MONLIS — First Visit at MONLIS: What to Know Before Your First Appointment

A little uncertainty before a first appointment at a new nail or beauty salon is something almost everyone knows. You don’t quite know what to expect, whether you need to prepare anything, or how much time to set aside. At MONLIS, with three studios in Munich and six different treatment categories — manicure and pedicure, eyebrows and eyelashes, laser hair removal, facial treatments, massage, and personal consultation —, a first visit can look quite different depending on the service you book. Over 10,000 clients have already tried MONLIS — a first visit to the nail salon runs quite differently from a first laser hair removal session. This article covers what matters before your appointment, how the process actually looks — and what you should bring along.

What to Know Before Your Appointment

The short answer: it depends on which treatment you’ve booked. For a manicure or pedicure, no special preparation is needed. For a laser treatment, however, there are clear rules you should follow beforehand.

For laser hair removal: avoid sun exposure and tanning beds on the treatment area for at least two weeks before your appointment. Some studios recommend up to four weeks, since tanned skin affects both the effectiveness and safety of the treatment. Waxing or epilating should also be avoided for at least four weeks beforehand — the laser needs the hair root in the follicle. Shaving, on the other hand, is not a problem, even shortly before your appointment.

If you’re booking a facial treatment such as a classic cleansing, avoid aggressive peels for 2 to 3 days beforehand so your skin isn’t further irritated. For manicures and pedicures, on the other hand: short nails are not an issue, and any existing nail polish doesn’t need to be removed beforehand — the studio takes care of that.

First Visit to a Nail Salon in Munich: Check-In and Initial Consultation

Every first visit begins with a short, personal conversation — not with the treatment itself. You’ll be welcomed, given a few minutes to settle in, and then the specialist will ask about your wishes, any allergies, and previous experience.

For a manicure, for instance, you might be asked whether your nails are sensitive or whether you’ve had issues with gel or shellac before. For a laser treatment, a brief skin and hair analysis follows so the laser settings can be matched to your skin type. This conversation rarely takes longer than 10 to 15 minutes, but it’s the most important part of a first visit — this is where expectations are aligned before anything actually happens.

Your Treatment Step by Step

What happens after the consultation depends on the service you’ve booked — which makes sense, since a pedicure runs at a different pace than a laser treatment.

Manicure and Pedicure

After the consultation comes nail care, followed — if you’d like — by polish application with OPI, CND Shellac, or Luxio. At the end, there’s a quick check: does the shape sit right, is the color correct? What the appointment costs depends on the studio, the chosen service (with or without French or design elements, for example), and the specialist; exact prices are shown when booking.

Eyebrows and Eyelashes

If you choose eyebrows or eyelashes, shape consultation is followed by tweezing, tinting, or lamination. For eyelash extensions, the technique — Classic, 2D, or 3D — adds some extra time for application.

Laser Hair Removal

Laser hair removal follows a different rhythm. After the skin analysis, the area is cleaned and a cooling gel applied. Then the laser systematically passes over the area. Your first appointment takes noticeably longer than all following ones. That’s not just because of the consultation: a test pulse shows in advance how your skin reacts, before the actual session begins. After that, six to ten sessions spaced four to eight weeks apart are typical, depending on the area and hair growth cycle.

Facial Treatments

Facial treatments begin with cleansing and skin analysis, followed by the actual treatment with a peel or mask. At the end, there’s aftercare and a few recommendations for home.

Massage

And if you need some downtime after your beauty treatment: MONLIS also offers back and full-body massages, bookable on their own or combined with other services.

Hygiene and Safety at MONLIS

All instruments are sterilized after every client, supplemented with disposable materials wherever it makes sense. This is not a voluntary extra: nail and beauty studios in Bavaria are bound by the recommendations of the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care, in particular the Bavarian Hygiene Regulation, which requires, among other things, the disinfection of all work surfaces and instruments and the use of sterile or disposable tools for skin-penetrating treatments. Comparable hygiene principles — though from a different federal state and therefore only a general point of reference — are described, for example, in guidance from the Bremen public health office on hygiene in cosmetic and nail studios. Purely decorative services that don’t break the skin (such as polishing or eyebrow tweezing) are subject to somewhat less strict requirements than skin-penetrating treatments like nail modeling or pedicures — at MONLIS, however, the same high hygiene standards apply across all services.

This doesn’t mean every client needs to know these regulations in detail — but it explains why certain steps in the process (such as opening sealed instrument sets right before your eyes) aren’t for show, but standard practice.

This section describes general industry practice and does not replace individual medical advice.

Language Is No Barrier

Something many first-time clients don’t expect: consultations at MONLIS aren’t only in German. The team speaks German, English, Ukrainian, and Russian — a combination barely any other studio in Munich offers in this form. Especially for the Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking community in Munich, this is more than a nice gesture: anyone who wants to discuss nail or laser care in their native language, without first translating technical terms, will find one of the few addresses offering this range here.

What to Bring to Your First Appointment

An ID is not required for the treatment itself. What’s useful instead: comfortable clothing, especially for pedicures or laser treatments on the legs — pants that roll up easily save you hassle. If you have allergies or take medication that makes your skin more sensitive (such as certain antibiotics or retinoids before a laser treatment), mention this during the consultation — it affects how the treatment is adjusted. If you have a specific nail shape or design in mind, you can bring a reference photo; this makes communication much easier than a purely verbal description.

Common Concerns of First-Time Clients

Three questions come up again and again at MONLIS, no matter which treatment is booked.

Does it hurt? Barely noticeable for manicures, pedicures, or eyebrows. For laser hair removal, most clients describe each pulse as a quick snap, comparable to a rubber band on the wrist — noticeable, but according to consistent feedback, quite bearable, especially with modern cooling technology.

What if I don’t like the result in the end? That’s exactly what the consultation is for: wishes, uncertainties, and any reference photos brought along are discussed beforehand, so there’s no surprise at the end.

Your First Step Matters

An appointment that starts with a conversation instead of pressure — that’s essentially the whole principle behind a first visit at MONLIS. What you need to prepare depends on the service you’ve booked: for manicure and nail design, almost nothing; for a laser treatment, on the other hand, a few clear rules about sun and hair removal. If you’re planning laser hair removal, it’s also worth taking a look at the specific session intervals.

The three studios are centrally located in Munich: Goetheplatz, Westpark, and Karlstraße — so there’s usually a location nearby, without tying you to a single appointment or a particular specialist. Online booking is open around the clock, and consultations are available in your own native language on request. If you’re unsure which treatment suits you: a short conversation on-site usually clears that up faster than any Google search could.

→ Book your appointment at MONLIS in Munich now

This article is for general information purposes only and does not replace advice from a doctor or specialist.