Jessicles
Well-Known Member
I had a new client recently who had never had acrylic before, and got them for her wedding. After she got home from her honeymoon, she called to tell me she only had half left, the rest "fell off", and that the nails looked terrible underneath. So I went into the "Oh dear, how did that happen?" speech and how a nail won't be damaged if it's not attached, and if it WAS attached, then it had to have been forced off. I just chalked it up to a fibbing client and offered to do a new set (which I would charge for) and she took me up on the offer. When she came in, they were indeed missing a few layers of nail on each of the ones that were off, and the remaining ones were lifting a bit. This is not normal for me, so I'm quite sure it's not application. I assumed that the nails were damaged because of her forcing them off. So I told her I would file down the remaining nails and do a new set using forms, which she thought might help. I was sure it wouldn't. I informed her that some people just can't wear acrylic, and I'd hate for her nails to end up MORE damaged after another application doing the same thing. I told her it was against my advice to do another set and that she should allow this to grow out before doing anything else to them. She insisted, so she knew the risks, she just wanted to give it another try. So I applied the second set, using forms instead of white tips. I told her to call me the minute she saw lifting because she hadn't recognized the signs of it before. She called within a week, telling me there was lifting. So I had her come in immediately for a full soak off, hoping I could prevent more nail damage, and as I was gently pushing the acrylic off/lightly buffing any left, her natural nail peeled off where the acrylic was, leaving obviously damaged/slightly red nail beds. It's almost appeared as if the natural nail peeled off, causing the lifting acrylic! I am very gentle in my soak offs, I take a lot of care to not leave a damaged nail plate, and only lightly buff with a 240 before application, so it can't be roughness on my part. I couldn't seem to prevent it...every nail had layers come off. I did a manicure afterwards and sent her home with a nail strengthener and solar oil. I now believe her that they fell off due to the lifting and the damage just happened on its own. I felt absolutely horrible for her nails, but what is this? I've never seen it. Could this be an acrylic allergy?
