show. The polish itself lasts the same length of time either way.

Pedicure is on the menu at all three salons, with the same choice of finish. Downtown Dubai's is the Smart pedicure, with no polish, regular polish or gel polish, alongside paraffin, a foot scrub and a foot spa ritual. Dubai Marina lists a classic and an apparat pedicure, and Palm Jumeirah the same two, each with a foot ritual. For feet that need medical rather than cosmetic care, Dubai Marina has a podology section.

Gel polish is at all three salons, on its own or with a manicure or pedicure, and so is gel polish removal. Nail art is priced as design work: Downtown Dubai adds ombré, French or glitter as an extra, while Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah list a creative gel polish in ombré, French, rub-in or glitter, with special designs priced per nail. Nail extensions, refills and removal are at all three salons, with creative nail extensions at Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah, and hard gel for strengthening the natural nail at all three.

The electric file works within a millimetre or two of living tissue, so hygiene matters more here than in a classic manicure. Instruments are autoclave-sterilised and files are single-use at all three salons. Most people come back every three to four weeks, an interval set by how fast your nails grow.