Going back to natural nails only?

[Perfected]

I'm seriously considering going back to only doing natural nails.

I tried gel and was having issues. I contacts the product educator and received some awesome tips. I incorporated this new advice when I did my last client's full set. I took my time and did everything right. Thin layers, proper cure... And what happens? Three nails came off! She's such a sweetheart she bought a gift certificate for her mom to get a full set, and wasn't even going to say anything about her nails! Her mom apparently told one of the ladies I work with. She's supposed to be coming in for a fill this week. I have one other new client who had NNO. She's coming in this week as well for a fill. Hopefully she doesn't have any issues. Also, my first NNO client who had issues is coming in for a fill next week. She's been away on vacation as well. I hope things worked out for her, but I have a strange fear that everyone is going to come back with issues.

There has to be a better way. I obviously don't know what I'm doing, and I really don't even think I enjoy all the work that goes into a full set with tips. Sizing the tips, gluing...That's my least fave part of it all. Natural nails are so much easier. What you see is what you get. Cuticle work, shaping, buffing, polish, hand massage. Simple and effective. You don't have to worry about your client coming back to say, "Three nails popped off!" Around here, if polish lasts longer than three days they think you are awesome. I use Zoya, so it lasts longer than that.

Has anyone else gone through this? How did you transition your clients?

 

[joanerella]

ive just trained in gel. there is a lot to learn and every time i do them i think " must do this or that differently (or better) next time!" so the beginning is def a learning curve that can knock your confidance but you have to stick with it. OR stick with what your happy with and enjoy! x

 

[sknight]

We all have and I still am but I know I can crack it. You should wait to see your returning clients you may get a surprise. What products do you use? the geeks may be able to help out. :hug:

 

[akaza]

Hi,

I myself am a long time IBD gel user. I have never used Zoya, so I cannot compare results.

If nails are falling off then you may need to concentrate more on your prep and cuticle work.

Make sure when using tips, that you have taken the shine off the tips, and have capped the free edge of every nail, and not to mention sized and glued tips on correctly.

If you include a hand massage at the end of your service, then some hand cream or oil may have gotten into the nails if they were not finished properly at the cuticle, causing them to eventually come off.

hth x x

 

[Perfected]

I used Lechat. Angel Fingers gave me some awesome advice which I implemented.

I do remember on the one client that she had very flat nail beds and half way through the tipping I started going with really large tips that would lay flat against her nails, and then file down the sides to size them properly. Her nails looked really cute when they were done too. We did pink and white, and then glitter powder with the base gel for the remaining layers. Took me 3.5 hours. Of course it didn't help that she's really fun to talk with and we ended up talking A LOT. :lol:

My one client who had a NNO before her trip to Hawaii I'm anxious to see. We just did the clear overlay. I felt really confident when she left. Hopefully she didn't have any issues.

Perhaps while I'm on a learning stage I should not take any new clients. Just work with the ones that I have so far. If they have issues, I'll fix them, hopefully leaving them happy again.

I did do a NNO on myself. I hadn't done a fill and it had been about a month. I took my polish off and there was lifting. Mainly around just the edging. On my right hand I had more noticeable lifting, but I'm right handed too.

For me, I think it's more simple to just have natural nails. By the time I'm done working I don't want to stay longer to do them. I don't want to go in early to do them either. So it leaves me with carting my supplies home. Much easier to just do manicures on myself.

I suppose I'll wait to see my other clients. See how they held up.

Akaza--Zoya is the brand of nail polish I use.

 

[mely-bely]

How long have you actually been performing gel enhancements?

The reason I ask is because you can't learn to walk or talk in a day - it takes time. I understand your frustration - we have all been there - but if you keep practicing you will get better. Throwing in the towel just seems like such a waste.

If, however, doing enhancements is not a passion for you - then I would think twice about continuing.

You can do it if you really want to

Good luck!

 

[Perfected]

I haven't been doing gels for long at all. Funny thing is, I'm not sure I enjoy it. I like doing NNO. I don't enjoy using tips. The sizing, gluing...etc. Natural nail care is so much more simplified.

I really enjoy giving pedicures. The water, making the toes look perfected, and the paint. I enjoy manicures as well. My favorite part of any service is the paint. lol All the different colors, and the shine!

I'm kind of an "instant gratification" type. I never really had proper enhancement training in school, and my first two jobs were natural nail care only. I don't know...back in high school I used to thumb through three old copies of Nails Mag over and over looking at all the pictures. I used to draw them in art class. And I did my own acrylics. I guess it's just a lot different when you do it for work, and your reputation is on the line.

 

[Perfected]

Okay, just got a call from the salon. My client with the NNO who had issues before apparently scheduled an appointment for today and no one told me. I just checked my books yesterday. So she's coming in Thursday, but the scary fact is that she's coming in earlier than originally scheduled. :Scared:

Oh crap.

 

[Perfected]

Okay, so my first NNO lady who came back in for a fill didn't have any severe issues due to me. She had three nails that broke backwards when doing stuff. Her natural nails are dry and brittle. She was fine with it as she said that she thinks three weeks is too long and should have came in after two weeks. Her nails did grow quite a bit too.

The other client who did a FS came in with six missing. She said the first week she was fine, and then the second week three popped off. The whole thing popped off. The damage from it was in the center of the nail close to the free edge. She had her pinkie and thumb nails still on though! lol We did a fill on those nails, and a NNO on the other six. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but they looked good when I was done today so I'm hoping they last this time! She is so lax. She doesn't even CARE that they came off. She told me, "I am the most easy going person, it wasn't a big deal at all. After they came off I thought, {Oh, okay.}. You didn't hear me calling you saying, {my nails came off, my nails came off!} Seriously not a big deal to me at all." She was laughing when she said this too. I'm so fortunate to have awesome understanding clients! My boss said not to give up, not to quit the gels. That I'd be fine. And then she went on to mention what a wreck they were when they were learning foils for the first time. I guess the foil kept sliding off the hair. LOL. That made me feel a lot better.

So for now, I'm not taking new gel clients till I get this figured out. My first NNO client who has dry brittle nails I talked into sticking with just her natural nails for now, and using cuticle oil every night at least. Hopefully she will follow. She's willing to come in every week for a mani.

I'm so blustered, but feel better. I want things to work awesome so I can do gels and move my way up to super fancy designs and inlays! :lol:

I drool at all the pretty sequins from Lechat. :green:

 

[sknight]

Just a quick question about your tip problem.
Have you tried sculpting on a form with your gel? You wouldnt need to tip so that takes away a part of the service you don't like (obviously you would still need to tip some people depending on the state of their nails) but it would help.

 

[Perfected]

I have never used forms before. They didn't even show us how to properly use them in school. I do have some metal opi ones that came in my kit. Can I use those?
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Cutesteph]

Forms saves so much time. Try them out. I find the enhancements are stronger without a tip as well. I never bothered with tipping. Only if I absolutely have to i will..

If you like doing enhancements you should keep trying. It is frustrating at first but you will see with time and practice it starts to get better.

 

[sknight]

I have never used forms before. They didn't even show us how to properly use them in school. I do have some metal opi ones that came in my kit. Can I use those?
Posted via Mobile Device

As far as I know you would need to use clear forms to ensure they are fully cured. I don't think metal ones would work

 

[angel fingers]

reading through this, it sounds as if you may not be building enough of an apex. really concentrate on the stress area. do one at a time when you get to this layer and give them a freeze cure to hold the shape before moving on to the next one.
also try to select tips that are the same c curve as the natural nail. if you have to press the tip to make it flat enough to follow the shape of the natutural nail, it may cause problems. the tip will want to spring back to its natural shape and this will force the overlay up and may cause 'popping'

could you perhaps get along to one of the nail shows and get a demo at the lechat booth? the products really are simple to use and reliable, its like all brands, just a matter of getting it on right in the first place. and i know your school didnt do much for you on gels so you are bound to have some teething troubles if you havent managed to get to a class yet.

i really understand that feeling of dread and worry you are having, i went through exactly the same at the beginning of my nail life. my heart used to sink when the phone rang because i thought it would be someone with a problem or complaint. i kept on attending as many classes and doing as much practice as i could and eventually became confident. keep the faith in your abilities, if other people can do it then so can you :hug:

 

[bralynstudio]

i dont do gels in my salon, but had to do 50 sets in school to graduate. to answer the qustion of metal forms..NO you can not use them. the reason..the metal heats up when in the uv light and can burn the finger or the nailbed, depending on design of metal form. the best is a paper disposible form, the dont heat up. as for which paper form, any color or style you prefer, use the same ones you do for acrylics if you like, it will save you money than buying two styles of forms.

as for popping off, my guess is possible prep. make sure the nails are ultra clean...especially the removal of dry skin on the nail plate. make sure you use a dehydrator before applying gel to remove oils from the nail. i was also taught to do a very thin base gel over the entire nail before doing anything else, and cure, then start building the gel nail.

hope this helps.

kristi
bralynstudio

 

[geeg]

This probably will not be a popular reply, but it is my opinion.

You sound full of angst and as though you are not enjoying doing what you are doing. Apart from the 'issues' you talk about, you don't even seem to like the process of doing nails. Even if all your clients returned with no 'issues' you still don't seem inspired by it.

So why do them if you have nil passion for it? I certainly have never ever felt like you feel and frankly if I had, I wouldn't have stayed 2 minutes in the industry.

 

[Perfected]

Okay, update. I've seen all my clients now, so I don't have any stress waiting to see how things went.

I think the advice about less powder and better apex is helping. I bought a separate container to sprinkle the powder on and it works lovely.

I'm trying to be more optimistic than I have been. Being a pessimist isn't going to make things better.
I think I gave the wrong impression. I was just really frustrated and feeling really low, so I was being a major Ms. Complainy Pants. I don't really mind tipping THAT much, I just had a couple of difficult clients in a row and had bad luck with both of them.

Anyways, I had a client earlier this week who needed a major repair and fill. She thought she had gels, but she actually had acrylic with gel top coat over her polish. Her nails were in a very sad state. And as I worked on her, I felt tremendously better about my own skills. She told them she wanted them shorter and they didn't do it. The acrylic was WAY thicker on one hand than the other. On most fingers the gel had cracked and the acrylic was either lifting or was chipped. As I was filing off her gel and polish underneath, I thought she had fungus on several nails. But to a sad horror, as I filed off the acrylic over those areas, it came off! It appeared to be dried blood that had dried on the nail and they just slapped acrylic over it! I could be wrong, but it appeared this way.

She's a day care lady and had all the patience in the world as I worked on her for three hours filing everything by hand. On one finger I had to put a tip on because it had broken off. When I was finally ready to begin the fill she kept saying how much better they looked already. . And after, she kept saying how good a job I do, and she rebooked for two weeks. I bet there will be some issues when she comes back due to the different flexibilities of gel and acrylic. But the best part is, I'm not stressed about it. After seeing the other place's shoddy work, I feel much more confident. Being able to note their mistakes and know I have higher standards than that (not cutting a client or laying product over blood!) makes me feel a ton better.

Oh, and I bought the LeChat pro kit yesterday that comes with their light and an instructional video. I'm wondering if the DVD would have a newer movie on it since the VHS was filmed in 1998. Anyhow, I also have their spoon now. In the movie it shows the tech just quickly pouring a spoonful over the nail. Is this how you do it?

Thanks for everyone's advice and tips!

 

[NoLimitNails]

Ok you got me confused there with the mentioning of powder? if you use I'm confused if it's gel nails, or some kind of dip-in or gel-resin nails or similar?

But back on track, so glad you seem a bit more happy with it now, it's so frustrating doing a job you are scared of.

If you decide to start sculpting I will advise you to get the plastic-sheer ones, because you can fully cure your whites/opaques this way aswell as clears...
I myself use metal ones to sculpt a clear free edge (then remove form) and build my white on, or the clear ones all depends on the nails I'm doing, so have different but thats just me..

Keep it up, I'm sure it will come to you in time if you really want it, but you have to want it bad:green:

 

[Perfected]

Yep, they're gels. It's the LeChat Powder gel system. You apply the gel base, sprinkle on the powder, cure, and repeat till you get your thickness. Then you file and buff, and apply the gel topcoat.

lechatnails.com

 

[NoLimitNails]

oh ok didn't know that system
Still god luck with it in the future:hug: