Disappointed

[suzylakes]

:cry:have started charging clients now, after building my confidence up, but Im so down just finished doing a ladys nails (NSI Attraction L&P) she thought they where great but I could see that they wasnt the best Id done, it really has hit my confidence I did my own yesterday and was so pleased with them, today i seemed to havbe no control over my brush, product and a shake (which only came on today!!) my product thickness was too thick I seemed to file forever, something i like to keep to a minimum, i caught a finger with my nail file! i feel completely down with myself. one nail, however i seemed to file just wouldnt shape nicely i varnished the nail with coloured enamel which covered a couple of the errors but I know they are underneath!!

so so dissapointed in myself, sorry do harp on , but did anyone else feel like this , have I started too soon on paying clients, (this is the 1st time this has happened) i have done other clients which ive been very pleased with.

 

[deanosnana]

I can honestly say, I feel your pain!

The fact that the client was happy with your work says a lot! I know, sometimes we as professionals are too hard on ourselves but that's what keeps us striving to be our best and do our best.

Right now, I'm having problems with my L&P Forever French application (smile lines) and the rebalance (smile lines & timing...2 hours). I did my mom's (for free) rebalance the other day. She's thrilled with them but I can see the areas where I need to improve. THAT's what keeps us always wanting to do better.

Stick with it... Keep your chin up... Know that you are not alone! xoxoxo

 

[suzylakes]

thanks for that, i just feel its three steps forward and five steps back!! practice makes perfect! thanks for replying.xx

 

[karentriff]

It takes me two hours to do a rebalance and refill also. Even though it stresses me a little my clients dont mind as they have a brand new looking set of nails. When they phone for an appointment, just be sure to give them an approx time so they are prepared. Don't let it worry you because the more you do and the more confidence you gain the faster you will be without cutting corners and compromising on your quality.
I always see little things that niggle at me but its because we know exactly how we want the nails to look. You will find your client doesn't see these things, just their lovely nails. If we weren't perfectionists we wouldn't strive to improve all the time. Believe me when I say your times will come down the more you do. Four weeks ago it was taking me 3 1/2 hours to do a full set of forever french. I have done so many sets since then it now takes two hours. Keep up your practice and make sure during practice that you are doing everything as perfectly as you can.
Take your time till you are happy with each step. We all have times when we are down but hop back on your bike, chin up and carry on

 

[tracey louise]

you are not alone on this.
i still feel like this 4 years on but i do agree that finding imperfections etc.. does make us strive to be better and are we ever 100% happy with our work?
just keep practicing and im sure it will pay off and the only way you can do this is by doing peoples nails.theres nothing wrong with wanting to be better as this is what makes a great nail tech.xx

 

[Trinity]

Trust me, we all go through it, and as your skills improve you will get even more critical of your own work LOL!

It's called 'conscious incompetence' - there are 4 stages to learning anything:-

Unconscious Incompetence - you don't know how much there is not to know
Conscious Incompetence - you know you don't know things/how to do them
Conscious Competence - you know what to do and how but have to concentrate
Unconscious Competence - you just know how to do it without thinking, almost second nature.

Do you drive? It's like when you learn to drive, when you first get in the car you have no idea of all the things you need to do to get that car from A to B safely and easily. After a couple of lessons you suddenly realise there is sooo much to learn and think you'll never do it. Suddenly a few months in it clicks into place and you drive well but still need to have lessons and learn how to handle situations. After you pass your test and a few years down the line, you just drive instinctively and all those gear changes, mirrors, singnals and other things you have to do come instinctively - that's unconscious competence.

I'd be more worried about your skills and sanity if you didn't have this stage - work through it, take a deep breath when you start working on your next client, breathing helps enormously LOL!

 

[suzylakes]

thank you - don't feel so bad, I just fear my client will come back and point out my mistakes!! had a small glass of wine , which seemed to of stopped the shaking!!
dont know what id do with out you all!
xx

 

[cro-mari]

If you look through all the peeps are saying here about speed (and a lot of us felt like you, believe me), you'll see that no one is strictly equaling speed with quality. No one ever said , "You won't be a propper nail tech if you're not able to complete a full set in xy time". They said, "Perfect practice makes perfect". You gotta start somewhere! Of course, time is money, but so what if nails take you longer to finnish? And how long do you think you need to take for a full set? You'll grow into it! I know it's hard, but the key word is - quality.

Yes, I think I'm slow. It takes me 2 hours to complete a full set of nails and as much for a rebalance. 1,5 hours for a full set or NNO when nails are 'naked', nothing on them. I used to worry... even bought an e-drill, just to find that the speed is just the same, so I'm back to good old hand file. But then I thought - hey, my nails don't lift, don't chip, clients are happy and no one complained about the time! So I'm done worrying and at the moment I stopped worrying, my time improved!

Clients wont remember so much how long did it take to get their nails done and how much they payed. They will remember the feeling they had while being with you, so chin up and smile please :green:. They will remember how satisfied they were when going home and looking at their hands again and again. Remember that.

Just look what other geeks say, there's been a lot about timing. Look at their web sites, see how long it takes them, and you'll see that even the best ones don't do it in 15 mins! :green:

 

[*sarah*]

Hey suzy,

I still feel my nails are not good enough sometimes to and it is especially hard when you just start out, but as the other geeks have said just keep practising the shaking could just be down to leaning on a nerve as I sometimes get this too lol best of luck with your work and remember the geeks are always here for you xx

 

[dingbat]

I feel what you are going through, I sometimes become so heart broken and cry............why why why.
The geeks on here are so supportive, it's like having a shoulder to cry on. Don't give up sweetie you can do it. Bye the way only a small glass of wine, I would have a whole bottle!!!!!:hug:
Debbie

 

[geeg]

Everyone has off days .... everyone. Sometimes it's just that your chair isn't at the right height or you have that set that you just feel awkward about. No one is perfect all the time.

Whenever I do public demos, you always find me doing a few practise nails before the demo just to make sure I'm in the groove -- and I have done hundreds of thousands of nails and thousands of demos --- . Sometimes the first set of the day is not to your liking because you are just not in the groove yet.

You are an artist not a machine. Artists need inspiration and the right conditions to work ... we are a complicated lot and I think more highly strung than others and more picky of ourselves than others and NEVER satisfied. You have to learn to live with that as it is the artist's temperament.

 

[TOTI]

This has happened to me several times (and after 7 years) it still happens to me, this morning actually, i had no idea what was going on with me i think i am over tired, but sometimes this happened, i'm sure picasso had his off days too!!

 

[Debbies Gellies]

I find PMT can cause me to get annoyed with my work. Sometimes it just doesn't go where you want it to go iykwim

 

[suzylakes]

:lol:thanks you all again for all your replys , so pleased its not just me who this happens too, that day it just felt like it!!
thanks xxxx