Help! Nail plate separating from nail bed with Shellac

[Little Bo-peep]

Hi all, hope someone can help! I know there have been posts about this before, but no-one has been able to give a definitive answer and just wondered if anyone had found anything since!

The reason I am asking is because I had a client in today & as I was removing her french shellac I noticed her smile line on both pinkies had moved quite far down the nail and they were very wonky! this set alarm bells ringing, so I asked my client if they were like that before (I did her shellac application & didn't remember them being wonky before!) She said no they weren't like that before and that she had noticed them going funny through her shellac after a few days of wearing it, but didn't think much of it as it wasn't that noticeable.

I wouldn't have thought anything of it either, but I experienced the exact same problem when I had shellac on a few weeks ago! The first few times I wore a shellac colour & noticed my smile lines were a bit funny when I removed it, but thought I must have bashed them or something! so when I had french shellac on a few weeks ago, I could see through the shellac that after a few days my smile lines were moving down my nails & were also feeling a bit tender! I had only had it on a few days & know I never bashed my hands or anything! It only occurs on my pinkies too which is really weird, as if I was allergic it would be occurring on other nails too & it's not like pinkies get used very much!

Most of the previous answers to this queries have suggested it could be the removal process, but this can't be the case as both me & my client could see it happening under the shellac when we were wearing it. It has also been suggested that it is trauma to the nail, but I know that I didn't do anything to my nails & my client said she didn't either! Also before you ask, I have done my shellac training, am using the whole shellac system, correct lamp and my bulbs still have 70 hours left in them.

I am very concerned now as I have lost a client today as she is too scared to have it re-applied & likewise I am too scared to re-apply it in case her nails fall off!

Have other geeks experienced this & if so what did you do? I thought maybe my nails were just weird, but now I've seen it on one of my clients I am really worried it might be quite common & can't afford to lose business! Also don't feel confident offering a service which could be damaging people's nails!

Sorry for long post!

Please can someone help!

thanks xx

 

[blossom]

Maybe having a protective coating enabled you/her to keep the nails a much longer length than usual? This could have contributed to the problem.

 

[Little Bo-peep]

thanks for replying blossom, but no this is not the case, my nails were short, I always have them at the same length. My client's nails were short too, so I really think it is something to do with the product itself rather than what we are doing with our nails, but would just like to know what the cause is so I know which clients are safe to have shellac & which aren't! it is very odd indeed & so annoying as I love shellac & am gutted that I can no longer wear it! :sad:

 

[zm85]

It sounds a bit like the nail plate is dehydrated from what you have described, does she use cuticle oil? This is quite common in my clients who don't follow advice and use their solar oil daily! It goes away with oiling maybe offer her a moisture pack and tell her to keep oiling, if it is dehydration she should see an improvement in about a week or less!

 

[natalie3344]

I too would love to know the answer to the question! I have found on my ring finger my smile line is further down my nail than usual and is really wonky! The free edge sort of sticks out more in the corner and is flatter than it used to be if you know what I mean!

 

[lacytree]

I think I read on an earlier thread that it could be dehydration. Maybe during prep. I don't use Shellac but hope that helps.

 

[Little Bo-peep]

Again thanx 4 posting, bt I & my client wer both using solar oil daily. Also ths doesn't xplain why it is only affecting our pinky nails. Th other weird thng is tht a few days after removing th shellac my nail bed reattached! I dnt know hw ths is possible coz obv ur nails grow frm th bottom so how can they reattach themselves at th top! V confused! Keep ur ideas coming in! Xx

 

[lacytree]

Weird! Sorry but I'm stumped. But it is very interesting.

 

[mizzy_dizzy]

Are you cleaning out behind the free edge at all?

Or over filing?

Using cuticle remover? And deactivating it?



I don't think you will find one definitive answer as no one can say for sure what you are doing in application or what people do with there hands / nails beetween Treatments ,



Do you have a photo?

 

[Unique.Tips]

Ive never experienced this issue. On my clients with Shellac. Sounds like overexposure that lead to an allergy. But I'm not a doctor. Was it all 10? If so I bet that's it. if its only one or two then it's probably from hitting them or aggressive manicuring.

Overexposure can b caused by:

Under curing the product.
Using the wrong lamp.
Applying the product to soft tissue.
Etc.

 

[Chickafish]

This is Doug Schoon's response to an issue very similar to this one:

"Interestingly, I've been answering nail techs questions about "onycholysis" (nail plate separation from the nail bed) for more than twenty years and I've noticed several things remain constant.

For one, no matter what product is being used, the product is almost always automatically blamed. If doesn't matter if its nail polish, artificial nails or even nail buffing oil, nail techs almost never consider it's something they are doing, yet as I discuss in my book, onycholysis is usually caused by improper nail preparation and/or improper product removal. Aggressive filing, e.g. incorrect use of e-files or use of course abrasives and/or a heavy hand are the most likely reasons.

Secondly, speedy and/or less-than-careful product removal is another leading cause. The bed epithelium is the tissue that holds the nail plate and nail bed together and it's easily damaged if proper care isn't taken. Faster isn't better when it comes to product removal. The client's nails are more important, so don't rush the removal process. Proper removal is just as important as proper application. Be gentle!

Of course, the third major reason must be that some clients are not good candidates for artificial nail coatings and can have such problems, e.g. some older clients.

So, the vast majority of the time onycholysis has nothing to do with what the client is wearing, but instead caused by physical trauma to the nail plate/nail bed junction where the bed epithelium holds the two together. This problem has nothing to do with the lamp that is being used, but if you're not using the correct lamp/bulbs with the correct product, then clients ARE more likely to have other problems, just probably not onycholysis.

It is also important to note that nail techs all too frequently don't have a proper understand the anatomy of the nail, so they can't properly troubleshoot when problems occur. Nail professionals need to be more serious about understand the nail and how if functions, as well as to know the proper terminology for the parts of the nail. "

Makes sense.

 

[manystyle]

Little Bo-peep
I know exactly what you mean as I too have experienced this!
I have a client come to me (and older lady also) she said "the shellac is eating my nail" i said what do you mean. she showed me her pinkie also... and her natural white free edge had spreaded meaning it was bigger than normal. it was not like the other smile lines.

I told her since when did u notice this. she said ever since i started doing shellac. i didnt do her shellac before so am unaware if her first nail tech did any damage with the removal process.

then later another of my regular clients came to me and I noticed the same issue with her nails. I personally whenever i see something different or a change I always ask the client. so i asked the client and she too was shocked to notice her white changed.



A few weeks ago I took the master painter class and I asked the educator what could possibly be the reason.( my only question in the class, but i was not satistied with the answer) I and my friend blamed the product, but the educator obviously said this

"r u removing the shellac gently?..... she could have banged her nail?... it could be onycholysis" so all the replies here said what the educator told me. funny ha! lol

one of the clients admitted that she types alot so she was ok with my answer when i told her. the other client said "so should i not type? i can't work?" ???? lol.. I dont think it was a good answer i admit... but thats what I was told to say to the clients.

its funny how our clients are both older ladies and the pinky had the issue. I do believe Im very gentle with the removal process. and I dont think I should tell clients to not bang their nails (no typing aloud! lol nope impossible) and onycholysis makes sence but again it will mean the removal process was too rough witch I dont think im doing rough. im gentle.

At first I thought..my client is an older lady maibe dehydration BUT why only the pinky.
this is strange..

 

[nicole333]

I had this happen on one pinkie the very first time I applied Shellac to myself. This is the only time it has ever happened and I did worry at the time, putting two and two together and making five!

In hindsight, it was more than likely my inexperience or just sheer coincidence that this happened. None of my clients have experienced it and I havn't since.

 

[Little Bo-peep]

Sorry not come back to this sooner, been conducting an experiment! I have shellacked my own pinky nail & taken pics so that you can all see! I did this on Thursday afternoon. I didn't file my nail or anything beforehand, so it cannot be caused by heavy handed filing (which I don't do anyway), it can't be removal as it is still on my nail & also my client had never had shellac on before so had never had it removed either & you could see it through the shellac before I removed it. It can't be caused by dehydration as I have been using solar oil & only had it on 2 days, but it is already starting to separate. Can anyone suggest anything please???? How do I upload pics it keeps failing????

 

[littlemiss-32]

This always happens to me, only on my ring finger though, so I dont see it being improper prep or removal as surely it would be on more than one finger if this was the case?? thankfully it hasnt happened on any clients though. I have a picture! But cant upload it, wont allow me to upload from camera or gallery, only other option is to insert 'URL' i have no idea what a URL is lol!!

Sent from my X10i using SalonGeek

 

[Little Bo-peep]

Oh found it on my iPhone app! Here they are! Xx

 

[Little Bo-peep]

That's my nail before, straight after, then today which is 2 days later! xx

 

[sleepingbeauty]

You can upload images to this forum by uploading your image to this free site
photobucket... This site gives you a valid hyperlink to enable you to upload it here ... :Love:

Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket

 

[Kazza at Glow!]

Ive been using shellac year now not seen that on my clients. If I ever have any queriers I ring Sweet squared up. Find them most helpful and talk through problems with you. I live near so often call in and speak in person. Never know some1 there might have an idea what's Wong xxx

 

[littlemiss-32]

http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u411/littlemiss-32/fbfd2565.jpg

Thanks for the tip about photobucket, so here goes.....hope this works lol!

Sent from my X10i using SalonGeek