Our Story

Founded by co-owners Andree Connell and Alex Sirois, Buff & File opened in 2014 and has since grown to a team of 20+. Our nail bar offers a modern mani-pedi experience that strives to be the best nail care on the Seacoast. We offer non-toxic, vegan, and gel nail polish while stocking the widest possible range of colors. We promise that you will find our nail bar clean, relaxing, and full of choices for both service price points as well as nail color. Buff + File also offers waxing and Flash Facial skin care services in addition to manicures and pedicures. 

What is non-toxic polish?

Our non-toxic polishes are free of the most harmful ingredients typically found in nail products:  3-free polishes are formulated without formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and toluene; 5-free are formulated without formaldehyde resin and camphor as well. 7-free polish lines are formulated without formaldehyde, toluene, DBP, formaldehyde resin, camphor, xylene or MEK. Non-toxic lines that we carry include Dazzle Dry (14-free and vegan) and OPI (3-free).

What is gel polish?

Gel polish cures to an instantly dry finish using skin safe (non-UV) LED lights. We carry OPI gel and CND Shellac. A gel manicure will keep your nails perfectly polished and shining for up to two weeks. With our full gel service, we offer a 7 day guarantee - if your nails chip, we will repair them free of charge within 7 days. 

What is The CLEAN Pedicure?

We're committed to the overall health of our customers and consider hygiene in our nail bar among our highest priorities. The Clean Pedicure encompasses our use of sterilized and single-use implements, as well as our choice to use non-porous pedicure bowls with no jets. Improper sterilization of tools can risk the spread of disease from customer to customer, while jets in traditional pedicure bowls are extremely difficult to clean effectively, and harmful bacteria easily grows there. Our system allows our customers to relax with the peace of mind that every precaution is taken to protect their health.  

Policies

Appointments
We recommend that appointments be made in advance so that we are able to accommodate your specific scheduling requests. However, we are happy to accommodate walk-ins as time allows. 

Cancellations
Due to the high demand for appointments and to be respectful of our staff's time, we kindly request at least 24 hours notice when canceling an appointment. When appointments are cancelled with less than 2 hours notice or in the case of a no-show, a charge equal to the full amount of the appointment fee may be applied. The first appointments of the day (M-F 10am, Sat 9am, Sun 11am) must be canceled prior to closing the evening before or a full charge may be applied. Arriving late for an appointment may result in a shortened service with the full original service charge applied. Upon arrival, if you choose to shorten your appointment (examples: changing from a Mani-Pedi combo to a Mani only or from a Deluxe Pedi to an Express Pedi), this will be treated as a late cancellation and will be charged according to what appointment(s) were originally booked.

Our cancellation policy reflects the time and care our technicians provide to you and also covers missed opportunities for income as other clients could have booked in for the time that you initially scheduled. Thank you for understanding and for considering our staff's time as valuable as we do!

Late Arrivals
Please call in advance if you are expecting to be late. If you are 10 minutes or more late, your
appointment may be given away or your service may be shortened to ensure that the next client starts on schedule. All late arrivals are subject to full charge.

Payment & Gratuity
Cash is always appreciated but we also accept credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express). We do not accept personal checks. A gratuity is not included in the price of the service - it is left to the discretion of the client and should be based on personal satisfaction. Gratuity may be paid in cash, or included on your credit card. For parties of 5 or more, a minimum of 20% gratuity is required for each guest's service.

Refunds or Exchanges 
No refunds or exchanges on products we sell in the salon.

Repairs for Gel Polish:
Our $44 Gel Manicure service includes a 7-day guarantee, so any chips in your gel manicure will be repaired free of charge within 7 days of the original service. While repairs are complimentary, please book your repair service at the very first sign of chipping so that we can get you in asap for the fix, and check ALL of your nails to make sure no others are compromised. Appointments are still strongly recommended to ensure we can accommodate you - must call the salon to book. To ensure proper color matching we highly recommend booking this service in the same location as your original appointment. We will not guarantee to have your exact color if you book at a different location. Free chip repair is available in the same color as the original manicure only. Re-polishing all of your nails in a different color will result in an additional charge. Free chip repair does not apply to the Express Gel Manicure service.

Repairs for Regular Polish:
We take every measure to ensure a long lasting regular polish manicure, however, due to the impermanent nature of traditional nail polishes and lacquers, we cannot guarantee the lifespan of regular polish manicures, including Dazzle Dry polish. Only our $44 Gel Manicure service is guaranteed for 10 days.

Nail Art
We aim to accommodate each client's wishes for nail art and design within their reserved appointment time. If you would like nail art or designer nails, please specify when booking. For online booking, select your preferred nail art from the options listed under “Advanced Beauty” in addition to your manicure. We kindly remind our guests that you will need to work within the timeframe you have reserved and within the skill set of your technician. We encourage you to bring photos of any desired custom nail art!

Staffing
Unless a staff member is booked by specific request, we reserve the right to move appointments amongst our staff if timing or other service related issues arise. This allows us to provide a consistent high quality experience for all guests.

Gel Soak Offs/Removals
For any gel manicure applied at other salons or with our “Express Gel” service, the charge for Gel Removal/Soak Off is $10 and should be booked as a service to account for the time needed to remove the gel. To remove SNS Powder Dip, the charge is $20 as we do not use drills - we use the slightly more time and labor intensive process of soaking with acetone and hand filing - this protects the health of the natural nail. Please select the service called “Powder Dip System/SNS Gel Removal.” We do not remove hard gel product as we do not use drills on fingernails and hard gel is not acetone soluble.

Winter Pedicure Notice: If your service includes a pedicure, please bring your flip flops! It is the only way to ensure your polish does not get smudged before you get home. Alternatively, please allow 20 minutes to sit and dry before putting on your shoes - with or without oil and bags provided here at the salon. Polish smudges due to wearing shoes out of the salon will be fixed for a charge.

Pricing
In order to maintain our high standards of quality, prices and services are subject to change without notice.

Gift Certificates
Gift certificates are transferable, and may be redeemed for product as well as services. Gift certificates are non-refundable.

Guests will fully indemnify and hold harmless Buff & File Nail Bar from and against all liabilities, claims, expenses, damages and losses, including legal fees (on an indemnity basis), arising out of or in connection with salon services and/or facilities.