A woman went viral on TikTok after sharing her anxiety-inducing experience at a nail salon that she said ultimately left her in tears.
Jaycie Kathleen (@jayciekathleen3) said she went to a nail salon hoping to get “birthday nails” before taking a trip to Florida.
“I’m getting my nails done for the first time in almost a whole year,” she said. Kathleen added that the last time she got her nails done, at the same salon, was in August.
At the time of recording, Kathleen sported chipped, red nails that she described as “pretty tragic.” She said that she normally does press-ons or paints her own nails, but wanted to switch it up and do “something really fun.”
The fun stopped, however, shortly after she entered the salon.
‘I remembered why I don’t go to nail salons’
Kathleen said she entered the salon with eight inspiration pictures on deck. In short, she wanted pink gradient nails with cherry art. But the workers weren’t having it. She said that one of the workers made fun of her for sharing an inspirational picture that had orange mixed in, while other employees laughed at her request.
“I remembered why I don’t go to nail salons,” the content creator said. “I walked in and they started laughing at what I asked for.”
Kathleen recorded this portion of her video, which has more nearly 6 million views, outside of the salon. She was visibly shaken and said she was waiting for her husband to come pick her up.
“I just wanted birthday nails,” she said through tears. “I just wanted something special.”
What happened next?
In a follow-up clip, Kathleen said that she didn’t expect the video about her nails to “blow up.” She explained, too, that she suffers from anxiety disorder but that she’s diligent about taking medicine to combat this.
“I am a soft and sensitive person,” she said.
Kathleen said that she showed up early to her appointment, but claimed that workers were immediately dismissive. “That’s when I first started to get anxious,” the content creator explained.
Eventually, she said she left the salon because she started to shake. She claimed that the workers never apologized for laughing at her, but were fixated on the fact that they supposedly “couldn’t” do the design she wanted.
In the end, Kathleen said she called a friend for a recommendation and ended up getting her nail done at another nearby salon.
Viewers weigh in
In the comments section, viewers blasted workers at the nail salon, which went unnamed, for taking away Kathleen’s joy.
“I’m like genuinely very upset over seeing how excited you were,” one person wrote.
“How dare they upset you like that,” another added.
“This made me so sad!!! You were so excited to get your nails done and for a special occasion,” a third viewer said.
Others, meanwhile, guessed that the salon workers were unkind because they couldn’t pull off the design the content creator wanted.
“They’re laughing because they don’t know how to do it and put their embarrassment on you,” one viewer offered.
“They probably weren’t capable [enough] to do it,” another said.
“My first thought was that they were being mean and difficult because they didn’t have the skill set to pull it off,” a third person suggested.
And, in the future, some women recommended that Kathleen go to a private salon.
“You gotta find a tech with a private studio space,” one user advised. “This is exactly why I stopped going to salons. They are so much more stressful and don’t care about your experience.”
@jayciekathleen3 nail day! or so i thought
♬ original sound – Jaycie Kathleen
“You need an independent nail artist with her own space,” another said. “Such better quality.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Kathleen via TikTok comment.
