Can an Enhancement be too Strong?

[*Glynis*]

I saw something horrific today. A new client (from an NSS) with one forefinger nail completely missing.

Apparently she had shoved her hand down the back of a car seat to find a £1 coin she had dropped. She caught the enhancement and it stayed on her nail plate but not on her nail bed. The whole natural nail came off (apparently still attached to the enhancement) a few days later. OUCH!!!

It seems unlikely that this would happen to even the longest and strongest natural nail. Surely nature intended the free edge to break if bashed hard enough leaving the nail bed covered with protective nail plate.

So my question is:

“Is our quest for strong nail enhancements that can withstand huge amounts of pressure dangerous?”

Obviously an enhancement needs to be much stronger than the average natural nail, but I see lots of threads saying “I use X because I find it stronger than Y”. Isn’t the safest form of enhancement something that will break at the smile line if put under enough pressure? So are we wrong to be striving for strength to match MMA because that's what the client seems to want?

 

[Jaydee]

I saw something horrific today. A new client (from an NSS) with one forefinger nail completely missing.

Apparently she had shoved her hand down the back of a car seat to find a £1 coin she had dropped. She caught the enhancement and it stayed on her nail plate but not on her nail bed. The whole natural nail came off (apparently still attached to the enhancement) a few days later. OUCH!!!

It seems unlikely that this would happen to even the longest and strongest natural nail. Surely nature intended the free edge to break if bashed hard enough leaving the nail bed covered with protective nail plate.

So my question is:

“Is our quest for strong nail enhancements that can withstand huge amounts of pressure dangerous?”

Obviously an enhancement needs to be much stronger than the average natural nail, but I see lots of threads saying “I use X because I find it stronger than Y”. Isn’t the safest form of enhancement something that will break at the smile line if put under enough pressure? So are we wrong to be striving for strength to match MMA because that's what the client seems to want?

Hi, no nail enhancement is indestructable. If this nail had the correct length and balance for the client then this probably wouldn't have happened. Too often we see these porn star nails and to be honest they look disgusting. I personally feel it is our job to carry out a full consultation and lead the client into the right direction about nails and enhancements. If nails are applied at the correct length to suit the clients lifestyle then I dont think quality products are any less stronger than MMA.
David

 

[crazysaz]

i wouldve thought this would only have happened with something like mma. sounds so sore!! i think you have to get a balance.

 

[kateyork1]

I think personally that if that much pressure is applied then you want th eenhancement to come off with as little damage to the nail plate as possible. Unfortuately MMA does not bond to the nail plate and therefore alot of filing of the natural nail needs to be done prior to application (which can be very painful) this makes it an extremely strong bond as your client found out and this is not a good thing in my opinion as it can be extemely painful. As you say, an enhancement should be stronger than the natural nail but not so strong as to rip the natural nail off with it under those sort of circumstances. I think clients just need more educationg as to the damage that can be done if the right products and methodsof application are not used! xx

 

[geeg]

I think personally that if that much pressure is applied then you want th eenhancement to come off with as little damage to the nail plate as possible. Unfortuately MMA does not bond to the nail plate and therefore alot of filing of the natural nail needs to be done prior to application (which can be very painful) this makes it an extremely strong bond as your client found out and this is not a good thing in my opinion as it can be extemely painful. As you say, an enhancement should be stronger than the natural nail but not so strong as to rip the natural nail off with it under those sort of circumstances. I think clients just need more educationg as to the damage that can be done if the right products and methodsof application are not used! xx

I'll ammend this post slightly by saying that filing the natural nail creates a strong bond on a now weakened plate. Recipe for disaster.

Maybe you all didn't realize that one of the main reasons that MMA is a banned product for nails is precisely because of the horrific accidents of the type you describe, experienced in the USA !!! The product is too hard for nails to support under pressure!!

Of course the most up to date products are formulated with stresses in mind and are designed to break before the plate does to avoid painful trauma to the natural nails.

 

[Cathie!]

I'm sure someone else will be able to shed a bigger light on this but I feel sure that there is a difference in the chemistry of MMA and EMA regarding the way it breaks or shatters.....the chemical bonds made with MMA are so tight/short, they will break the natural nail under the overlay before the plastic itself will break.

And also could the same (the original question) be said of a very thick overlay, whether MMA or EMA?

 

[geeg]

I'm sure someone else will be able to shed a bigger light on this but I feel sure that there is a difference in the chemistry of MMA and EMA regarding the way it breaks or shatters.....the chemical bonds made with MMA are so tight/short, they will break the natural nail under the overlay before the plastic itself will break.

And also could the same (the original question) be said of a very thick overlay, whether MMA or EMA?

Yes it could!
Technicians always need to use the products they work with in the correct and responsible way so that they are thin but balanced. Too thick an aplication could lead to the same type of trouble and pain even with modern products.

 

[Lellipop]

MMA acrylic is so strong to the soft tissue that even a slight trauma to the nail can cause the nail to break and lift off the nail bed. This can result in serious nail breaks, infection and loss of the nail plate. I do believe that although companies are striving for stronger lasting products we will not see the problems that we are seeing with mma. MMA and EMA are very different in there make up as Cathie has stated. So I think that although products develop all the time no top nail company will want to produce or sell a product that has the same effects as mma.

 

[cantrelax]

what is EMA?

 

[Lellipop]

what is EMA?

Ethyl Methacrylate It is widely used in monomer.
Hths