Beginners mistakes.

[izzidoll]

On Foundation courses I think the most common problems for students are
MIX RATIO....closely followed by brush control/angles....and yes I meant to shout mix ratio!!!

Everyone pays real close attention in the mix ratio lesson....then as soon as they actually have to use the bead to create a nail....it is as if they have wiped the whole thing from their memory banks!!
Then it is a case of coaxing them back to actually looking at the bead and going over that they should see all the powder be absorbed by the monomer in 2-3 seconds. Going....going....Gone. (medium wet mix, 1 part powder to 1 1/2 monomer)

I see a lot of you say you have problems with zone 3....but I actually would call that a brush control/angle problem....as when you have mastered your brush angles then zone 3 is no longer a problem.

Tip blending also seems to be a problem for students....but maybe that is because we Educators terrify you all about over filing before we let you blend a tip!!!....and rightly so...no one wants a ring of fire on their natural nail!
File control, once mastered makes all the difference.


Again Cec.....great thread.

 

[chantell simone]

i qualified in nail enhancements in july last year and i mostly struggled with blending tips

i nearly felt like giving up a few times

 

[angel fingers]

i find that students often end up sticking the tip on wrongly because they think it will come off the end of the nail if they slide it right down and let the well area click into place.

i really try hard to show them the right way and we do several dry runs with the tips now. they just need to get the hang of feeling that little click and it makes a huge difference in the outcome.

it makes the tip go on without air bubbles getting trapped and it makes blending so much easier. and the finished result is a much better shape when they get the hang of it because the tip sits beautifully on the free edge.

 

[Cec]

O
File control, once mastered makes all the difference.

Speaking about file control. I always tell my students to take a tip, make a "dot" with a pen and see how soon they can file it away. I tell them to do this over and over again, and very often it helps.

C.

 

[loubylou]

My biggest problem seems to be consistency, getting all of the nails to look uniform is like a nightmare for me

 

[blossom]

I had a nightmare time trying to apply tips without air bubbles when I was training, I would be almost in tears! Then suddenly it just clicked!

And using too big a bead of l&p in the cuticle area, not being able to get rid of it all and ending up with a bumpy bit which I then had to file off!

I think they were the main two. Great thread, it makes you think back and realise what a lot of water under the bridge. x

 

[lotus blossom]

what i see a lot of is, lack of refinement

maybe a good looking nail, but with a lot more refining, would result in a beautiful nail

great thread mate x

 

[pixiestyx]

As an educator I have found the biggest problems my girls have is with their blending. They do not seem to be able to blend the tip evenly.
My advice to those who also have this problem is to use a small amount of nail sanitiser on a wipe. If you wipe this over the nail then you can clearly see the areas that need further blending and those that have been blended enough.

 

[welshmammy]

I always undersized my tips, I was afraid they would look too large and end up loking like spatulas. I was then confronted with stress cracks down the centre of the tips.

 

[Jogels]

Biggest concerns for me were shadows in white by trying to thin them and the time factor!!! I still take too long!!!:irked:

 

[Quality Blonde]

I was then confronted with stress cracks down the centre of the tips.

Do you mean half of the tip coming away? So you are left with a giant L shaped gap?

That happened to me a few times and I always wondered what was causing it.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

OMG you know what I have just read through this thread again and I think I had every problem that has been covered so far, and probably a few more that have forgotten! Suddenly makes me realise how far I have come on this journey of nailing and what a difficult skill it is to learn!

 

[welshmammy]

Do you mean half of the tip coming away? So you are left with a giant L shaped gap?

That happened to me a few times and I always wondered what was causing it.

used a lot of pressure in applying the tip to flatten it out to make it spread out to cover the natural nail, instead of using the larger correctly sized tip. Once I tipped all my nails, I woulds start at the first nail to apply the L&P, and I would notice that there would be a light stress crack running down the centre of the tip, from the free edge down to the natural nail. The result would be the corner coming off the nail.

 

[Jaxx]

Hey there geeks!

This is my first post so heylo to you all Been on the website now for a while, absorbing lots of info and learning from you all and also taking comfort in knowing I'm not the only one who incessantly worries about achieving perfection and making mistakes!!! I work full time in marketing but now rent a space in a local hair salon on a Saturday and do mobile appointments and although I qualified in March 06, I'm still very much learning...although I don't think we ever do stop learning! I'm hoping to build up a goo dlcient base so that one day I can give up the 9-5 and do nails full time, working for myself. Bliss!

My biggest problem is that I just can't seem to master the art of infills...aaaarrrgghhh!!! I've printed off the tutorial from this site and did everything that it said but I still had shadowing on my clients nails last week. I hate seeing shadows. I think part of the problem was that it had been 3 weeks since I'd done her full set and her nails had grown rather quickly, creating quite a big area to fill. There was also a bit of yellowing on some of the nails which I just couldn't seem to get rid of. I'm so conscious of taking ages to file and worry that my clients are thinking 'jeez this is very boring'! It really is starting to bother me as I want to be able to walk out of my mobile clients homes and have my salon clients leave feeling totally 100% happy and for me to feel 100% happy that I've done a good job and not feel guilty about taking their money!!!

Someone told me that they had their infills done in the states and it took them about half an hour!

Any advice most appreciated!

 

[Minipig007]

Well, i'm still learning (in-between courses as missed the assessment of the last one due to illness) so i'm practising in-between. I'm fining it really really difficult at the moment.

I was using NSI classic L&P, but i had problems with this so i'm now using attraction. It sets so quickly i can't get it into place quickly enough so the acrylic is all bumpy and i end up trying to file it into the right shape and failing miserably!
I had problems with tip application and blending, but i think i'm almost okay with that, i just need to work a tad on my file control.

I'm getting a little disheartened with it at the moment because of the problems, the nails are just looking atrocious!!they don't look anything like they should do!

My main problem is with knowing how big the balls should be for each zone, and how thick the acrylic should be on the nail!! (btw.. my training was not good at all so i'm considering doing my next course somewhere else!!)

 

[izzidoll]

Hey there geeks!

This is my first post so heylo to you all Been on the website now for a while, absorbing lots of info and learning from you all and also taking comfort in knowing I'm not the only one who incessantly worries about achieving perfection and making mistakes!!! I work full time in marketing but now rent a space in a local hair salon on a Saturday and do mobile appointments and although I qualified in March 06, I'm still very much learning...although I don't think we ever do stop learning! I'm hoping to build up a goo dlcient base so that one day I can give up the 9-5 and do nails full time, working for myself. Bliss!

My biggest problem is that I just can't seem to master the art of infills...aaaarrrgghhh!!! I've printed off the tutorial from this site and did everything that it said but I still had shadowing on my clients nails last week. I hate seeing shadows. I think part of the problem was that it had been 3 weeks since I'd done her full set and her nails had grown rather quickly, creating quite a big area to fill. There was also a bit of yellowing on some of the nails which I just couldn't seem to get rid of. I'm so conscious of taking ages to file and worry that my clients are thinking 'jeez this is very boring'! It really is starting to bother me as I want to be able to walk out of my mobile clients homes and have my salon clients leave feeling totally 100% happy and for me to feel 100% happy that I've done a good job and not feel guilty about taking their money!!!

Someone told me that they had their infills done in the states and it took them about half an hour!

Any advice most appreciated!

30 minutes is not a realistic time for a rebalance...or even an infill. IMO

Usually when we are thinking that the client is getting impatient, she is actually sitting there perfectly happy & calm, loving the fact she is having her nails done and relaxing. Honest!

I do think your post could warrant a thread all on its own lol:lol: but I think you are saying your beginners mistakes are in infills...mainly that you have some discolouration ?
Is this discolouration in the product...or on the natural nail?
If it is in the product then it could be a contamination problem...with your brush possibly? To test just dip your brush in your monomer and then wipe on a pad...if it leaves yellow streaks, you have a contaminated brush. There are plenty threads on here re that and how to store your brush properly.

If the discoloration is on the clients natural nails...then this could be the start of a bacterial infection, and you would need to address your sanitising prodedures. Have a look at the tutorial on here re bacterial infections ..aka greenies.

Regarding shadow lines in your infills....are you applying the product too thick in zone 3 in the initial set of nails?....If you apply the product thinly and flush to the nail in the first place then it should really cut down your file prep in a rebalance/infill.
So if I were you I would also check out the tutorial on application re zone 3 making it disappear, here on site.

Maybe now you have a bit of experience though would be the time to get back to your Educator/trainer and do a 1-2-1- to sort out and tweak these problem areas for you...and boost your confidence.

You have given us a lot of info here on your post re your experience & training, which helped in answering this...but for future questions it is really helpful if that sort of info is also in your profile then you won't need to repeat yourself lol!

Welcome to the site and HTH

 

[Cec]

Someone told me that they had their infills done in the states and it took them about half an hour!

Any advice most appreciated!

Oh yes, I have heard the same too. I have a client who lives in the US and she always tells me how quick her nailtech is. On the other hand, she is willing to sit 1,5 hours with me and pays me 4 times more because she is very pleased with her nails after she has been to me. She tells me she goes 2 weeks between infills at home, with me she goes 4 weeks without problems!

I could never do either an infill or a reballance at 30 min, No way! I always mark 1,5 hours for each client (reballance or infill). If I am ready before the time, I'll get time for eating, taking telephones etc... I just hate to rush myself and my clients.

SO my advise is: Don't assume you will do good and beautyful nails in 30 min!

C.

 

[Cathie!]

Oh yes, I have heard the same too. I have a client who lives in the US and she always tells me how quick her nailtech is. On the other hand, she is willing to sit 1,5 hours with me and pays me 4 times more because she is very pleased with her nails after she has been to me. She tells me she goes 2 weeks between infills at home, with me she goes 4 weeks without problems!

I could never do either an infill or a reballance at 30 min, No way! I always mark 1,5 hours for each client (reballance or infill). If I am ready before the time, I'll get time for eating, taking telephones etc... I just hate to rush myself and my clients.

SO my advise is: Don't assume you will do good and beautyful nails in 30 min!

C.

Yes. 1.5 hours for me also, whether it takes this long or not....fag break, cup of coffee, sweeping the floor, we all need a break sometimes......30 mins for infills.....something must be mising imo.

 

[Jaxx]

30 minutes is not a realistic time for a rebalance...or even an infill. IMO

Usually when we are thinking that the client is getting impatient, she is actually sitting there perfectly happy & calm, loving the fact she is having her nails done and relaxing. Honest!

I do think your post could warrant a thread all on its own lol:lol: but I think you are saying your beginners mistakes are in infills...mainly that you have some discolouration ?
Is this discolouration in the product...or on the natural nail?
If it is in the product then it could be a contamination problem...with your brush possibly? To test just dip your brush in your monomer and then wipe on a pad...if it leaves yellow streaks, you have a contaminated brush. There are plenty threads on here re that and how to store your brush properly.

If the discoloration is on the clients natural nails...then this could be the start of a bacterial infection, and you would need to address your sanitising prodedures. Have a look at the tutorial on here re bacterial infections ..aka greenies.

Regarding shadow lines in your infills....are you applying the product too thick in zone 3 in the initial set of nails?....If you apply the product thinly and flush to the nail in the first place then it should really cut down your file prep in a rebalance/infill.
So if I were you I would also check out the tutorial on application re zone 3 making it disappear, here on site.

Maybe now you have a bit of experience though would be the time to get back to your Educator/trainer and do a 1-2-1- to sort out and tweak these problem areas for you...and boost your confidence.

You have given us a lot of info here on your post re your experience & training, which helped in answering this...but for future questions it is really helpful if that sort of info is also in your profile then you won't need to repeat yourself lol!

Welcome to the site and HTH

Erm, thanks for that...I think. Some of that was very helpful but on the whole you're post has come across a tad arrogant and condescending. I have no intention of repeating the same info post after post, the only reason I didn't keep my post 'to the point' is because it was my first and I thought I would introduce myself as you would when you first come into any group...in a face to face situation, online or otherwise. Thanks for the welcome...I'm off to update my profile like a good little nail geek girl...

 

[izzidoll]

Well that is me told....sorry you think that.
I thought I was being helpful and welcoming.
I will get the hang of this site one of these days..........:lol:

Was anything I said of any help?