Acrylic extensions are really starting to get me down!

[blaizebeauty]

Hi,

I qualified end of December 2019, I have qualifications in:
- Dry Mani & Gel Application
- Acrylic Extensions
- Gel Extensions
- Mani & Pedis Inc Luxury Treatments

I only really started practicing in January towards the middle / end as getting kit took me a while. I am vegan and only use vegan & cruelty free stuff. I currently use glitterama acrylic.

I am really struggling with acrylics, they always look alright (when I say alright, I mean maybe a 2/10) once I have filed them (before filing they look disgusting, I file more than you should need to, too) but as soon as I put polish on, you can tell they're crazy bumpy, no matter how much a file and it doesn't matter what I do, I can't get it right. I'm so bored of finishing a set on my practice hand and just crying. I feel like I'm never going to be good at this. I don't know what to do anymore. Doesn't matter how many videos I watch, how many techs I talk to, techniques I try, I CAN'T do it.

Literally crying my eyes out now, got my dad (I'm 21 and live at home) downstairs making a little room for me to do my nail clients from and I'm just RUBBISH. I'm getting close to thinking I should give up.

 

[Trinity]

Training is the only answer, sitting with a someone on a 1-2-1 basis will sort you out in no time.

Watching videos and talking to people will not solve it. Your issue is with file angles, and a finishing filing routine. Filing angles need to be shown you can't explain to someone. How to hold your abrasive so you get the maximum effectiveness with the minimum amount of movement needs to be shown not explained. Have you been shown the 'line of light' method for checking for imperfections? Were you shown how to create the enhan8with your brush so you don't need to file to shape?

I know it feels like throwing good money after bad but its not, you're currently wasting time and products practising incorrect methods, you're also destroying your self confidence when actually it's fairly easily solved. You're also that the exact learning point you should be, it's called 'consious incompetance' - it's the learning period of 'knowing what you should be doing, but not being able to actually do it' - perfectly natural but needs dealing with by more education

 

[Schrodingers Cat]

All I can say is DO NOT GIVE UP! I assumed that once I had quaiified, I would be banging out brilliant nails like there was no tomorrow. Well, I didn’t and I blamed it on everything else - rubbish tutor, rubbish brushes, terrible products. I lost count of how many brushes I tried, thinking it would make me better and I’ve spent hundreds on different brands of acrylic. I learned the expensive way that your initial training really just shows you the fundamentals (although I’m fairly sure there are better courses than the one I took which was v. expensive and branded).

I‘m still not great but I can see, with perseverance, that I have improved massively. And additional 121 training will help you. You just have to keep going, keep practising, keep working on the bits that you know need improvement. Honestly, you will get there. Dont be disheartened, just keep at it

 

[Ongen]

Training is the only answer, sitting with a someone on a 1-2-1 basis will sort you out in no time.

Watching videos and talking to people will not solve it. Your issue is with file angles, and a finishing filing routine. Filing angles need to be shown you can't explain to someone. How to hold your abrasive so you get the maximum effectiveness with the minimum amount of movement needs to be shown not explained. Have you been shown the 'line of light' method for checking for imperfections? Were you shown how to create the enhan8with your brush so you don't need to file to shape?

I know it feels like throwing good money after bad but its not, you're currently wasting time and products practising incorrect methods, you're also destroying your self confidence when actually it's fairly easily solved. You're also that the exact learning point you should be, it's called 'consious incompetance' - it's the learning period of 'knowing what you should be doing, but not being able to actually do it' - perfectly natural but needs dealing with by more education

Sorry for stealing this thread quickly, but trinity are you an educator? If not, please become one! You are so good at encouraging and also giving great advise on how to move forward. I was just at a 1-2-1 thanks to you and it was so helpful, even though I knew most of the things we went through! Just the validation of someone more experienced and the possibility to ask even simple yes/no questions is worth the money. Thank you for motivating me trinity!

And TS, don’t give up! Everyone’s learning curve is so different. Write your main issues down and book a session to solve them. It’ll be so worth it!

 

[Trinity]

Sorry for stealing this thread quickly, but trinity are you an educator? If not, please become one! You are so good at encouraging and also giving great advise on how to move forward. I was just at a 1-2-1 thanks to you and it was so helpful, even though I knew most of the things we went through! Just the validation of someone more experienced and the possibility to ask even simple yes/no questions is worth the money. Thank you for motivating me trinity!

And TS, don’t give up! Everyone’s learning curve is so different. Write your main issues down and book a session to solve them. It’ll be so worth it!

Awww!, thank you for the kind words, no I'm not an educator but I used to train people in my previous lives so perhaps its an inbuilt thing. Some people don't like my straight talk but I would rather hear the truth than untrue compliments.

More importantly I'm so pleased you've done some training and taking some control back. I love training, oh to be able to go back and do a whole beginner course again, I'm sure I'd learn something new again . I knew from your filing thread you had all skills, you just needed some tweeks and confidence boosts. I feel all warm and fuzzy