Severely Bitten Nails

kathybaby7 · **Severely Bitten Nails -** 03-12-08, 10:02 AM

Can anybody help me please!!!

I went and visited a client last night prior to her nail appointment on Saturday because I was particularly worried about her natural nails which she described as "severley bitten".... and she was right. I would say less than half a cm on each nail and what looks like damaged cuticles (due to lack of care and maintenance)!!!!

I do not want to turn this client away as apart from the obvious satisfaction if I can pull off lovely nail extensions for her I think it will be a big learning curve.

Any suggestions on how to approach this client- I prefer to sculpt, there seems nothing to attach tips to as well in this case!!!

Could someone go through it with me step by step please!!

Cheers

Kat

Bagpuss · 03-12-08, 10:06 AM

Hi...welcome to the site

You might be best to offer a course of manicures to get the nails and cuticle area in a better condition first....but other than that, i prefer to tip nail biters....cut then down as short as they will go and then file them even shorter....i give them no length at all. Make all areas of the enhancement as smooth as possibly as nail biters will bite and pick anything that feels ragged or rough.

If you use a coverage product you can hide her natural nail beds and this will help to elongate the look of the nails.

HTH x

mdskora · 03-12-08, 10:15 AM

Hi,
I cant sculpt .. smack... but i have had quiet a few clients like this one you have.
I book an extra half and hour for their apt.. tell her it will cost her more due to the state of her nails.
I apply cuticle eraser( CND) product to all ten nails.. give it at least 5 mins to work and then i start tidying up those hard , fat cuticles.. explain to her that purchasing this to use at home would be a HUGE help. make sure that you remove all the cuticle etc.
You will be suprised just how much extra nail ( a few mm anyway) will be revealed.

I use CND performance tips with CND Gel Bond as it fills any gaps which nail bitters oftern have... then give them a custom blend with the opaque powders by CND.
I have oftern shed a little tear when i get home becuase they are not exactly what i wanted them to look like... but I was once told by a very clever lady..

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear....... you remember that and you wil be fine..

Make sure you take before and after photos.... reccomend she come back for weekly check ups just until her nail bed recovers a little..

My worst nail bitter had only 4mm of nail plate.. now she almost has a full nail plate and can go 3 weeks without a rebal.. I am very proud of us both. X Mel

jac extreme · 03-12-08, 12:38 PM

Also remember to saddle the tips, as this stops the bulbous fingertip pushing agaisnt the tip.

louiser · 03-12-08, 12:57 PM

Where the nail is so short if the client wants white tips this can often leave the nail looking un-balanced. I usually suggest the client tries polish instead.
Its not forever and she would one day be able to have a french if she keeps up with her appointments.

Its sometimes a good idea to recomend she comes in weekly for a 'tidy up'

yeahyeah · 03-12-08, 03:48 PM

I recommend tips on a biter, and it doesn't need much nail to stick to, only the flags of a wellless tips smile need to be glued on, this is much easier than fitting a form to bitten nails. I use clear tips because white tips will look funny and unbalaced. you can sculpt a white tip further down the clear tip and then use an opaque pink to elongate the nail bed. also, offer them some glitter as this can really help to disguise the bitten nail underneath

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kathybaby7 · 05-12-08, 10:00 AM

Thanks for all your messages, I think once I get going I'll be fine!!! I think tipping would be better as there is nothing for me to secure the form to. I was thinking of using tips with a well though and filing the well right down to the flags, just for easier placement??

When you say saddle the tips though how do you mean??

If you mean filing out a well at either side to fit over the bulbous skin I practiced this on a tip but no joy!!! Any tips how to do this???

~Emmsybabes~ · 05-12-08, 10:12 AM

I have never been able to saddle a tip right it drives me mad, because I would really like to perfect it,

On nail biters if I don't think I can tip the "normal" way,
I would use one of the gorgeous CND opaque colurs to extend the nail bed...
I would apply this zone first, by the time I have finished all 10 nail beds..I can go back to the first finger and gently tease away the skin underneath just enough so I can tidy up the reverse smile line with my file, and then slip a form under my new free edge, I then sculpt the whites..

Within time the natural oils in the clients skin loosen the product away anyway,
I was worried about over exposure but was reassured by someone I would NEVER doubt, that although it is best avoided, it will do no harm to perform a set of enhancements this way every now and then

adelekeegan1 · 05-12-08, 10:16 AM

Have a look at this excellent tutorial Tipping a bitten nail.........

kathybaby7 · 08-12-08, 10:54 AM

Hi,

Just to let you know I did them!!

Ended up sculpting, there was just absolutely no way I could get a tip on 2 of them.

I used an opaque powder and sculpted the whole nail and then did a French polish.

Turned out lovely she was made up!!! Took a long time but there was a bit of trial and error at first.

Really boosted my confidence and I think I've gained another customer, we are on a joint mission now to get her natural nail grown out!!!

Thanks for all your help.

Kat x

VHunter · 08-12-08, 04:00 PM

Nail-biting clients require special attention. I know because I am a reformed biter, and have successfully reformed other biters. Tipping/sculpting a biter is not just about doing the enhancements as it would be with a regular client. It doesn't end there, because if you want that repeat business, and the success of reforming then, then you have to get into they psychology of it. It's also about supporting your client through breaking their habit, understanding their habit, and how to help them achieve their goal of breaking it.

You also have to be prepared for her saying "they fell off"

She WILL try to bite them off. I guarantee it. Unconciously or conciously. So it'll be difficult for you to know whether or not it was your work or 'her work' that causes them to 'fall off', if you know what I mean. Tell-tale damage might be the result also of her not being used to her hands having an extension on them, and not using her hands right and wammo, one is broken....

TELL HER that you know she'll have the temptation, that you understand and want her to succeed. Tell her you want to work as a team.
You could phrase it like this (let's call her Jane for the sake of argument).

"Now Jane, I know how difficult this will be for you to have nails now. Very likely you will unconciously (give her the benefit of the doubt to make her feel better) put them in your mouth unawares when you're nervous or doing something like watching tv. It's a hard habit to break and as natural to you as scratching an itch. But we have to try not to, like with chicken pox, not to scratch that itch. Now, I can tell when they've been bitten off by tell-tale damage on the nail, and I will understand. Let's work as a team to try to break this habit. When you realize that have bitten one, DO NOT continue down the line to 'even them out'. Just call me OR wait until your next appointment. One bitten one amongst 10 is better than all 10 ripped off. Find a new habit. Apply your cuticle oil instead; here's a free bottle that is my gift to you. Nibble on a pen, popsicle stick, coffee stir stick, lollypop.... whatever works for you. Now how about we paint these a bright red so that you're more apt to notice them when they are near your face?"
and so on and so forth...

My reformed biters are my best and most loyal clients, well worth all the extra work and they deliver the most satisfcation; in my opinion.

It would be wise to see these threads to prepare yourself for the task at hand. :

Tips on Nail Biters - any advice on where i went wrong?

What training is best for nails biters???

Advice for a nail biter

Client keeps biting nails off!!

One of my own quotes from one of these threads is:

Quote:

As a former biter, I can tell you with perfect honesty: it usually takes 12 to 24 months to completely reform a biter and they can STILL have a relapse after.
Many times I had thought I had given up the habit. I then gave up my enhancements and then within a couple of weeks - boom! I bit them all off again, just to have to start over.

It's harder to quit biting than it is to quit smoking since nails are so available AND because you can bite/nibble without realizing they're in your mouth, unlike with a cigarette. With a cigarette, you have to conciously get a cigarette and light it. With biting, you don't have to choose to buy cigarettes and get a lighter etc.
AND biting is acceptible anywhere, unlike smoking.

Biters need a LOT of support and a LOT of encouragement.
Explain how it's a habit, and very often an 'unconcious' one. That in all likelihood, if she goes 'natural', and one breaks/chips/cracks; she'll more than likely nibble it... and then right down the line she'll go. She may have the best of intentions: but like anyone trying to change a habit, it's a struggle.
Also, since most likely, her nails are unciously in her mouth so often, and she's nibbling without biting - therefor putting undue pressure on them - they'll be more brittle and inclined to break/chip etc.

Until the unconcious part of the habit is broken, she won't be a 'non-biter'. While she can't really bite (unless completely determined and aware of what she's doing) while there are enhancements on them,I'm pretty sure she still puts her fingers in her mouth.

Encourage her to keep them on at the very least for 6months. Better yet, 12. She wouldn't want to have to start the cycle all over again.

She's doing good, let her keep up the good work and be absolutely certain that she's kicked it.

Until she has a natural overlay and all her nails are of equal length, and goes several months without chipping/cracking etc... I wouldn't try going natural. If she still bangs up the enhancements, she'll most certainly bang up the natural nails which are more delicate.
Biters not only have to give up a bad habit, they have to relearn how to use their hands as "whoops, there's a free edge there that wasn't there before".

I hope that this helps