Are wet manicures bad for the natural nail?

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magsham

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Hi Geeks

A fellow tech on one of my facebook pages has come out with the following :

'I have a question. Why do people still do water manicures and why are they even taught in schools still? They are not good for the natural nail and even worse if you are applying a gel polish.'

Now, I know that when you apply gel/acrylic/gel polish you do a dry manicure but I cannot think of any reason why it would not be good for the natural nails, so am hoping that some of you will share your views on the topic.:confused:
 
I did a thread on this a few years back, I too cannot believe that still Colleges teach you to soak nails during a manicure.
I think initially this was done because products like cuticle softeners and the like hadn't been produced yet, and the soaking was too soften the cuticle to make it easier to push back/remove.
However we have fantastic products to do this now, and soaking is not required.

Also the nail soaks up the water and expands when soaked in water, so if you apply a polish or Gel polish right after, once the nail shrinks back to its normal state you have more chance of chipping and peeling.

Here is my old thread...I think there is still a lot of good info on it...I closed it though as I got fed up with it getting resurrected :rolleyes:
http://www.salongeek.com/nail-geek/20364-manicure-without-soaking.html
 
Ah that's interesting I done my man/ped just two year ago and was taught to soak and I have ever since at work xx
 
Izzi,

I'm so glad to see this information back up here again. So many nail schools are still teaching soaking.

I've been a nail professional since 1998 and until I read your post, I always soaked. The information you gave in that post changed the way I perform manicures. I don't soak anymore unless I encounter SEVERLY hard/problematic cuticles. And that happens seldom.
 
I did a thread on this a few years back, I too cannot believe that still Colleges teach you to soak nails during a manicure.
I think initially this was done because products like cuticle softeners and the like hadn't been produced yet, and the soaking was too soften the cuticle to make it easier to push back/remove.
However we have fantastic products to do this now, and soaking is not required.

Also the nail soaks up the water and expands when soaked in water, so if you apply a polish or Gel polish right after, once the nail shrinks back to its normal state you have more chance of chipping and peeling.

Here is my old thread...I think there is still a lot of good info on it...I closed it though as I got fed up with it getting resurrected :rolleyes:
http://www.salongeek.com/nail-geek/20364-manicure-without-soaking.html


WOW, that's an eye opener, right enough!! :D I was going to say where was I when you started that post, but realise it was before i joined the site and was just starting out! Hence why i've never heard of it before!:o
 
Oh goodness!!! I've only just finished my training and was taught to soak?!!!
Do I stop doing it? As its part of my manicure?:confused:
 
Im baffled I was taught to use a manicure bowl with water / nail soak product on my cnd training last October on the Fingernails Naturally course ? Is this not good to do this ?


EDIT ...... Im sure CND wouldn't teach something that wasn't good but seriously im confused now ive read this thread :(
 
Last edited:
Wow thats interesting, i completed my manicure course at college about 18months ago and was taught to always soak nails during a manicure.

Laura -ann xx
 
I'm just finishing up a course and was taught to soak! It's a VTCT course.
 
Thank you for this, very helpful and makes perfect sense. Just needed it spelt out to me to make me realise!
 
Im baffled I was taught to use a manicure bowl with water / nail soak product on my cnd training last October on the Fingernails Naturally course ? Is this not good to do this ?


EDIT ...... Im sure CND wouldn't teach something that wasn't good but seriously im confused now ive read this thread :(

First you apply the moisture pack this helps to protect the nails somewhat , Your not soaking At FIRST with water your using a soak that is specially formulated and then adding a touch of water to it ,

This is far different to just soaking in some hot soapy water .

If you shellac you will be doing that first anyway x
 
First you apply the moisture pack this helps to protect the nails somewhat , Your not soaking At FIRST with water your using a soak that is specially formulated and then adding a touch of water to it ,

This is far different to just soaking in some hot water .

Thankyou that makes sense to me now :) Im still very new in the nail world and very easily confused at times x
 
Just interested if the CND almond oil was still okay to soak in? Xx

Essential Bliss Beauty Therapy
 
I am just finishing training and although the school requires we learn the soaking method our teacher (who also owns her own salon), taught us dry manis and told us she never soaks, (basically for the reasons above). She says that we advise our clients not to soak their nails at home so why on earth would we soak them in the salon? Makes sense to me. :D
 
Im so glad ive read this, i knew there was a good reason i hated soaking nails! They just get so soft..

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek
 
First you apply the moisture pack this helps to protect the nails somewhat , Your not soaking At FIRST with water your using a soak that is specially formulated and then adding a touch of water to it ,

This is far different to just soaking in some hot soapy water .

If you shellac you will be doing that first anyway x

Just interested if the CND almond oil was still okay to soak in? Xx

Essential Bliss Beauty Therapy

I think you have answered your own question....it is soaking in soapy water that is unnecessary, oil is a different matter altogether.

Water makes nails brittle and liable to peel...brittle nails need oiling, therefore soaking in an oil based product will be good for them.
 
Both threads have been an interesting read.

Years ago I was taught to soak, but on my update last year it wasn't featured. I did start to wonder, from reading all the threads, that maybe I had missed out on something. But everything makes perfect sense.
 
I soak, especially when skin on fingers is dry, I use e-file with stone bit to smooth it, also around nail corners. But I use Almond soak since it was released, I love how it smells :) and how it works on skin.

But to be honest - I did water manicures for a long time before almond soak, and I never noiced any problems with polish (it was lasting a week or longer on most of a clients), with nail condition - with recomended use of oil and nail conditioners (we retailed nail tek, I loved it) nails were improving quickly.
So theory sounds convincing and logical, but I guess impact of water manicures on nails is not that strong. Washing the dishes after one meal takes longer than soaking during manicure, and the first one happen a few times a day (dishwashers in some countries are a bit of luxury, still only small % of people in Poland have it).

Anyway, for hard soakers I really recommend Almond Soak from CND.

I wonder what do you use for waterless manis?
I absolutely love ORLY cutique and NfuOh cuticle remover - they work almost the same (nfu is more watery, orly is thicker), need a few seconds!! to work, and I really remove all the cuticles from nail plate. It also works with enhancements - no lifting, no residue.
For toes I use CND cuticle remover, as it is slower, but shortening and shaping nails on toes takes time, so I can wait.
 
I have to say I was taught to soak but as 99./. Of my nail work is shellac or minx I don't soak xxx
 

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