Advice please re: Shellac client

[Mrs.Clooney]

Your pearls of knowledgeable wisdom please Geeks. Let me explain.

I have a lovely client who has been coming to me for several months now having experienced damage to her nails from another salon where, in my opinion, I don't think they were allowing adequate time for Calgel soak offs ie. picking the remainder off. Nails very red, very tender and sensitive right down to the eponychium.

Due to the sensitivity and paper thin bendiness of her nails, I suggested we continued Calgel applications at regular intervals whilst keeping her nails very short with lots of Solar oil and adequate time for soak offs so that the Calgel just lifted off without chiselling. All progressed well. The damage grew out and due to the progress, I suggested we try Shellac as soak off quicker and less expensive ie. thinking this was better for a client with difficulties. It appears her nails are naturally soft and prone to bending which she admits so that some of them tend to lift at the free edge to the point they just lift off.

I also observed a tendency for some of the natural nail to peel towards the free edge so I would always make sure I got behind the peeling before reapplying and also began using Brisa Smooth as a base.

My client uses her Solar oil religiously and as a professional actress, singer, dancer, she is not in an occupation where she is heavy handed. Even in her home life she is not heavy handed..... So..... Why have we got to a point where the nail and Shellac peeling has actually got worse to the point that she is not even going 10 days without issue. The attached photo shows how her last soak off revealed peeling going half way down her thumb.

We are both gutted. As a therapist, I am horrified as we were both so pleased with the progress. Sometimes one cannot see the wood for the trees so I could really use some expert help please.

 

[LBR]

I wish I could help but I have sort of the same problem. I've done a clients nails once and when I soaked off the set I did she had terrible peeling. She may have had some previously but I honestly never noticed it.

I had hoped the Shellac would bond it and last 14 days but after 2 days she's had two that have chipped.

I assume, like you, I should have clipped her nails back to get rid of the peeling. I was thinking of using Brisa Lite Smoothing gel next time, but if that doesn't work I'm not sure what I'll be doing.

I did send her home with some Solar Oil this time and asked her to use loads.

 

[ClaireP]

I understand problems as I have week, peely nails also. I use solar oil 5 times a day+ and cuticle eraser at night (which helps too) I also use BL Smoothing Gel under my Shellac and I only get 10 days perfect wear without lifting or peeling. My natural nails are protected whilst the Shellac is on but if I go a day with totally natural nails they peel really badly and break. I'm pinning all my hopes on IBX, as it is supposed to repair the nail from within. I know I'm doing all the right things and get very frustrated, as a nail technician I'm very aware of how to care for my nails, it's annoying despite doing all this I can't rectify the peeling! Fingers crossed for IBX. Hopefully this will help your clients too xxx

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Need to bump this thread. Is it just that this client perhaps cannot wear overlays of any sort?

I forgot to add that she is a long time user of Ranitidine and Nexium for acid reflux.

 

[noreenoconnor]

In my opinion for the peeling to have gotten so bad it looks like it has had impact of some sort ?

Even if clients do not have a heavy handed job they can still be naturally heavy handed with everyday things they do . Also when you have shellac on and give it a knock the damage could be done but you can't see it so then you forget about until the soak off.

When your client is using solar oil does she oil the tips of the nails too or is she just applying it at the base of the nail ?

If I had a client with nails like these I would very very gently remove and surface delamination , apply 2 very thin coats of brisa lite smoothing gel , apply shellac as normal and recommend weekly / every 10 day visits because when the shellac is chipping it will be pulling bits of nail off at the tip which is why it is important to change it regularly so the damage doesn't have a chance to get worse

 

[Nicola_Calgel]

Your pearls of knowledgeable wisdom please Geeks. Let me explain.

I have a lovely client who has been coming to me for several months now having experienced damage to her nails from another salon where, in my opinion, I don't think they were allowing adequate time for Calgel soak offs ie. picking the remainder off. Nails very red, very tender and sensitive right down to the eponychium.

Due to the sensitivity and paper thin bendiness of her nails, I suggested we continued Calgel applications at regular intervals whilst keeping her nails very short with lots of Solar oil and adequate time for soak offs so that the Calgel just lifted off without chiselling. All progressed well. The damage grew out and due to the progress, I suggested we try Shellac as soak off quicker and less expensive ie. thinking this was better for a client with difficulties. It appears her nails are naturally soft and prone to bending which she admits so that some of them tend to lift at the free edge to the point they just lift off.

I also observed a tendency for some of the natural nail to peel towards the free edge so I would always make sure I got behind the peeling before reapplying and also began using Brisa Smooth as a base.

My client uses her Solar oil religiously and as a professional actress, singer, dancer, she is not in an occupation where she is heavy handed. Even in her home life she is not heavy handed..... So..... Why have we got to a point where the nail and Shellac peeling has actually got worse to the point that she is not even going 10 days without issue. The attached photo shows how her last soak off revealed peeling going half way down her thumb.

We are both gutted. As a therapist, I am horrified as we were both so pleased with the progress. Sometimes one cannot see the wood for the trees so I could really use some expert help please.

We've recently been having a number of power-polish users complaining that their clients are having problems nails peeling and flaking especially after wearing for a few months and looking for an answer. From our experience it seems their nails are actually being ruined from long term wear, but we have been noticing a pattern. Whether this is down to the more frequent soak-offs or the products being drying themselves, we cannot be certain.

I know we don't supply a power polish and ask that you don't take my comments as gospel, my comment is based purely on our observations and feedback from those that use IZ or Calgel alongside power polishes, or are looking for something else after experience issues with their current systems. We have recommended that they swap their base gels for either Calgel or IZ gel (which is available to all professionals, training is not required) and many have found this is really helping to restore the state of natural nails.

Nicola

 

[Russian doll]

I was actually going to post about the same problem-I have a couple of regular clients with this peeling/bendy weak nails that are regular Shellac users, and Shellac doesn't last on them as long as on those with healthy strong nails. Not even mentioning that it takes me longer to service those clients because the removal takes longer on them (Shellac tends to get stuck in all the damaged parts) and I spend more time trying to gently get rid of peeling parts... I was looking into Brisa smoothing gel as a solution (and I already use Brisa hard gel), but read on here about IBX. Ordered it right away and placing very high hopes on it! It really would be amazing if it did what it said to do-help the natural nails grow and protect against regular Shellac removing/reapplying. Worth looking into IMO!

 

[Planky1]

Whilst the fact a product like IBX coming out is most probably the answer to all our prayers, I think you still need to look at the issues she's having as you need to get her through the next few weeks before IBX is even available here. I'm sure it's as good as the Nordstrom's say but everyone is pinning their hopes on this one product and since it's announcement I've seen many comments that are basically suggesting that there's no need to think about the causes and solutions to the problems anymore because IBX is coming and will solve it ALL for us.

Right from the start CND said that Shellac would not be suitable for everyone. Some clients successfully wear Shellac for 2 weeks+ because their nails are in a better condition. Sometimes no matter what you do, some people's nails fall into the cursed nail category and not every client is suited to every product and so you have to prescribe the best solution to each specific client.

There are 3 categories of nails;

Blessed - Can wear Shellac and other nail coatings succesfully and have beautifully strong and healthy nails with a lovely natural C curve and overall shape.

Challenged - Can sometimes wear Shellac and other nail coatings succesfully but need a little extra help to do so. Slight delamination, ridging or weakness of the nail that can be helped by using a product like Brisa Lite Smoothing Gel to extend the longevity of the manicure and help to improve the condition of the nail platein some cases.

Cursed - This category is for those who really have very challenging nails. Whether that be persistent breaking and an inability to grow even the smallest amount of length, flat nail beds with no c curve or shape at all, nails that curl in at the sides or grow up away from the nail plate, so will require a product such as Liquid and Powder.

Again, IBX sounds like an amazing product indeed and I'm excited by it myself, however, as with everything else I offer my clients, I will not be making any guarantees as to it's performance on each individual, as everyone's nails are different and behave in different ways. Jim himself said somewhere that it might not work on those with severely damaged nails.

So we still need to be trying to look at the issues and how we can resolve them rather than placing all our hope on this one product.

It sounds like you've done a host of trial and error and Shellac is perhaps just not suitable for her. I would try maybe a hard gel or liquid and powder (if you offer this) as I think she needs a tougher product for her weak and delaminated nails. Or if you have it, perhaps try her with Brisa Lite Sculpting Gel first, correct me if I'm wrong anyone but I believe it can be used as a NNO so you don't need to create length should your client not want that.

I hope you find a solution that best suits her and hang in there, I know how frustrating it can be when you just want to help your client achieve beautiful healthy nails and it seems like you won't get there.

Good luck! :hug:



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[Planky1]

Hi Mrs Clooney, has this client been back yet? Was interested to know what action you took in the end

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