Embarrassing - French manicure

[Sam81]

I had a client in today for a mani & pedi, she wanted French polish for both. This immediately makes my heart sink because it's just not a strong point of mine! Well her toes went fine, but when it came to her hands I just turned into a complete cabbage! I had to get my boss to come and do it! Luckily she's a lovely client and saw the funny side but I was so embarrassed. I think it's because I don't do them very often with normal polish any more (and I've never quite got the hang of it), I'm so used to being able to faff around with Gelish getting it perfect

Has anyone else had any 'lost the plot' moments?

 

[geeg]

I had a client in today for a mani & pedi, she wanted French polish for both. This immediately makes my heart sink because it's just not a strong point of mine! Well her toes went fine, but when it came to her hands I just turned into a complete cabbage! I had to get my boss to come and do it! Luckily she's a lovely client and saw the funny side but I was so embarrassed. I think it's because I don't do them very often with normal polish any more (and I've never quite got the hang of it), I'm so used to being able to faff around with Gelish getting it perfect

Has anyone else had any 'lost the plot' moments?

No I haven't, but I have to say, that this is a fixable problem you have !! All it would take, would be some hours put in by you where you practice and learn your craft. If you are serious about a career in nails then you have to put in the hours.

If I went to someone who perports to be a professional, charging people to do a job for them, I would expect that that person would know how to do the job I asked for competently; I would definitely not be happy to find that they could not!

 

[shedunlop]

I can do French but I hate doing it with normal polish. If someone asks for it I can't say I am thrilled. I think it is the only thing that I dislike doing as far as nails are concerned.

Gigi is right, it just takes practice and to avoid another instance like this I think I would go home and do it until you know how to do it in your sleep. :wink2:

 

[Sam81]

No I haven't, but I have to say, that this is a fixable problem you have !! All it would take, would be some hours put in by you where you practice and learn your craft. If you are serious about a career in nails then you have to put in the hours.

If I went to someone who perports to be a professional, charging people to do a job for them, I would expect that that person would know how to do the job I asked for competently; I would definitely not be happy to find that they could not!

Hence why I was so mortified! I find it a bit upsetting that you think I'm not serious or professional about what I do, I can assure you that I have put in hours and hours of practice in all areas, but as I say French polish is not something I get asked for regularly at all, and I'm not confident with it. You have been in this industry for many, many years and I do respect your opinion but I only started learning my craft 12 months ago and accept that I have a lot to learn and it will take a long time and lots of practice before I'm perfect. I would rather be honest with a client and say 'I'm sorry, I don't think I'm doing the best job of this today, I'm having a bit of a wobble, would you mind if I asked my colleague to do your paint today', than send her away with shocking looking nails. As I say she was completely understanding. Believe me after today I will be practicing on every hand I can get my hands on! All I can say is I'm glad for you Geeg that you've never had a bad day, and thanks for making me feel even worse!

 

[geeg]

Hence why I was so mortified! I find it a bit upsetting that you think I'm not serious or professional about what I do, I can assure you that I have put in hours and hours of practice in all areas, but as I say French polish is not something I get asked for regularly at all, and I'm not confident with it. You have been in this industry for many, many years and I do respect your opinion but I only started learning my craft 12 months ago and accept that I have a lot to learn and it will take a long time and lots of practice before I'm perfect. I would rather be honest with a client and say 'I'm sorry, I don't think I'm doing the best job of this today, I'm having a bit of a wobble, would you mind if I asked my colleague to do your paint today', than send her away with shocking looking nails. As I say she was completely understanding. Believe me after today I will be practicing on every hand I can get my hands on! All I can say is I'm glad for you Geeg that you've never had a bad day, and thanks for making me feel even worse!

Please read my post and Please point out to me where I said that I thought YOU personally were not serious about your career.

I said if you are serious then you have to put in the hours. Simple statement and nothing like how you have taken it and no need to feel worse.

I am being absolutely truthful when I say I have never sent a client out with an incompetent job (or as you put it never lost the plot) ... I never said I had never had a bad day ... those are two different things altogether. Take the advice I actually gave and you should do very well.

 

[Sam81]

As I say I completely respect your opinion and know that what you say is only meant with the best intention to help. I too do not want to send clients away with an incompetent job, which is why I asked for help from my boss rather than pretend what I am doing is right. I know it's an area I need to work on and I will do so. I might not be the best, but I AM professional enough to want the best for my clients. Maybe I am oversensitive today as I've already made a wally out of myself. I just wanted some reassurance that I'm not the only one who's had these moments.

 

[Pinkbunny28]

Aww hun don't worry. Most of us have bad days. I have them while i'm driving - dear lord! Only yesterday my car cut out on me in traffic (it does that sometimes) and I went into an absolute panic and couldn't get her going and some idiot behind me thought it would be ok to beep me while I was in a panic, so I put my hazard lights on, took a deep breath and eventually got her going. (not like we were going anywhere fast, it was a standstill...)

Anyway my point is, don't let it get you down. When you have a moment where you panic and think you can't do it just stop, be patient and steady yourself. So what if it takes you an extra 5-10 mins and you have to re-do a couple of nails or tidy up a bit? We are only human, clients will understand if you make a mistake. Truth be told, they won't notice if it isn't perfect! I always think I make an absolute mess when I do it and can see flaws from every angle but have had compliments from complete strangers when I last did my best friend's nails because no one could see the flaws and thought they were perfect, go figure...

Just practice as much as you can and get yourself confident.

Fake it till u make it - totally works, I promise. It IS my new mantra and has helped me a LOT.

good luck sweetie x

 

[gr8nailz]

Sam, practice will make it better. We all cringed at first when it came to french application. But it does get better.

One of the tips I learned was instead of acetone to perfect a smile line, use Nail Fresh. It doesn't go on as "wet" as acetone and leaves a nice crisp finish.

I gave this tip to a new nail tech who was struggling with her french application and she said it made all the difference in the world. A good nail brush makes all the difference, too.

Just so you know, I got that tip from Geeg.

 

[Diana-Jane]

I used to be a secretary and my boss would often stand behind me watching me while i was typing. This made me so nervous and i felt like i was typing with sausages instead of fingers! So i feel the same sometimes when im painting nails because some clients do love to watch closely and inspect each nail as its being painted. I always make a point of holding and turning their hands over so i can see the nails from all angles and examining them well before i finish up. Clients see that i am thorough and that way they feel i am confident at what im doing even though french manis fill me with dread too. Practice and acting confidently is the way to go!

Sent from my HTC Wildfire using SalonGeek

 

[allyb91]

I once went to a salon to have my nails painted, I asked for french and the lady told me that she wouldnt do french as "it is so common, and never looks nice on anyone, especially if you are over 40" Guess if I am over 40 lol

I could have taken offence but I just laughed and replied "I am guessing you arent very good at french then?"

At least you were honest and didnt try to insult your client

 

[Dolly6410]

i posted a few weeks ago on here about french polish, i love doing it and i think i am pretty good but my white always gloops up and normally i can still do it in time before it gets awful, but the last one i did was horrible, it went so gloopy and she kept commenting, but i got some helpful tips about how to 'de-gloop' my white.

I was awful at french when i left college but my beautician helped me. at college we were always taught to do the white tip in one go, anything else looked unprofessional, but my beautician told me to do it in as many bits as you like, i try to do it in 2 and then touch up, but like said above, it really is practice practice and practice good luck! x

 

[Sam81]

Thank you to all of you who have given constructive advice, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who doesn't like doing them. As I say her toes were fine, and she was very happy with them (I forgot to add that she smudged three of her fingers before she got out of the door, which I re-painted, and they looked just as good as the others, so I CAN do it). I don't know why I had a crisis of confidence, I just couldn't seem to get it right today! I stand by what I say, I'd rather ask for help than just do a shoddy job, I know it's not very professional looking, but I'd feel far worse sending her away knowing she's going to want take it off as soon as she gets home. Gr8nailz, I will order some Nail Fresh next time I do my S2 order, it sounds exactly what I need, thank you.

 

[Sam81]

I once went to a salon to have my nails painted, I asked for french and the lady told me that she wouldnt do french as "it is so common, and never looks nice on anyone, especially if you are over 40" Guess if I am over 40 lol

I could have taken offence but I just laughed and replied "I am guessing you arent very good at french then?"

At least you were honest and didnt try to insult your client

Lol I love this, I might use it next time someone asks for French! haha! (obviously joking before anyone thinks I'm being serious!).

 

[gr8nailz]

Some nail techs polish all the white tips at one time. I work one hand at a time. It's easier for me. And like I said before, I use Nail Fresh instead of acetone.

My fellow nail techs can do a french application in half the time it takes me. Do I care? No. It takes me as long as it takes me. My clients are happy with the finished product and so am I.

We weren't taught french application in nail school because it wasn't done back in the day. When it became popular, I would glue nail tips onto wooden sticks and practice my french application over and over. Tedious? Absolutely! But well worth it because I'd rather be frustrated at home in front of a stick with a nail on it than in front of a client.

You'll get there. Just practice....practice...practice. Then practice some more.

 

[siana]

When I first left college I didn't feel competent at french or a normal polish!!! I used to spend far, far too long doing a man or ped and faffing about trying to make it neater and ending up with it looking worse. I then set about practicing on everyone, read everything on here, I printed out geeg's precision polishing tutorial, learn't about nail fresh mentioned earlier for tidying smile lines and now I love nothing more than someone asking for a french or polish. You will get there, keep practicing, be confident and bold when applying, and try not to apply the white too slowly as this always made it worse for me! Practice loading your brush with just the right amount of polish too - I used to have far to much on the brush. Good luck, I'm sure you will get there.

 

[sharondd]

We was taught the technique of french polish last week and I have to say I find it really hard at the moment, hopefully it will come naturally to me one day

 

[shedunlop]

I seem to remember a time not very long ago when there was a product called Dashing Diva. This let everyone breathe a sigh of relief that they could do a perfect French Polish at last. It is not uncommon to dislike doing French and getting it to look as perfect as we would like to.:wink2:

 

[gr8nailz]

I forgot about Dashing Diva! Some of us have limitations and if we run into a brick wall, perhaps we have a savior.

Dashing Diva may be her savior.

 

[Annemarie]

Get a cheap box of nail tips and practice on them. Fingernailfixer has a good youtube tutorial on applying a french polish.:biggrin:

 

[unas escarlata]

every day when I look at Nailclass I almost weep at those nails and aspire to deliver a set like that.

Most days however, I do have to remind myself I have hands, not wands....

I too, practiced on tips glued on sticks - it does help!