Calgel tech having nightmare cuticle clients, help!

[HBJ]

I have been a Calgel nail tech for approximately 18 years now and have dealt with horrible cuticles and fingernails on a daily basis, with generally no major issues but at the moment I have 3 ladies who all have strange shaped nail beds and then uneven growth too, It takes me ages to work on the cuticles and even then they remain dry and flaky.
I like to include my own photographs but I have been avoiding publishing some of the images due to their cuticles.

I have pushed gently, removed pterigiums, gently buff prepped and used cuticle nippers where I had to but tbh the side of their nails still look terrible to me (although they always say how great they are now)

I appreciate that some of the cuticle dryness is due to the fact that they don't bother to use aftercare but I get really concerned about the end product where the cuticles still look terrible in my eyes. But I can't spend hours on just the cuticles.

I feel I need a bit more help with them..is it possible to use an actual cuticle remover cream specifically for use with calgel which will not affect the adherence quality of the actual gel,...does this exist ..if so what is yor erecommende? ...L also use a very small blob of oil around the cuticle area before a photo shoot happens but only a very small amount to ensure no wet streaks and deposits. The wet oily look is really unprofessional in my opinion..are there any calgel techs or educators that could help me with my worries and offer any speciifc remedies that might help. I am very picky though....Please help me xx

 

[thenailbusiness]

I have been a Calgel nail tech for approximately 18 years now and have dealt with horrible cuticles and fingernails on a daily basis, with generally no major issues but at the moment I have 3 ladies who all have strange shaped nail beds and then uneven growth too, It takes me ages to work on the cuticles and even then they remain dry and flaky.
I like to include my own photographs but I have been avoiding publishing some of the images due to their cuticles.

I have pushed gently, removed pterigiums, gently buff prepped and used cuticle nippers where I had to but tbh the side of their nails still look terrible to me (although they always say how great they are now)

I appreciate that some of the cuticle dryness is due to the fact that they don't bother to use aftercare but I get really concerned about the end product where the cuticles still look terrible in my eyes. But I can't spend hours on just the cuticles.

I feel I need a bit more help with them..is it possible to use an actual cuticle remover cream specifically for use with calgel which will not affect the adherence quality of the actual gel,...does this exist ..if so what is yor erecommende? ...L also use a very small blob of oil around the cuticle area before a photo shoot happens but only a very small amount to ensure no wet streaks and deposits. The wet oily look is really unprofessional in my opinion..are there any calgel techs or educators that could help me with my worries and offer any speciifc remedies that might help. I am very picky though....Please help me xx

Cuticle work is always hard and differ because of the fine line between over working them and not doing enough. It’s the same problem as hairdressers will have with the state of the hairs cuticle.

First of all we all need to realise that it’s always that one off client that we will never get the cuticle perfect on every time. It’s a mixture of them not following up with aftercare like you mentioned and also we as nail techs thinking that we can perform miracles. Ive noticed that just like makeup artists we are bombarded with visuals of nails that have perfect cuticles and so great looking and we want this for all of our clients. We are way to hard on our self when it comes to the visual aspect of what the industry sets as a “standard”

You seem like a perfectionist to me like I am and we just want the best for our clients and we all want them to have as perfect of a result as can be achieved. But we need to remember that not all clients will have the nails or skin around to look that perfect.

Seems your experienced and doing what you can for them. I totally feel you that you feel you don’t want to share pictures that don’t look perfect or the over oiled look (which I also hate!) but if you are doing everything you can and if they don’t follow this up with home care you won’t be able to turn it around. It’s a thing we all have to deal with and sometimes as long as my application is well done and don’t have any breakdown I just accept that it is what it is.

I don’t work with calgel, but I have cuticle remover that softens the dead skin and help me over several services to eliminate the worst buildup, also a skin exfoliator combined with an additional oil to keep the skin in check. But like I said it all depends on what the clients do at home combined with good service when they see me to at least try to better the situation.

I can’t say if you can use a similar procedure with your system, that needs to be consulted on by your educators or distributor. They will most likely have the best solution for you.

The only thing I can say is most nail techs end up overworking the skin surrounding the nail in an attempt to get the clients the best result and just create more problems. Skin reacts with a vengeance when overworked. I don’t say you do this, but I personally had to refine my work because of this and got great results.

I hope it works out and that your brand will be able to help you with a solution. Keep up your perfectionist nature and your passion for your clients and I am sure this will work it self out over time. Just don’t be to hard on yourself and sometimes we can’t save them all