Acrylic soak off taking 1.5 hours!

[LuxeBeauty]

Hi Nail Geeks!

I am a nail technician trained in mani/pedi, gel polish and gel extensions.
I had a client in yesterday who usually comes in for gel extensions with me but hasn't been in for a while as I couldn't fit her in exactly when she wanted. After talking to her on the phone prior to her appointment yesterday she told me she had been to an NSS salon (where she used to go before coming to me) because they could do her nails there and then. She said she had had "gel powder" nail extensions put on! When she arrived yesterday she admitted she had been twice to them in the meantime and the nails were pretty thick. I told her there is no such thing as gel powder and she has had acrylics put on again!
So to cut a long story short I attempted to soak off the acrylics. I know I'm not trained in acrylics specifically but I asked a colleague for advice and didn't want to send my client back to have them drilled off at the NSS place.....she already had marks left by the drill!
I began by buffing of as much of the acrylic as possible then soaking in acetone in an attempt to remove them. These 'acrylics' didn't even lift or disintegrate after an hour of soaking and buffing! I didn't want to file the final thin layer off as I was afraid of filing the natural nail too much and didn't want to make the natural nail any thinner than they already were. In just two visits they have completely ruined her nails!!!

Sooooo to get to the point of this post what I want to know is was this proper EMA acrylic or does it sound more like that horrible MMA stuff? What would you have done in this situation? Would you have sent the client back to NSS to have them filed off or tried your very best and used proper care and attention and removed as much as you could without damaging the nails?

Also these places make me so angry!! They are cheating clients by lying to them about products that don't exist and damaging clients nails!! She even told me they use the drill to remove cuticle rather than gently push back and use cuticle away!!

Any help or advice greatly appreciated! Or anyone who wants a rant just like me haha!

Becky x

 

[sn1234]

Hi I have had this situation a couple of times, a soak off of acrylic that just wouldn't budge and took me about an hour or so. I have decided not to do any soak offs or infills on people who have had nails done at nss. It's quite depressing because people give you their horror stories of these places but still go back to them. It's quite difficult to compete though when they are doing a set in half an hour and they are basically indestructible!

 

[pure]

It does sound like it was probably MMA and in those circumstances I would have done exactly what you did. I most certainly would never send a new client back to somewhere which has ruined their nails already. The chances are her natural nail would have been filed thin and full removal of product would have left the nails vulnerable and probably painful, so the best thing is to leave a very thin layer for protection and simply allow it to grow out.

 

[Josie34]

Hi Nail Geeks!

I am a nail technician trained in mani/pedi, gel polish and gel extensions.
I had a client in yesterday who usually comes in for gel extensions with me but hasn't been in for a while as I couldn't fit her in exactly when she wanted. After talking to her on the phone prior to her appointment yesterday she told me she had been to an NSS salon (where she used to go before coming to me) because they could do her nails there and then. She said she had had "gel powder" nail extensions put on! When she arrived yesterday she admitted she had been twice to them in the meantime and the nails were pretty thick. I told her there is no such thing as gel powder and she has had acrylics put on again!
So to cut a long story short I attempted to soak off the acrylics. I know I'm not trained in acrylics specifically but I asked a colleague for advice and didn't want to send my client back to have them drilled off at the NSS place.....she already had marks left by the drill!
I began by buffing of as much of the acrylic as possible then soaking in acetone in an attempt to remove them. These 'acrylics' didn't even lift or disintegrate after an hour of soaking and buffing! I didn't want to file the final thin layer off as I was afraid of filing the natural nail too much and didn't want to make the natural nail any thinner than they already were. In just two visits they have completely ruined her nails!!!

Sooooo to get to the point of this post what I want to know is was this proper EMA acrylic or does it sound more like that horrible MMA stuff? What would you have done in this situation? Would you have sent the client back to NSS to have them filed off or tried your very best and used proper care and attention and removed as much as you could without damaging the nails?

Also these places make me so angry!! They are cheating clients by lying to them about products that don't exist and damaging clients nails!! She even told me they use the drill to remove cuticle rather than gently push back and use cuticle away!!

Any help or advice greatly appreciated! Or anyone who wants a rant just like me haha!

Becky x

I've had these. You best cut them down and leave them to grow out. The damned stuff is like concrete.

 

[LuxeBeauty]

Thanks for your replies everyone! I just left a thin layer and applied a thin layer of gelish hard gel to smooth and then gel polish over the top. I informed her this wasn't an ideal base for gel on top but they should last. I doubt she will go back again now. Well I hope not!

"It's quite depressing because people give you their horror stories of these places but still go back to them"

sn1234 yes exactly! People just get drawn in because it's cheap and quick but absolutely zero care for the natural nail. It baffles me! My client also said they have this stuff called burn away that they put on if they drill too much and some sort of lotion on the desk that they apply to stop bleeding!!! Like it's a regular occurrence!!

 

[MrsBB2013]

They aren't even that cheap really, they will be making a stack of money. 1/2 an hour for a full set and they still charge £25 for it!! X