Clients and the wrong information

[shell28]

Its amazes me ive had 3 clients this week all wanting gel nails not a problem but when im was doing the consultation with them i asked all 3 what made you chose gels and i got the same reply for all 3

" Oh gels are so much better for your nails than acrylics"

Why do they think this? and where do they get such information from?

 

[Ditzy]

I got really annoyed before Xmas at college (I'm doing Beauty Therapy L2 course which doesn't cover nail enhancements).

it was enrichment week, and we were offered L&P nail extensions by the L3 students. One girl said she didn't want hers done because it ruins your nails. The teachers reply was, wait for it, "well have gel then"

I nearly fell on the floor, I took the girl aside and explained that neither product damages your nails, it is bad prep that can do that, and the prep will be the same for either.

I was so angry with the teacher, if this is what people get told in college, what hope is there for our industry?

 

[rouge]

I read an editorial in a large glossy mag (naming no names) a few months back. It was talking about Biosculpture and said that it's better for your nails that acrylic. To be fair, the article was not written by whoever makes Biosculpture but by a journalist. But if people are reading things like that in well known magazines then they're going to believe it and repeat what they've read.

 

[carlabarbie]

I read an editorial in a large glossy mag (naming no names) a few months back. It was talking about Biosculpture and said that it's better for your nails that acrylic. To be fair, the article was not written by whoever makes Biosculpture but by a journalist. But if people are reading things like that in well known magazines then they're going to believe it and repeat what they've read.

I see this quite often in magazines. And it's always Bio, never any other brand. It annoys me too, I do both L&P and Calgel, and end up having to explain about them all the time!

I think to be honest it's the NSS places that give L&P a bad name, after all if they are using the wrong type of acrylic or using electric files on the natural nail, and peoples nails get wrecked they will just tarnish everyone with the same brush. How are they to know any different?

 

[Jolicatellas]

Why do they think this? and where do they get such information from?

I think this idea comes from the fact that NSS places don't offer gel applications but do offer acrylic - then they may damage a nail and the customer thinks, "gels will be better, they won't damage my nail".

I don't believe either gel or acrylic or fiberglass is better for the nail, but I do believe certain applications suit different people - depending on their lifestyle.

 

[nailzoo]

Gel companies ... yep I'm gonna point the finger (Bio) take out adds in glossy magazines aimed at the ignorant making claims of no damage (yet have never once backed this up) , particularly in here.....

Bio seem to have a different approach to some companies .....

3 times now I have had Bio ring me .... then within the next few days I have at least 3 calls from apparent clients asking do I do Bio Sculpture.

It's an interesting tactic, but it makes me quite annoyed.

Nuthin worse than a client that thinks they are better educated than you.

Naughty, naughty Bio Sculpture....

 

[thinkpink2008]

all the NSS by me say they offer Gel when it is actually L&P! Its such a pain!

 

[fifitrix]

I hear this quite often too. Sometimes the client may have previously been to a tech who only does gel and has been told about the apparent "evils" of l&p, and the same can be said for some clients who have only ever had l&p and been told the same about gel.

This is when we step in and explain the advantages of both systems and help the client make an informed choice.

 

[Gee]

This is really interesting, I am still training in nail extensions but i have to admit i thought gels were kinder on the natural nail, i have no idea where i got that information from, possibly in an article i've read somewhere. I now consider myself fully informed and corrected!

 

[tracey louise]

i had a neighbour who came to me wanting gels as another nail tech told her they were better than acrylic.i knew that if i told this client the truth about the two she wouldnt believe me as she seemed to believe this other tech so i just told her that they come from the same family and left it at that.i had a few problems with this client because right from the start she basically admitted that she only came to me as i was cheaper so i knew that she obviously didnt think that much of me.
most people i do explain but i would think that about 1in3 of my clients all think that gels are better than acrylic

 

[AriellaGray]

It could also be that the nail techs who are just getting into gels and are really excited about them are trying to convert all of their clients and perhaps get a bit too excited and end up telling their clients that gels are better. Some may just do this on purpose knowing they don't have evidence to back it up and some may mean that they prefer the LOOK of how the gels go on and interpret this to mean that it's better than acrylic.

I don't know. But I do remember meeting a girl back in 1996 when I first got into nails who was totally into using gel only and that's all she talked about. She was quite opinionated in that she wouldn't even accept that her gels might not be the best. It was hard to have a convo with her as she kept ramming it down that gels were so much better for nails than acrylics...

 

[Mieke]

I hear that aswell and they get the information often from nailtechs in the area that only offer gel. It´s just up to us to give them the right info

 

[Bracky]

I tell all clients who ask 'do you use gel or arcylic', that I use 'liquid and powder acrylic', and that gel is also acrylic, it just has a different application method.

I chose to train in liquid and powder as I felt that this was the more difficult of the two to master so I figured if I could get that under my belt then gel would be a breeze.

I haven't had a single customer not go ahead and get their nails done after I have explained the truth about gel and liquid and powder.

 

[chantell simone]

I got really annoyed before Xmas at college (I'm doing Beauty Therapy L2 course which doesn't cover nail enhancements).

it was enrichment week, and we were offered L&P nail extensions by the L3 students. One girl said she didn't want hers done because it ruins your nails. The teachers reply was, wait for it, "well have gel then"

I find this very very worrying

If teachers are misinformed then it really does explain alot!

 

[be creative]

I belive the reason behind this is 2 things yes it has a lot to do with how you prep the nail and 2 it is the primer that does the most damage to your nails.
The primer as most of us know makes little holes in the nail plate so the product can sink into it, after applying this alot your nail will become damaged. The trick is to find a system that does not use a primer so you are not putting your clients at risk. As well as your self by being around and touching harsh chemicals.

 

[sparklybits]

I belive the reason behind this is 2 things yes it has a lot to do with how you prep the nail and 2 it is the primer that does the most damage to your nails.
The primer as most of us know makes little holes in the nail plate so the product can sink into it, after applying this alot your nail will become damaged. The trick is to find a system that does not use a primer so you are not putting your clients at risk. As well as your self by being around and touching harsh chemicals.

I agree with you here and I only use protine bond which is a protine based primer and NOT ACID based.

I also agree that in my experience some College tutors thats some tutors not all are all rounders and teach everything from waxing to nails, and have never worked in the industry for any length of time therefor this dosnt keep them up to date with the fast changing environment.

I also no that there are tutors out there that do a lot for the industy and work there socks of to get the correct information to the students. So I suppose what my point is that as long as we keep educating the client that they systems all use Acrylic and that they are just different methods of application then maybe one day we might just make a difference.

 

[SammiG]

I am so glad this thread was started. There are two salons near me that use ******. BOTH of these nail techs have been educating their clents by saying that 'acrylic' is so bad for your nails. It makes me livid!!! I do both gel and l&p and will always advise a client what is appropriate for them. I have had a few people come to me very scared to give l&p a try as they had been scaremongered by these techs. I can understand people being scared to have l&p due to a past experence in a NSS, but these are fully trained techs in a reputable salon!!

Anyway, One of these ladies has got a printed leaflet with the*********logo on it and apart from other things, it says that the gel is 'natural' and that ''unlike acrylics, which harm your nails''......

I did contact the company but have had no reply. I'm sure everyone knows who I am talkng about.

Sam xx

 

[mely-bely]

I belive the reason behind this is 2 things yes it has a lot to do with how you prep the nail and 2 it is the primer that does the most damage to your nails.
The primer as most of us know makes little holes in the nail plate so the product can sink into it, after applying this alot your nail will become damaged. The trick is to find a system that does not use a primer so you are not putting your clients at risk. As well as your self by being around and touching harsh chemicals.

I don't know what primer you are using, but if you read Douglas Schoon's book he states that primers DO NOT damage nail plates - they are corrosive to skin. The only time a primer can soak through the natural nail to damage the nail bed underneath is when the nail is overfiled, damaged and weak and/or if you overuse the primer - such as triple priming.

 

[bellabeautie]

I am glad you replied to that Mely Bely, as when I read the other post about Primers cause damage to the nail plate...I had not heard that before and started to panic a bit! Not that I use a primer, because I use CND Rentention +, but I was thinking of trying out Radical which I was told you do need to use the primer with. Thanks xx

 

[EmJZ]

As a tech who only offers gel (not because I think l&p damage your nails, but because the smell affected me too much during training) it's not fair to blame the company only. As you can see from my sig I am using the "offending" gel. Yes, they do say such things in adds and so forth, but it's also up to the tech to know what is marketing BS and what is the truth. The company shouldn't be making such claims, but well trained techs will also know not to pass that info into clients as well.