Help please and need advice, not experienced enough yet!

[KimmyB66]

I have only been working with nails since last December, and have very little experience. I am trained in mani, pedi, gel polish, and NSI soak off hard gel.
I have a new client who has just returned for her 3 visit. I remove and replace her polish, (i use gelish), and she has just asked me to do nails, tans & lashes for her & her bridesmaids for her wedding in June. My first wedding, feeling very honoured. :0)

My problems are that her polish removal does not go anywhere near as smoothly as other clients i have. I find the gelish very hard to remove from the free edge. I give stubborn nails longer to soak in acetone, but orange sticks dont always budge it off. I have resorted to buffing off the last bits of polish. Then i try to file and shape her nails but they are soo bendy i cant file! I have found that if i hold her fingertip with my thumb ontop of her nail plate it stiffens up the free edge so that i sort of shape her nails. Also when buffing the last bit of gelish away her nail bent over resulting in me thinning the free edge in places on 2 nails and they split, so i had to cut them short!

She used to have acrylics on continually, i don't know if this has damaged them? I have the IBX repair & strengthener treatment, so i have recommended she have that under the gel.
Am i doing something wrong? If not, how do i deal with stubborn gel and thin bendy nails? BTW her nails are not very long, so she has asked me to fit tips and hard gel for her wedding. But i think she is starting to wonder if they are going to make her nails even worse!

All help from you experienced nail techs gratefully received!!

 

[Moth]

I have problems getting gel off the free edge of my own nails, and my trainer has the same problem when she uses me as a model (I have quite long natural nails). She thinks that temperature is the problem as I have quite cold extremities. Last time we used a heated wheat bag which really seemed to help. Just a thought?

 

[Karen Minx]

Hi Kimmy, my nails are exactly the same! My nails are quite dry and porous on the free edge due to swooping and changing my nails frequently and between acrylic and then gel polishes. Your not doing anything wrong, it's just the condition of your clients nails. Your clients nails sounds like they are dry and need lots of Solar Oiling. Gelish on my own natural nails is a complete mare to remove off the free edge so if I want to wear a Gelish colour on my natural nails I will apply a thin smoothing layer of a soak off gel instead off the foundation base coat.
You say you use NSI... Do you use NSI Secrets gel? I find this soaks off well on my nails. Apply the Secrets base coat and a thin 'painted on' layer of the blush pink or clear in replace of the Gelish foundation layer, then cleanse off the inhibition layer and go straight onto the colour coats and topcoat of gelish. Another tip is that when you come to remove pay particular attention to buffing the topcoat off down to the colour layers on the free edge to reduce the soaking off time and while the nails are still hard before becoming too soft and bendy after soaking. Also use foil wraps for removal (shiney side in to reflect heat) and wrap really tight by twisting the ends before tucking under the nail, then place a towel over the wrapped hands and place your IBX heat source over her hands for 10 minutes Xx

 

[KimmyB66]

Hi Kimmy, my nails are exactly the same! My nails are quite dry and porous on the free edge due to swooping and changing my nails frequently and between acrylic and then gel polishes. Your not doing anything wrong, it's just the condition of your clients nails. Your clients nails sounds like they are dry and need lots of Solar Oiling. Gelish on my own natural nails is a complete mare to remove off the free edge so if I want to wear a Gelish colour on my natural nails I will apply a thin smoothing layer of a soak off gel instead off the foundation base coat.
You say you use NSI... Do you use NSI Secrets gel? I find this soaks off well on my nails. Apply the Secrets base coat and a thin 'painted on' layer of the blush pink or clear in replace of the Gelish foundation layer, then cleanse off the inhibition layer and go straight onto the colour coats and topcoat of gelish. Another tip is that when you come to remove pay particular attention to buffing the topcoat off down to the colour layers on the free edge to reduce the soaking off time and while the nails are still hard before becoming too soft and bendy after soaking. Also use foil wraps for removal (shiney side in to reflect heat) and wrap really tight by twisting the ends before tucking under the nail, then place a towel over the wrapped hands and place your IBX heat source over her hands for 10 minutes Xx

Hi Karen, thanks for your reply. Im glad other people experience the same problems as me. It makes sense that the free edge is very dry and that is why the Gelish is sticking so well. She does use cuticle oil, but surely if you constantly have polish/gel/acrylic on how is your nail to soak up any oil?
The NSI gel i have is the secrets soak off gel, so i will give what you suggest a try. I had stopped using foils for removal and bought Cuccio sponges and pink rubber 'caps' instead, but if foil is needed to create heat, i will go back to that for her. Shiney side in is a good tip i didn't know, and also using my IBX lamp for a bit of warmth. How do you file & shape bendy nails? Should i do it before removal? Buff the nails, shape the free edge, and then soak polish off? One last question, how long do you soak nails if you have used NSI secrets gel under Gelish?

 

[KimmyB66]

I have problems getting gel off the free edge of my own nails, and my trainer has the same problem when she uses me as a model (I have quite long natural nails). She thinks that temperature is the problem as I have quite cold extremities. Last time we used a heated wheat bag which really seemed to help. Just a thought?

Thanks Moth, going to use some heat next time from my IBX lamp.

 

[Muzza]

Hi there

It helps to break the seal on the free edge when removing gelish, I use pro tip clips which have helped my removal a lot, along with advising use of lots of nourish, heat helps so a wheat bag on top once soaking for instance, keep going, I used to find removal a nightmare but it's much easier now x

 

[KimmyB66]

Hi there

It helps to break the seal on the free edge when removing gelish, I use pro tip clips which have helped my removal a lot, along with advising use of lots of nourish, heat helps so a wheat bag on top once soaking for instance, keep going, I used to find removal a nightmare but it's much easier now x

Thanks Muzza, still have no answers on best way to file and shape nails when they are really bendy. Do you shape before soaking?!