Elderly client with overgrown cuticles, help

[BeautyByBecca]

Hi all,


I’m looking for a bit of advice.


I had an elderly client today for her first appointment.

I usually only do gel manicures, but when she arrived today the first thing she said was that she didn’t want anything on her nails due to her arthritis - she said she doesn’t want to draw attention to her hands.


So I just ended up filing, TRIED to do a bit of Cuticle work, and gave her a luxury manicure with exfoliation, lotion, Hand mask and mittens.


However, I had a couple of issues so wondering if I could ask your advice.

1. She had very, very overgrown cuticles, some climbing almost half way up her nail plate. I have heard about this before but have never experienced it (I am newly qualified) I soaked them to soften, and applied cuticle remover but when I tried to push them back it was like they were glued to the nail plate. I did my best to very gently push them back but some were very stubborn and just didn’t budge!

I gave her a mini bottle of solar oil. Advised to apply twice a day. Advised to try gently pushing back cuticles after a warm shower when they are softer.

Is there anything else I can do?

1. She said she didn’t want a colour, but I thought about suggesting a French Manicure for her next appointment. So I feel like I’ve done SOMETHING for her. But I don’t know if she’d make it out the door without smudging them to be honest!

So then I thought about shellac for the zero dry time, but then I don’t think Shellac would be the right thing for her really... I just don’t know.

Help! What would you do?

 

[EllenHyuga]

I’d go with what she wants. I think it may be difficult to do colours if her cuticles are still over grown. I’d sort that out first then suggest a nude colour x

 

[BeautyByBecca]

I’d go with what she wants. I think it may be difficult to do colours if her cuticles are still over grown. I’d sort that out first then suggest a nude colour x

Thank you. I wouldn’t do a colour any way, because as I said she doesn’t want to draw attention to her arthritis which is why I thought may be a French. But whether I did French or a subtle nude, my question was whether to do normal polish or shellac in that case, and what people would suggest.

Obviously I couldn’t do this until her cuticles are in better condition. So I was looking more for advice on how to sort them. Thank you any way

 

[CFBS]

I think you're doing all the right things. Just tackle the cuticles a bit each time you see her.

 

[BeautyByBecca]

I think you're doing all the right things. Just tackle the cuticles a bit each time you see her.

Ok, thank you
I suppose I just felt a bit disheartened.
I wanted to sort it out there and then, and for her to leave with beautiful nails. & usually I feel like I achieve this with my other clients.
But this time I felt a bit deflated, like I hadn’t really DONE anything. Like she hadn’t left with perfect nails - better maybe, but not perfect. (Not saying I always do perfect nails, but hopefully you know what I mean). I just really want to do my best for her.
Does that make any sense?

 

[CFBS]

Ok, thank you
I suppose I just felt a bit disheartened.
I wanted to sort it out there and then, and for her to leave with beautiful nails. & usually I feel like I achieve this with my other clients.
But this time I felt a bit deflated, like I hadn’t really DONE anything. Like she hadn’t left with perfect nails - better maybe, but not perfect. (Not saying I always do perfect nails, but hopefully you know what I mean). I just really want to do my best for her.
Does that make any sense?

Yes of course.
In fact, it's probably much safer to remove a bit of cuticle each time rather than loads in one go.
If you have heated mitts you could do a hot oil treatment before starting work on the cuticles.

 

[BeautyByBecca]

Yes of course.
In fact, it's probably much safer to remove a bit of cuticle each time rather than loads in one go.
If you have heated mitts you could do a hot oil treatment before starting work on the cuticles.

Oh that’s a good idea! I didn’t think of that!
I don’t offer that at the moment so didn’t even consider that! I did use it in my training though and it was fab. That’s brilliant, I’ll try that next time. Thank you

 

[NailtechJoe]

I once had a client like you described with extended overgrown skin (about less than a third of the nail plate) and Koilonychia (spoon nails). I basically pushed them back as gently as I could which took me about 2 hours to do a full gel manicure. She left very happy and gave me an excellent review since her last nail tech left her with bleeding painful nails.

I wouldn't say that the cuticle you refer to is the live skin; cuticle is supposed to be the dead skin that is grown out as the matrix produces new nail cells. If you cut the overgrown skin, it will grow back calloused because it is the body's natural defence to protect itself from harm.

Does it look like pterygium by any chance? If so, refer to a dermatologist.

http://www.nailsmag.com/article/91582/under-the-microscope-pterygium

 

[Persephannie]

I had a client like this with also severely bitten nails. I did her cuticle work 3 times but still wasn't really happy. I think you have given great advice and just know that some things take more than 2 hours to resolve. I hope she comes back so you can see her progress.

 

[BeautyByBecca]

Thank you for your replies! Sorry for my delayed response, I have been on a course the past few days and have been busy!

I feel better about it now, thank you all for your reassurance and advice.

I will continue to perservere and I am also
going to try the warm oil treatment in future to see if that helps

 

[BeautyByBecca]

I once had a client like you described with extended overgrown skin (about less than a third of the nail plate) and Koilonychia (spoon nails). I basically pushed them back as gently as I could which took me about 2 hours to do a full gel manicure. She left very happy and gave me an excellent review since her last nail tech left her with bleeding painful nails.

I wouldn't say that the cuticle you refer to is the live skin; cuticle is supposed to be the dead skin that is grown out as the matrix produces new nail cells. If you cut the overgrown skin, it will grow back calloused because it is the body's natural defence to protect itself from harm.

Does it look like pterygium by any chance? If so, refer to a dermatologist.

http://www.nailsmag.com/article/91582/under-the-microscope-pterygium

Thank you so much for your detailed response!
Sorry I have taken so long to reply!

The client has lovely hands and nails really.
Looking at her nails I noticed her cuticles just looked overgrown, but I suppose the issue was that I wasn’t expecting them to be so stubborn, and I couldn’t push some of them back (unless I was to force them, which obviously I wouldn’t do.)

They didn’t look like the picture at all, thankfully!
But thank you for your help and advice!

I am going to just go slowly and gently with this client. Someone suggested oil treatment, so I am going to try that in future as well