Schedule beauty treatments early
Although it is February 15th (ie December 28th of the lunar calendar), many nail salons (nail salons), eyelash extension salons still operate from early morning until late at night. The worry of "no beautiful nails to play Tet" makes many young people book appointments from 1-2 months to avoid the situation of no place to hire, unpleasant nails.
Ms. Nguyen Phuong Chi (Yen Hoa ward, Hanoi) actively booked appointments from the beginning of January 2026 to ensure having beautiful nails in the first days of reunion at the beginning of the year; "Last year I was subjective, did not book in advance, and went to a familiar place to make nails close to the date, so the nails were not perfect. When I came home to clean the house, the base of the nails had peeled off, because the shop closed after that day, I could not repair them anymore. I couldn't make a satisfactory nails, so Tet that year was not complete".
Learning from the experience of the previous year, Ms. Chi has consulted many places to choose reputable and affordable nail salons. :"On Tet, the price will be slightly higher than usual, but if you pre-order and make it earlier, I don't think it will be too expensive. This set of nails just covers the nail and cat eyes, so I was quoted a price of over 300,000 VND".
Stores do not accept bookings, collect additional fees
However, not everyone has time to book early. Recorded at a nail salon, on Lang street, Hanoi, the store does not accept pre-booking but only issues an order number directly. Customers will come to the place to get the number, sit and wait or take advantage of doing personal work and then return.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Van (Lang ward, Hanoi) came to queue from 8:55 but was only allowed to work at 9:50.
Ms. Van added that inside the shop there are about nearly 20 employees working continuously. Each employee on peak days can serve more than 10 customers, some people work up to 13 customers, on average each customer takes about an hour and a half with basic requirements.
Many people left halfway because they waited too long. Some customers completed the service at the same time as the store closed after a long working day.
Sharing with reporters, the store employee said that the shift started from 8 am. "We just had time to eat breakfast and then worked tirelessly. We had to prepare dry rations, milk, and bread to replenish. Some employees finished early, around 10:25 pm, the shift started to end" - this employee said.
From December 17-18 of the lunar calendar to now, the store is overloaded every day. "The daily income of each employee can reach about 3-5 million VND depending on the number of customers" - the employee informed.
Due to increased demand, in addition to service prices, nail technicians will charge an additional 30,000 VND, and eyelash extensions will charge an additional 50,000 VND. If working overtime, the store charges an additional 50,000 VND for late work to support staff.
The pressure of work lasting for many hours even caused an employee in the store to be exhausted and have low blood pressure. "Many people, due to being greedy for work, did not take advantage of eating and drinking, so they became exhausted. That person had to sit and wait for relatives to pick them up because they could not go home by themselves," the employee said.
Despite being tired, the staff still try to welcome each visitor. "Everyone wants to be beautiful on Tet, so despite the pressure, we still try to be as meticulous as possible" - a staff member shared.
The closer to Tet, the higher the demand for beauty. Nail salons are brightly lit until late at night, customers waiting fully seated from early morning are a familiar image in the last days of the year in Hanoi.
