Why I Tipped 200% at a Nail Salon

Nail Polish selection at a local salon in Greek town Toronto. Illustration by Margaret Bi.

I have never gotten my nails done until the day after I finished my program. I went on a trip with my boyfriend to celebrate in Toronto.

I will let you in on a little secret. The way to becoming more confident is getting your nails done, ladies and gentleman. 

There is a term in psychology called the spotlight effect in which people believe that they are being noticed more than they really are. Usually, this tends to be negative. For example, if you have a little stain on your shirt—you think everybody knows. However, you think people will notice because your mind shined a spotlight on it. In reality, nobody notices. 

Conversely, your nails can be that little spotlight that makes you feel good and give you that silent confidence. 

I walked into the salon to be seated in front of a specialist with broken English. She asked me how I would like my nails done. To be honest, I didn’t know the difference between the shape and styles of polish.

She couldn’t explain the diverse options so her manager takes over while remarking that the girl in front of me has poor English. I didn’t really mind.

While she was doing my nails I realized that they spoke Mandarin. I ended up switching over to speaking in Chinese eventually.

I quite enjoyed myself until the manager popped by every few minutes to criticize the girl in a “joking” way.

• Don’t mind her she’s new.

• She’s so slow at painting.

• She doesn’t know what colours look nice.

• Don’t take her advice.

• Her English is awful. 

After the manager left, I asked the girl where she was from. She’s was from a little village in China where she never had the opportunity to learn English or pursue higher education. I decided to switch the topic and ask her why she decided to come to Canada. She said “because Canada is beautiful.”

I asked her if she likes to go travelling to places like Niagara falls?

She said she hasn’t been travelling in Canada because she can’t.

Can’t? Why not? 

She told me she didn’t have any friends. She told me she was afraid to do anything, because she doesn’t speak English. 

At the moment, I really wanted to say: “WELL, I’LL BE YOUR FRIEND, YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AFRAID!” But, I knew that would be pointless, because I was only in Toronto for a few more hours. Plus, I knew absolutely nothing about her or her situation.

I thought about how vulnerable she must feel to be in a foreign country not knowing the language and being bullied at her daily job. To be honest, she brought out my deeper anxiety of vulnerability. I’m afraid of something that I cannot pinpoint at the moment.

I felt like the best thing I can do for her is help her out a little bit by leaving a good tip and review. I had saved a certain amount of money to go shopping that day as a reward for finishing my bachelor’s degree. I decided to give all of that to her as a tip. 

It wasn’t because I felt bad for her, but rather she evoked a deeper emotion within me that forced me to be self aware. I admired her grit and bravery.