Can't keep nails on my sister!

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x_pen_x

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bit of a strange one... ive been trained in LCN for 3yrs now, no massive problems with clients, except my sister. She is very heavy handed and will pick at a nail if it chips, but they chip in days and I cant work out why. We've tried with tips of varying lengths, overlays, she had gelish done somewhere while she was away, nothing seems to stay.

I did her a set of overlays last night as shes at a hen do tonight. Text abnout 7pm she'd chipped a couple (so obviously shes picked them off -.-) and i just got a text saying shes only got 6 left! some came loose at the edge so she picked them off etc. Its happened before, they seem to just fall off her? Apparently the ones that are left are really stuck on. I thought maybe she had overly oily nails, but its only effecting some of them.. I dunno, ive obviously not had this with anyone else and was looking for some ideas what it could be? As she will still ask me to do her nails for occasions and I hate spending hrs doing them for them to be gone in a day...

Thanks x
 
OK well I think it's fair to say that for some people, acrylics, gels, Shellac or whatever just don't seem to stay put. Having said that, in 9 years of nailing I've only ever had that situation once (with a lady with excessively sweaty hands who finally had Botox injections in her hands and now they stay on beautifully lol - but even she had no problems for a week.)

People who can be a major problem though are those with excessively oily or sweaty/clammy skin, pregnant, sometimes hormones can make a difference so I have read, if they swim a lot/sauna/hot tub, if they use household chemicals without gloves (Cillit bang and bleach are the kiss of death).

Consider too whether she has just had a bath/been swimming when you apply the nails. . . do it too quickly afterwards and you could be in trouble, let them dry out for a few hours. Is she swimming straight after you put them on?

Or is she just wearing the length too long for her heavy handedness? The max length I'll let anybody have is 50% longer than their nailbed, and if they're heavy handed I'd halve that. I also find for some reason that a square shape seems stronger than round.

If its none of the above you really need to look at your application again. Does she have an excess of cuticle which needs removing from the nailplate? Is she perhaps touching the nail plates after you have prepped and before you can get the product on? (Maybe things are a little more relaxed as you are sisters?). Maybe she has very deep-set nails with fleshy sidewalls which makes it more difficult to finish the nail properly?

Sorry if it's none of these. Not trying to teach you to suck eggs, honest! lol
Just trying to help and putting down anything I can think of which might help. good luck xx
 
a different point of view, maybe it's none of the above and just the fact that your sister doesn't appreciate your time & effort so doesn't look after her nails.

I only say this because I had the same problem with my sister, love her dearly but she used to make me feel totally crap!! I would shellac her nails and she would say they peeled within days, never a problem with anyone else and I tried everything, nail fresh even slightly buffing the nail. They always looked fab when she left.... then I'd get the dreaded text!

It all changed when one day I shellaced her nails and and did her a set of eyelash extensions as she was going away for the weekend and guess what... she came home saying the nails still looked great but all the eyelashes "fell off" Turns out she's a picker, gave her something else to concentrate on and hey presto!!

Sometimes it just not your fault

xx
 
I think maybe your sister is a picker too. If she is like me, she will see a flaw and it will bother her until she "fixes" it by biting/picking it off. I do this all the time except I can fix it ASAP and not have to rely on anyone.

What kind of product are you using on her? I have found that people who break their nails or whose "falls off" may need another enhancement. I can not wear l&p because I have awful lifting, but I can wear gel without any lifting. Start her out very short and go fom there. You also need to remind her that your time is money and that you can't keep fixing her nails. She should be more careful.
 
I think maybe your sister is a picker too. If she is like me, she will see a flaw and it will bother her until she "fixes" it by biting/picking it off. I do this all the time except I can fix it ASAP and not have to rely on anyone.

What kind of product are you using on her? I have found that people who break their nails or whose "falls off" may need another enhancement. I can not wear l&p because I have awful lifting, but I can wear gel without any lifting. Start her out very short and go fom there. You also need to remind her that your time is money and that you can't keep fixing her nails. She should be more careful.

On the same note, start charging her. She'll probably take more care if she's investing something too!
 
On the same note, start charging her. She'll probably take more care if she's investing something too!

Exactly - Thats the answer to your question.
The next time, charge her full price i bet they would last a hell of a lot longer.

If you dont want to ask her to pay, dont do them. Tell her its obviously not working for her. Stop wasting your products, time and skill!
 
It's hard to pinpoint what you could do to prevent the lifting on your sister because I haven't seen you doing them, it might not be anything your doing and it could be down to her picking away and creating the problem herself so this is just what i would do if i was in your position;

1. Dry prep the cuticles - get right down into the sidewalls and start pushing the cuticle back from half way up the nail plate because there will be dead cells that far up
2. White block the nail plate to remove the shine of the natural nail
3. Brush off excess dust
4. Scrubfresh / Dehydrate all ten nails
5. Just before you apply the L & P to the first nail dehydrate it again, wait a few seconds then apply the L & P - Repeat this for each nail because if her nails are oily or if she has a habbit of touching her nails inbetween you dehydrating and applying the product then this method will give you time to get the product on before the nail plate becomes oily again or your sister touching her nails because you will have her finger in your hand.
6. Leave a slightly bigger margain than normal around the cuticle area - this will allow you more room to doubly make sure that the product is seamlessly blended into the nail, you should not be able to tell the difference between where the L & P ends and the nail plate.
7. Once the L & P is on all ten nails thoroughly white block each enhancement and thoroughly shine buff to super seal the surface of the product otherwise the L & P remains porous which allows moisture to seep in and can create lifting.
Finally, oil the nails - ensure your cuticle oil contain natural ingredients and not synthetic oils such as mineral oil because these types of man made products can also cause lifting because effectively they dry out the L & P.

I'm sure you already know everything I've mentioned above and just described how I do my L & P enhancements, I used to have problems with lifting, hated doing infills because it would take me hours to sort them out but over the years I've picked up a few helpful tips from old work colleagues and my CND training ambassador and encorporated them all into my proceedure. Good luck
 
Sorry guys, was working away all weekend.

Thanks for all your comments, this has been going on, off and on for 3yrs so I dont think its my application. I dont do L&P, I do LCN, but the application sounds the same thanks nadine.

She does pay me and this time we just did overlays, so they are no longer than usual :/ You're right, she does pick them the second there is a flaw, and ive told her I wont be mad if she did pick them off, but I need to know incase there is something wrong but she swears they are lifting and then she picks them. Obv she could be lieing, but if not they shouldnt be lifting in hours?

I am getting bored of it though heh, if she pays me I guess I shouldnt care so much, but as you all know its annoying. She's not driving me nuts to get me to put them back on atm, maybe i'll just keep putting her off for a while heh.

Thanks again x
 

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