How can a nail tech deal with having the shakes?

[minxymax]

Hi!!
Ive being doing nails for a couple of years now, and still learning.. Ive always been pretty steady with clients and quietly confident..
Almost 3 months ago i started renting a space in the salon, started quietly and then gradually its really picked up...
Unfortunately there has been a lot of stress in my life recently and finding it hard to settle in the salon, and ive ended up quite 'shaky',and its almost like my nerves have gone...
How can a nail tech be shaky?? The finish looks great on the polish, but takes me slightly longer.. when going acrylics and gels, im really having to battle with myself when doing the smile lines etc.. So now it seems like every thing is taking for ever, which makes the client think im a complete beginner and i know the quality of my work is wavering....
im not sure if im posting this in the right area, but i could really do with some good advise to help me stop shaking and eventually throwing the towel in.........
Thanks for reading
Max xx

 

[weezie]

Have you been to the doctor Max? they will be able to help you :hug:

 

[new2this]

Hi, I don't know if its stress you are under and maybe a quick trip to the docs may be worth a thought, but maybe you could take a look at some of the over the counter meds you can get eg Kalms. It may help you relax and pick up your confidence a bit. It can be a vicious circle otherwise, you panic about your nerves, causing more shaking, losing your confidence along the way. Good luck and i hope things improve soon x

 

[minxymax]

Thankyou to you both, i think i just needed to hear it from someone else...x

 

[angel fingers]

ive been like that. the more you worry about it, the more you are likely to shake , the more unprofessional you feel and then you worry a bit more and shake a bit more ! its so horrible.

someone i know is a psychologist and she taught me a distraction technique that helped me so much. for me its shephards pie ! so i start thinking of the recipe and the process i go through when i'm cooking it whilst i'm performing whatever is making me shake.


it needs to be something you know really well so you dont get too distracted from what you are supposed to be doing, just enough not to let your mind wander off into worry-land and start the shakes off again.

i hope it helps you a little and that this phaze passes quickly for you:hug:

 

[Spa Therapist]

Hi, I sympathise with you on this! I suffer from terrible shakes when my blood sugar is low and quite often at work I can go 7hrs without eating. I find that once I actually realise I've started shaking I start to flap and then it all goes to pot. I really hope you get things sorted soon before you lose confidence xx

 

[BeautyAcademy]

One of my main therapists has the same problem. We think due to her being constantly busy with customers (one in then the other) she is using so much adrenalin that her sugar is dropping quicker than usual (though she eats breakfast, lunch etc...). She is now going to try and eat something little every hour throughout the day (wherever possible). Even if it`s a pot of jelly or a piece of fruit. She also has a touch of IBS (irritable bowel) so this doesn`t help either! But as someone mentioned, you should see a doctor as we shouldnt really just assume!! Much safer! x

 

[minxymax]

I am so glad that i posted this, at first i was in two minds thinking i should just keep it to myself... and then i thought give it a go on here as obviously other nail techs/therapists etc would understand when getting the shakes and the downfalls of them.... just so glad that i chose the second option....x

 

[VHunter]

You've had some very helpful posts here, and I hope you get it sorted.

In the meantime, when you have the shakes - whether applying polish or L&P etc - steady that hand by resting the pinky of the same hand on the clients hand.

When you try to suspend your hand mid-air, you'll find it more jiggly.

Also, make sure that the client's elbows are resting comfortably on the table and that her hand is 'resting' in yours. If she is trying to help by 'suspending' her hand in mid air; this will compound the issue by adding her jiggles to your own.
I remind my clients by joking with them "I know I'm tiny, but I'm pretty sure I'm strong enough to support your hand":lol:


hth's

 

[katiebbaby]

ohhh I have been getting the shakey hand thing too recently, it's soo frustrating the more I stress the more I shake. I get all worked up, and it's mad as i know I can turn out beautifull looking strong enhancments, but only if my arm stops shakin. I agree with prev posters you have to be comfortable, I always have to work front on not on round table say, I need to have balance with both my elbows and always use my other hand for balance. I also find if it gets bad I ,mke a joke and say ohh I shouldn of skipped brekky or somethin, then if client starts watchin I ask politely if they could not watch,, I know this sounds mad but I know them watchin will make worse.

I also spray tan and it's so mind wreckin when clients try and help you by moving their legs or arms cos they think they helpin, I just say please dont watch just let me tell you or move you lol, iygwim xxx

 

[catsaremad]

I had not realised that this was such a common problem ! I have 'shook' for years, sometimes it can be just my hands but its also very noticable when I used to dance, a lot of my partners would say say that I was very nervous because they could feel the tremors through my body, needless to say the more they commented the more I shook!!!

I now do the same as Fiftrix, when my hands start shaking I sit back, stop what I am doing and have a quick shake out..........................

I would like to say that I will cut my caffeine intake but I really don't think I'm able to !!!

 

[Unique Nails09]

what a great thread. I've been there and I still suffer now and again. Ihave always been an anxious person and this intensified when i was first training in a salon i would sweat, shake and get dizzy - as i was so wound up in my personal life with the added pressure of mastering nails. The thought that my clients and colleagues noticed this sent me into a frenzy of nervousness and i was on edge constantly.

Now if i feel my anxiety coming on i get my customer talking on a subject that is about them (i.e what they are doing at the weekend, this evening even what are you having for tea!) i feel when they are talking about themselves it takes the emphasis off them watching you (which is off putting when you are anxious) and get on with my work, after 10 mins i realise i'm no longer anxious - i've forgotten about it! Don't think about it too much and focus on looking forward to finishing work, having a bath and a nice glass of wine! Keeps me going anyway!

 

[chazac]

i would also get the shakes at times, i took rescue remedy you can get as a spray or chew sweet things i would take them sometimes it was just all in the mind but it did help me plus it natural ingridients so not harmful. i used this for my driving test too lol

 

[Teebster]

I suffer from this too quite badly and when I went back to collage a couple of years ago it became a big problem because people commented on it all the time which just made the problem worse for me. All of what has been said is brilliant advice and tools to incorporate and fortunately for you, but unfortunately for everyone else, it does seem to be more common than you would think.

The point that unique nail09 made about trying to take the spot light off of yourself when clients are watching intensly and get them talking about themselves is a good stratagy. Also what I find helps that my doctor suggested was watching your breathing. I find I breathe too quickly and shallow and then I find it difficult to focus my eyesight and even hear properly and start to feel dizzy, so my doctor suggested that you count each breath in and out to a count of five slowly (only to yourself not out loud of course or your client will wonder what on earth you are doing).

Its like Susan Loasby said its about distraction for you. Taking the focus off of you so giving you some space - Get the client's focus off of you, check and adjust yourself and breathe slow. Caffine is a really good one, never thought of that but I don't quite know how I would get through the day without it. I'll have to try somehow.

Seems we are in good company though as even the very best have experienced it and I thought it was just me.

Good luck xxx

 

[minxymax]

Hiya !!!:hug:

Ive really enjoyed reading everybodys advice and thoughts, thankyou......xx

Well , at work today i got my usual wobbles, and i took deep breaths etc and then started trying to think of something nice that i do all the time (like one of you had mentioned) and i was sat there racking my brain, and guess what it went blank (lol), and then i ended up thinking of bathing my little monkey, which made me chuckle because i was thinking "shepherds pie", as thats one of your distractions which you'd mentioned... Even though i havent mastered the distractions techniques which everybody's mentioned i still feel better... Possibly because i know im going to get my head round it and im not going to let the shakes beat me!! And also because im not the only one that gets them...

I want to say a huge thankyou to you all !!! You are all amazing, i felt sooooo down when i wrote the thread and your advice and sharing your experiences has really helped me, i hope it helps other's too!!

Lets hope 2010 is a lucky year for us all!!!

Max xxxxxx:hug:

 

[nailzoo]

First step is no caffeine. (if you can't be bothered with step 1), then there's no point going on to step 2) ........ no excuses (it's your livelihood we are talking about).

I'd rather get a kick out of doing great nails than get a kick out of having a coffee or 3 (sacrifices have to be made if you really care about your work).

Then relax and be confident, don't try/concentrate too hard, pretend you have been doing this forever, be casual, but efficient.

Also don't try to hard to beat the clock, this can cause undue stress which manifests itself with shakes.

 

[Teebster]

Just a point to add about caffeine as I googled advice about it as I am going to cut it out and you would be surprised what else its in. I did not realise its in fizzy drinks like coke and pepsi in such a high amount and also some painkillers aswell. I am going to try a coffee substitue from the health food shop (when I can get in to town and I'm not snowed in) but seems its also in tea but to a far less extent aswell.

Caffeine stimulates stress hormones which can give you the shakes but also interferes with your insulin levels aswell, so disrupting your blood sugar levels!

 

[femmefan]

Just a point to add about caffeine as I googled advice about it as I am going to cut it out and you would be surprised what else its in. I did not realise its in fizzy drinks like coke and pepsi in such a high amount and also some painkillers aswell. I am going to try a coffee substitue from the health food shop (when I can get in to town and I'm not snowed in) but seems its also in tea but to a far less extent aswell.

Caffeine stimulates stress hormones which can give you the shakes but also interferes with your insulin levels aswell, so disrupting your blood sugar levels!

Decaffeinated tea and coffee still tastes great - you can't tell the difference if it's a good brand (I can't abide the herbal varieties). I changed a few years ago and was surprised at how easy it was to make the switch.

 

[Back 2 You]

My bloodsugar drops quite often too and I will start to shake. I just make a joke about it to my clients and reasure them they will still get a awesome set of nails! They usually just laugh which allows you to relax and hopefully stop shaking!!!:hug:

 

[angel fingers]

Hiya !!!:hug:

Ive really enjoyed reading everybodys advice and thoughts, thankyou......xx

Well , at work today i got my usual wobbles, and i took deep breaths etc and then started trying to think of something nice that i do all the time (like one of you had mentioned) and i was sat there racking my brain, and guess what it went blank (lol), and then i ended up thinking of bathing my little monkey, which made me chuckle because i was thinking "shepherds pie", as thats one of your distractions which you'd mentioned... Even though i havent mastered the distractions techniques which everybody's mentioned i still feel better... Possibly because i know im going to get my head round it and im not going to let the shakes beat me!! And also because im not the only one that gets them...

I want to say a huge thankyou to you all !!! You are all amazing, i felt sooooo down when i wrote the thread and your advice and sharing your experiences has really helped me, i hope it helps other's too!!

Lets hope 2010 is a lucky year for us all!!!

Max xxxxxx:hug:

i'm so glad you got some success from the technique. its great that you are feeling a bit better about the whole thing. :hug: