Help needed with acrylic nails

[bloominbeaut]

Hi fellow geeks,

I'm hoping you guys can help, I started my acrylic nail training at the end of last year and have been working on a mobile basis whilst I continue my training in other areas and to enhance my skills.

I am having a problem with some of my acrylics I do all the same prep on every customer and they look great and everyone seems really pleased with the end result. However, I don't feel my nails last as long as they should. I had one client who kept her nails quiet long and she had a few nails where the whole nail come off in one not just at the tips, I found this strange and replaced them for free and then she said it had happened again with another 2 and never came back. I now have another customer that says she is really hard on her nails so they don't last as long on her and she knows that however, I done her nails and a week and 2 days later she said 4 where off so I told her to soak them off and we would do another set, when I got there later that night they were all off and she said she hadn't needed to soak them they had all come off, done a new set she was really happy now a week and 2 days later she has text saying the same. I am really disheartened I like acylics however, I want them to last so I can build my business not lose customers and be classed as rubbish.

When I do gel on customers they are fine and I am doing my conversion course to Calgel soon however, I want to master my acrylic so I can offer customers a choice of high quality work.

Any ideas where I am going wrong? I thought it was my prep but all my products are NFU-OH and I file,buff, remove cuticle, apply fresh prep and primer before nails.

Please help!!!!!!!!:cry:

 

[geeg]

I would go and see your educator and ask her to watch you and see if she can spot what you are doing wrong .. for sure this should not be happening. It would be hard for any of us to tell you what you are doing incorrectly when we cannot see your work.

There are plenty of threads hereon lifting (too many in fact) where advice is given as well as articles in the articles section that you may find helpful.

 

[bloominbeaut]

Hi Geeg,

Thanks for your reply I just don't understand what I am doing wrong I think I will phone the college on Monday and see if I can speak to her.

I'm thinking mayb I should do the CND conversion course as I hear the trainers there are excellent and the products are of really good quality. I get really good results but they just don't seem to last

 

[Bagpuss]

Hi

I saw you said that you remove the cuticle...do you use a cuticle remover...? are you removing that remover properly afterwards...?

 

[bloominbeaut]

Hi Angie,

Thanks for your reply, I don't use cuticle remover i only push the cuticle back, use cuticle nippers if needed then remove the skin from the nail plate at the sides and the cuitle area.

J x

 

[stoney]

Hi Geeg,

Thanks for your reply I just don't understand what I am doing wrong I think I will phone the college on Monday and see if I can speak to her.

I'm thinking mayb I should do the CND conversion course as I hear the trainers there are excellent and the products are of really good quality. I get really good results but they just don't seem to last

You are right there, the CND products and training is excellent but..if you are not using them correctly, then you will get the same problems.

Speak to your educator first, if the enhancements are coming off completely as you say then they were never 'on' in the first place. I've never worked with the system you use, but you might find it has something to do with your prep. Your educator will be able to see where you are going wrong.

It's very frustrating I know, I had the same problem when I first started. Don't be too hard on yourself. Also be wary of clients telling you they just 'fell off', you will soon be able to tell the difference between nails that have fallen off, and nails that have been helped a little!

Good luck

 

[bloominbeaut]

Thanks Lisa,

The college lecturer wasn't the best she kept disappearing during our class but I always asked her when I was unsure and she said my nails were great.

I have her mobile number so think I will give her a call tomorrow.,

Seems strange as I use balance gel from NSI also and everythings fine with them

I'm not a quitter so hanging in there I will master the acrylics!

 

[stoney]

Thanks Lisa,

The college lecturer wasn't the best she kept disappearing during our class but I always asked her when I was unsure and she said my nails were great.

I have her mobile number so think I will give her a call tomorrow.,

Seems strange as I use balance gel from NSI also and everythings fine with them

I'm not a quitter so hanging in there I will master the acrylics!

Thats a shame and often the case in some colleges. Give her a call and ask her anyway. If your not happy will the results you could try asking Izzidoll or Emmsybabes, I think they use or at least have knowledge of NFH-OH.

The prep for acrylic and gel is different so if you are using the same for both that may be your problem?

Well done for not quitting, it'll be worth it! Let us know how you get on.

Just out of interest, if you are having good results with NSI balance, why are you thinking of switching to Calgel?

 

[bloominbeaut]

Thanks for the help Lisa,

I learned my gel toes with NSI which is why I use balance gel I have only tried it on family and friends tho, I use all the balance gel prep when doing those nails tho.

I'm switching to calgel as I have just started working in a nail bar on Sundays and it is Calgel they use there.

I'll keep you posted on how I get on with my lecturer.

J x

 

[NoLimitNails]

Thats a shame and often the case in some colleges. Give her a call and ask her anyway. If your not happy will the results you could try asking Izzidoll or Emmsybabes, I think they use or at least have knowledge of NFH-OH.

The prep for acrylic and gel is different so if you are using the same for both that may be your problem? I have never heard the prep being different between gel and L&P? At least with CND it's the same prep.The only difference I have heard of is between companies...

Well done for not quitting, it'll be worth it! Let us know how you get on.

Just out of interest, if you are having good results with NSI balance, why are you thinking of switching to Calgel?

Hope you get an answer with your teacher, sounds like theres something you are not getting quite right with the L&P if the gel is ok...

 

[izzidoll]

try asking Izzidoll , I think they use or at least have knowledge of NFH-OH.

Thanks for the mention Stoney....I do work for the UK Distributor of Nfu.Oh so know a thing or two about the system

I have PM'd bloominbeaut in order to help her out.

As Geeg says we could speculate until the cows come home as to what the cause may be, but without more information and seeing the nails it would just be just that, speculation.

That said...I doubt it is a prep problem if there is not lifting with the gel nails done using the same prep. I have always done the same prep no matter what system I have used Gel or Acrylic. Only the products change, but removing non living tisue from the nail plate, and removing shine are always the same.

Most newly qualified students are so obsessed with prep that it is usually spot on!
Application of product is usually the culprit. As in touching skin with it, or even being to afraid to file at the cuticle area to make sure it is perfectly fluch and sealed to the natural nail.
That and everyones favourite mix ratio (too wet??)

Anyway as I said I have Pm'd Bloominbeaut, and hopefully between her lecturer and myself we will get to the bottom of this and resolve it!!

 

[stoney]

Yes Karen it is with CND, I recently discovered that when I trained with them.

I used to use NSI, and we were taught (and they still teach you) to etch (although they now call it prep) with a 180 grit file for Attraction L&P and a 240 grit file for Balance gel, so the prep is different, just because you have never heard it doesn't mean it isn't taught.

The poster is using 2 different systems, so its likely the prep is different. If its not then thats great, as Izzidoll has said, we have elimanted that as an issue.

I used to get lifting around the cuticle and sidewalls on L&P and not on gel when I first started and it turned out it was my prep, so it was just a suggestion.

 

[bloominbeaut]

Thanks everyone for your help Izzidoll has pm me she is going to help me so fingers crossed it will just be a silly thing i'm doing wrong and i'll have my confidence back in no time.

So glad I found this website

 

[NoLimitNails]

Yes Karen it is with CND, I recently discovered that when I trained with them.

I used to use NSI, and we were taught (and they still teach you) to etch (although they now call it prep) with a 180 grit file for Attraction L&P and a 240 grit file for Balance gel, so the prep is different, just because you have never heard it doesn't mean it isn't taught.

The poster is using 2 different systems, so its likely the prep is different. If its not then thats great, as Izzidoll has said, we have elimanted that as an issue.

I used to get lifting around the cuticle and sidewalls on L&P and not on gel when I first started and it turned out it was my prep, so it was just a suggestion.

You are right, didn't know that I just assumed that the prep would be the same regarding removing cuticle and shine within the same range of products, as I can't see why it should be different.

I didn't mean to offend you, thats why I made a question mark after my sentence about it.:hug:

But I havn't been taught different prep procedures within the range of CND? What is diffrent between the gel and the L&P prep? It's been almost two years since my foundation, there could be new things I'm missing out on..:green:

 

[bloominbeaut]

Hi Karen,

I think you need to use the prep products for the specific product your working with. I do my removing cuticle and shine etc the same but use NFU-OH dehydrater and primer for my L&P and NSI cleanse, dehydrater an bond for my balance gels.

Hope this helps you to.

J x

 

[NoLimitNails]

Thats what I meant by doing the same prep regarding shine and cuticle.
I just assumed we weren't talking about primer ect, as ofcourse this can differ from gel to L&P.
It confused me a bit:green: but back on the track, and hope all problems will be solved...

 

[stoney]

Karen, you didn't offend me at all:hug:

Yes CND prep the same with regards to preparing the nail, NSI prep differently (or at least they did), don't know why?

It can be confusing when you change systems

xxx