Continue in business if clients develop nail conditions?

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Beauty_nails

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Sep 14, 2019
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Sarnia
I'm at a crossroads and I'd love other nail techs advice. I'm a very small nail business owner and am certified. I pride myself in cleanliness and sterilization of all implements. I've found that a couple of my clients have developed a fingernail condition (looks like "white superficial nails" but I'm not diagnosing them) and feel I may have failed and should no longer offer my services. It has been my joy doing what I love for these past years and enjoy owning my own business! I'd hate to close up due to embarrassment and fear that I'll be given a bad name. Akkkk what to do?
 
Hi. Could you please advise how do you do sterilisation of surfaces. What tools do you use and how you sterilise them?
 
Also I think it is not too late to access your processes and improve them. Dont give up, in our field can be difficulties.
 
Hi. Could you please advise how do you do sterilisation of surfaces. What tools do you use and how you sterilise them?
I use "Preempt CS20" to sterilize for a minimum of 20mins.
 
I use "Preempt CS20" to sterilize for a minimum of 20mins.
I know that it is not required in uk to use heat steriliser, but I use it anyway. 20 min is solution, 6 hours drying period for tools (so they dont rust) and 80 min in 180 degrees in separate paper craft bags. This way you kill anything that survived after Preempt CS20.
 
Thank you for your time, advice, and encouragement!
 
Also I use disinfecting wipes for the table surface.
That is enough in my opinion, but as an extra - get yourself a uv steriliser that produces ozon, and leave it for 20 min in room. Amazon has them. And you will have sterile room. I have one of those too.
For example:
UV Sterilization Lamp Integrated Ultraviolet Germicidal Lamp with Ozone quartz tube disinfection Portable UV-C LED Sanitizer for Car Household Refrigerator Toilet Pet Area with Lamp Base 38W https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07L4HRGJM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KvrFDb92F2PZG
 
Good luck and you are very welcome!!;)
 
I'm at a crossroads and I'd love other nail techs advice. I'm a very small nail business owner and am certified. I pride myself in cleanliness and sterilization of all implements. I've found that a couple of my clients have developed a fingernail condition (looks like "white superficial nails" but I'm not diagnosing them) and feel I may have failed and should no longer offer my services. It has been my joy doing what I love for these past years and enjoy owning my own business! I'd hate to close up due to embarrassment and fear that I'll be given a bad name. Akkkk what to do?

Could you post a photo of the nails you describe, as it may not be anymore serious than dry , dehydrated nails. Or caused by over zealous removal of gels.
Thanks
 
Could you post a photo of the nails you describe, as it may not be anymore serious than dry , dehydrated nails. Or caused by over zealous removal of gels.
Thanks
 

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They look very dehydrated and in desperate need of a good quality nail oil. All my clients have a good oil that contains safflower and tocopheral acetate amongst the key ingredients to ensure good penetration to the nail plate. I nag, nag , nag them to use it at least twice a day.

This client looks like they could have with a very thin, sensitive nail plate. Over buffing with a far too abrasive buffer is terribly damaging ( I use a gold buffer to prep the nail and remove the shine...a very high grade of gentle abrasion is all that's needed to prevent over thinning the nail plate.)

My rescue fix for the clients that may have problem nails is IBX, repair and strengthen treatment ( performed every 2-3 weeks until they improve ) and nail oil several times a day. Educate them to look after their nails and that will ultimately help you .

If it is just a few clients , then examine their internal health with a few questions??? do they have a new medical condition? have started taking medication? Have they got undiagnosed type 2 diabetes? or are they old with a delicate nail plate?

Close to the free edge of the nail is very thin in my opinion so it could just be that is all it is with dehydration and some damage from the removal process.

Hope that helps and it encourages you to not give up.
Rosie
 
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That looks like damaged nails. Like polish/acrylics was scraped with force. Or even damaged with acetone. Like a burn... I support IBX idea. That should help. And also Do not soak polish, but file it to thin layer of base coat and never file to bare nail.
 
Looking at the photo, I do not believe this is a hygiene issue, but is nail damage due to poor removal of gel nails. Here's an article from Nails Magazine - https://www.nailsmag.com/385333/prevent-nail-damage-with-proper-gel-polish-removal. The photo of your nails look just like those in this article!

That said, I think it's time to do a serious reassessment of your practices and procedures. The fact that it is happening on all fingers and to more than one client suggests that you are consistently doing something wrong. While I think the problem is over-zealous removal, it is often caused by improper application. Starting from the beginning, review how to apply base coat and subsequent color and top coats as thin as possible. Make sure that clients are using solar oil (or some other moisturizer) daily. When it's time for removal, make sure you carefully and thoroughly buff the top coat. Saturate the pad with the proper remover, wrap so that it is firmly against the nail, and WAIT until the gel polish removes without any scraping. Re-soak and re-wrap if necessary.

As for the clients with the damaged nails, I think you have to fix the problem. Identify the problem to them, take appropriate responsibility for it, and suggest using IBX on them for a couple of months (for free). You can even turn this situation into a positive by using it to educate yourself and your clients and introducing them to a new and very effective service.
 
I think the fact that you are posting this shows you are a good caring therapist don’t give up !! Looking at your pics I have to agree it looks like maybe heavy handed removal or heavy prep xx I would take everything back to basics step by step xx it also looks like my nails did a few years ago when I went to a new salon and they used there efile incorrectly xxx hope this helps xxx
 
That looks like damaged nails. Like polish/acrylics was scraped with force. Or even damaged with acetone. Like a burn... I support IBX idea. That should help. And also Do not soak polish, but file it to thin layer of base coat and never file to bare nail.
Thank you! So very helpful. 2 questions: what do you use to "scrape" off shellac? I noticed my implement might be too sharp/harsh on the nail.
Second, IBX application before the base coat... Does it cause lifting? Or is the longtivity of the shellac stay on just the same?
 
If you talking about CND shellac - this should come off very easy, if it doesn't - wrap with remover for longer. Use wooden stick, it is more gentle. I use efile for removal, always leave a bit of base in nail to avoid damage - i would advise this way of removal. Also removal liquids disolve oils in nails and make them brittle.
IBX if applied as per instructions will not cause any lifting.
Shellac guarantees 14 days, that should not change.
 
Thank you! So very helpful. 2 questions: what do you use to "scrape" off shellac? I noticed my implement might be too sharp/harsh on the nail.
Second, IBX application before the base coat... Does it cause lifting? Or is the longtivity of the shellac stay on just the same?

Are you using cnd from a proper distributed not eBay etc?

Cnd is super easy to remove and doesn’t require much scraping at all, I always buff lightly (cnd training says not to) wrap from left to right and by the time igoback to the first finger 99% of the gel has already lifted.

Cnd requires super thin coats when applying
 
Thank you! So very helpful. 2 questions: what do you use to "scrape" off shellac? I noticed my implement might be too sharp/harsh on the nail.
Second, IBX application before the base coat... Does it cause lifting? Or is the longtivity of the shellac stay on just the same?

You should not have to "scrape" at all, especially with CND Shellac. Just a gentle push with an orangewood stick. Re-wet and re-wrap if necessary.

IBX does not cause lifting or harm longevity. In fact, as the condition of the nails gets better, you will find application and removal significantly improved.
 

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