How long??????!!!

[CHEEKY CHICO]

Hi all again,
Just wanted to share this with you. I have a cute little receptionist at work (lucky me!!) who only last week decided to get her nails done. She's been waiting for me to do them but i won't till i'm ready no matter how much she hounds me!!
Anyway, she had a full set put on and feeling very pleased with herself asked me my opinion.
She likes it straight ..so thats what she got.
Very nice, but.......did the tech who done them ask about her lifestyle???
No, was the answer. Bad move i think, as i told her with what she does outside work...diggin the garden with her hands, shoveling horse dung around in vast quantities etc ....(what does she feed that horse??!)...that they were way way too long.
She kind of agreed, and sure enough, that night 2 got lost somewhere in the dung heap!
I'm sure all you seasoned pro's out there ask this, but to all you newbees, myself included, it is something we must do or like my receptionist says "well that was a waste of £40 wasn't it??"
And we sure don't want our clients thinking that now do we????! Tim.xx

 

[naturalnails]

You are just so right Tim, this should form part of the client consultation. I always ask them what they do for a job and also hobbies etc.

 

[Mrs Geek]

I don't know who you are doing your training with Chico but yes you are absolutely right!! For everyone who sits infront of you as a client.. you should be prescibing the correct treatment for each o them. You need to be diagnosing lifestyle, nail shape and length, fashion preference etc... then you can truly tailor the corretc nail product, shape and length to that individual!! So many sit their clients infront of them, ask no questions and bang out 10 square cookie cutter nails... whether they suit the client or not!!! Congratulations on stepping outside of the norm!!!

 

[naturalnails]

The other thing I hear time and time again is "I couldn't wear nail extensions, they are too long" - D'oh they don't only come in one length do they LOL - it should be in conjunction with the client to say if they feel they are too long for them. It should not be up to us as nail technicians to decide for the client without at least asking them.

 

[CHEEKY CHICO]

Just for the record Mrs Geek, i'm just doing the EN acrylic course now, extra classroom training will be sought in the very near future.
As for anything else, i read, read, read...any nail related articles and then listen, listen, listen to what any knowledgable people have to say (especially in here!!) then i digest, regurgitate and hopefully what comes out are 1st class digits!!! Tim.x

 

[bling nails]

i agree too. i always take a least 10mins, to start to put the info on the client record card. with new clients to ask about life style, what they do for a living and also little things they take for granted, like wearing eye contacts, one of my clients asks for her right hand index and thumb to be shorter than the others so she can get her contacts out!!
there is nothing worse than a new client leaving your salon and carnt 'cope' with longer nails,they break them and come back telling me they couldn't manage, and they have either biten the nail off , which is honest of them to say so, or they complain 'the nail just fell off', NAILS DON'T JUST FALL OFF, i say to them, and when i replace the nail, the client will ask for a shorter length. this tells me i was right, couldn't manage with the length in the first place.
i always suggest to have a shorter length and as the nails grow, they can adapt to the length they love.

 

[Mrs Geek]

i agree too. i always take a least 10mins, to start to put the info on the client record card. with new clients to ask about life style, what they do for a living and also little things they take for granted, like wearing eye contacts, one of my clients asks for her right hand index and thumb to be shorter than the others so she can get her contacts out!!
there is nothing worse than a new client leaving your salon and carnt 'cope' with longer nails,they break them and come back telling me they couldn't manage, and they have either biten the nail off , which is honest of them to say so, or they complain 'the nail just fell off', NAILS DON'T JUST FALL OFF, i say to them, and when i replace the nail, the client will ask for a shorter length. this tells me i was right, couldn't manage with the length in the first place.
i always suggest to have a shorter length and as the nails grow, they can adapt to the length they love.

excellent advice!!!

 

[*JOANNE*]

hey tim, i started with the en home learn courses then to ezflow
if it wasnt for en then i wouldnt have got a taste for nails.......like you
i think we as nail technicians should treat our consultations a little like hairdressers..........the client asks for a particular style and the hairdresser will tell you if it suits your face shape your lifestyle ie do you want to wash and go or blow dry your hair, do you have the time to spend on it......
this is true of nail consultations as sometimes what a client wants would not allways suit and we as nail technicians must have the balls to say so,
i have had ladies coming to me saying i have had nail enhancements before but couldnt get on with them at all, and thought i would have another go......then they are dumb founded at the choices i offer to them, that they can go as short as they feel comfortable, that they have a proper consultation and their lifestyle, nail shape are all taken into consideration.
but at the end of the day the final choice is there's and if they go for ones that are too long...you have recorded this on their client record card so when they do suffer breakages they where for warned.