I keep finding more and more poor standards

[Fab Freak]

I went to a client this weekend who had L&P on over white tips - she paid £45 quid for this set at a Franchised salon....and to make matters worse they have really thinnned the nail plate prior to application.....How do they get away with it....apparently they used two technicans to soak the set off she had one...as they were poor hence her visit to **** the client said one girl could be bothered to get all the product off and walked away leaving bits of L&P all over the nail then the other tech proceeded to tip without cleaning it up herself...would you bloody beleive it..

I hate white tips i wish they could be banned they are such a pig to remove...

Then yesterday lady wanting perm French so sculpted full L&P set which she loved...but found out last time she saw a mobile girl she turned up with two files, a dust brush and a Rio Gel kit...arrhhh...she only would do an overlay and said you must wait for your own nail to grow, thats how extensions are done ...so the client took her advise as she claim to be a professional - what are clients to do? if they dont know any better...luckly a friend told her it was not the only way and to give another technician a call...

 

[Madferret]

I agree with you on this - I don't do nails myself but have worn extensions for approximately 5-6 years.

My last technician could only ever offer me one service as that was all she carried out, and not knowing any better I went along with it. I had fortnightly appointments as I had constant lifting, even a couple of days after a service, but once again thought that this was the norm. I was advised to carry out my own filing of the lifting as this was how to do self maintenance between appointments.

She also only offered white tips, and therefore clients were having 'new' sets every 2/3 months as the white tips had grown off.

I have since moved to a new tech, a Creative Master, and when she saw the state of my 'natural' nails, she was absolutely appalled and has advised me to wear gel nails. I have had these for the last 3 months or so and am totally in love with them.

When I think how much money, time and effort I have spent with her over the years, it sickens me, but at last I have seen that there is more to the nail enhancement business than she was offering and feel better to be out of her hands - excuse the pun.

It's a shame, it has been mentioned before, that there is no guarantee that a person who is Creative trained will continue to progress their training and ensure that they are up to date with developments and systems.

Just my two pennarth !

Tracy

 

[mum]

I think Tracey has said it all!! "at the time I didn't know better".

Educating clients and thepublic ingeneral is just as important as educating technicians. If clients know what they should expect they will make sure they get it and these 'technicians' with awful standards will be shown up as amateurs.

We all know that lightening our hair does not have to result in 'straw' but not too many years ago this was accepted as normal until we were educated to expect better.

Marian

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Then yesterday lady wanting perm French so sculpted full L&P set which she loved...but found out last time she saw a mobile girl she turned up with two files, a dust brush and a Rio Gel kit...arrhhh...she only would do an overlay and said you must wait for your own nail to grow, thats how extensions are done

unbelievable!! Think that is the worst story I have ever heard. Just can't believe it. You know what? I think I am going to get in touch with my local paper and see if I can do a series of articles about what clients should expect from a salon, a nail technician and their enhancements. It really is about time I made a difference, instead of moaning about it and stopped the public being duped by these morons.

 

[Fab Freak]

unbelievable!! Think that is the worst story I have ever heard. Just can't believe it. You know what? I think I am going to get in touch with my local paper and see if I can do a series of articles about what clients should expect from a salon, a nail technician and their enhancements. It really is about time I made a difference, instead of moaning about it and stopped the public being duped by these morons.

I so want to do that too,

But I don't want to give any incorrect info as I feel I am knowledgable, but not enough to be in print,

but then hell even the basics that I do know would be better than some of the werid and wonderful facts joe public beleieve.....

 

[luckybird21]

this might be a good idea to get in contact with local papers. not to bad mouth others (as this would just get us in trouble and done for slander) but as such a beauty column, maybe get in contact with a beautician and a hairdresser and each month (or what ever) you can contribute to the column, giving the general public good useful advise and also making sure the public know what a good set of enhancements are (without of course directly bad mouthing anyone, but maybe in the style of read between the lines):wink2:

if you are worrid that you dont have enough knowledge to do this, then im sure everyone on here would be glad to help, you could post what your suggesting to write, and ask the extremly experienced geeks to check it out to ensure it is all acurate and correct.

im sure local papers would love to be able to put a beauty section, it would be good for you too as you could get a lot of new business from this, as everyone will want their nails done by the lady in the know!!!!

well good luck with it if you decide to go ahead! i think it would be great, infact i might just go pester my hubby now to see if i could do something similar with our local paper the km, coz he works there!

 

[geeg]

if you are worrid that you dont have enough knowledge to do this, then im sure everyone on here would be glad to help, you could post what your suggesting to write, and ask the extremly experienced geeks to check it out to ensure it is all acurate and correct.

You took the words right out of my mouth!! While reading I thought, 'I'd be glad to edit any draft material for any of you who want to write such an article'.

I'm here to be USED so feel free.

 

[naturalnails]

I have considered this - the article in the paper bit. However our local paper does nothing unless it is "News" or paid for advertising - If I wanted to do a "nails" column then they would expect me to pay for an advert and then I would get editorial to the same size - this may not be accepted by the public as anything other than an advert as such.

I once wrote in to the paper with an article about what to look for in a nail salon and it did make it to the paper but it was placed in the tiniest corner of their letters page Grrr!

If you do this and get a good response then let us know and I may approach it again - there are just so many nail/beauty places near me.

I would be happy to get more business from doing this obviously but what is equally as important would be if all of the not so caring nail technicians lifted their game a bit - this could only help the industry.

 

[luckybird21]

However our local paper does nothing unless it is "News" or paid for advertising - If I wanted to do a "nails" column then they would expect me to pay for an advert and then I would get editorial to the same size - this may not be accepted by the public as anything other than an advert as such.

i agree. we have two local papers, the adscene and km, the km are helpful, and like to have editorials and interesting info for people to read (my hubby does a car column) but the adscene is basically made up of adverts, and maybe a few bits of news but nothing to shout about.

i just feel that this would not only benefit you and of course the public, but it would the paper aswell.

i know that the km like to be the best and try to be as much as possible like the national papers, in national papers they have health and beauty sections, so maybe if you sell it to them like that, also that you could be there to answer peoples questions, and it would drum up lots of advertising opp's, as they could have local salons advertising within the same section. but i suppose this is where a problem arises, low and behold the company that has the biggest advert next to all your experienced accurate words, is the local salon taking off the natural nail plate, and causing no end of trauma with green stains all over the nail, and yes they use mma! problem is, the paper wont care who advertises within the section, which will kinda contradict every word you say, as people reading will just assume that you recommend these salons. so if you go ahead it might be a idea that you ask if you can see who is advertising or infact approach the salons yourself, saying to them what you are doing and you would like to recommened them. although of course you can not stop the poo salons advertising you may be able to stop them from being in your section. i also know that when it comes to paper features, the advertising team phone up their customers and ask them if they want to be involved, so if this is the case at your local paper, you can gently say to them, would you mind not phoning these salons, pretty please!!!

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Would you say that contacting the Beauty Editor would be the best bet? And Gigi you will regret the day you said for us to use you lol!!!!! I sure will be!!!

So there are a few of us that are interested in contacting the press then? Perhaps we could pool ideas and experiences so that we can really make a difference and get those poor suffering victims of nail damage a little more clued up.

 

[Cathie!]

Totally agree Sarah, if we could collectively come up with an article, not biased towards our own salons, an informative piece for Joanne Public, then we could all submit it to our local rag and see what happens?

 

[Lily]

I so want to do that too,

But I don't want to give any incorrect info as I feel I am knowledgable, but not enough to be in print,

but then hell even the basics that I do know would be better than some of the werid and wonderful facts joe public beleieve.....

Hiya Lou

I wouldnt mind helping you out as we are very local to each other!! If we stick together and address this then hopefully we can get the correct info out to the public!! Also as well as Gigi's help i'm sure mum wouldnt mind doing some editing (Sorry Mum LOL)

There are a few local papers to us so if you want to we could go for it!!

Amanda

 

[naturalnails]

Totally agree Sarah, if we could collectively come up with an article, not biased towards our own salons, an informative piece for Joanne Public, then we could all submit it to our local rag and see what happens?

Fab idea.

I think rather than the local paper, for me personally I might approach a local magazine which gets put through everyone's door - they do a regular monthly gardening feature so maybe they would be interested in a nails feature too.

Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Hiya, do you thinkwe would get away with a series of articles or would it be like a letter to the Editor. If we could do a series perhaps we could do it a bit like Gigi's myths and facts as it makes it easier to read rather than a lengthy essay that a lot of people would only skim over? Only my thoughts, just like to know how others would envisage how to present our case to the papers.

 

[luckybird21]

one way i was looking at it was if you did a little article, maybe home maintenance, and like with gigi's myths' you could put a few bits about the different systems etc, maybe a bit on mma, and for future maybe have people writing in and you answering the questions, and helping people with there nail problems.

 

[RedAdmiral]

hello everyone,
what a good idea I was thinking something similar only yesterday as I'm the only Tech in my town and over here most Techs are newly trained and work independantly - there is Alot of shoddy work going on. As I'm originally from Essex I can relate with the problems here but I find local papers only want business. Think hard about how you address them and think about a very appealing, journalistic style piece that will relate to everyone. Although not everyone reads the local paper your Mum or Gran probably does!
There's alot of excellently written tutorials on this site so together we can do it!
Sorry to go on!

 

[Cathie!]

Right, so who's gonna come up with the first draft?
i'll have a bash on Monday morning when I've got no kids lol. My angle would be what to look for in a good nail technician esp as compared to a NSS as we have way too many of these in Bristol.

It will be rubbish but it will be a start for us to work from!!!

Hey, Sassy, you've got ythe gift of the gab, just type out yr thoughts, again, a starting point.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Hey, Sassy, you've got ythe gift of the gab, just type out yr thoughts, again, a starting point.

OMG - how do I come across to you all!!!!!!!
Okay - bit tired as I've just driven back from Oxford (3 hour round trip) dropping my daughter off at the train station to go to Leicester, but when I've chilled a bit I'll have a go ... unless someone comes up with an idea in the meantime.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Okay Cathie you threw down the gauntlet and I picked it up. I have two versions in the following two posts, one which would be if we could get a regular column, the other is a shorter version (not that I can ever write anything in a brief version lol) which would be if you only got one shot at it. These really were as Cathie says, my thoughts as they came to me so I know I have missed things out. Just thought I'd get the ball rolling. I will not take any offence if you think it's rubbish, not worded well or put something that is wrong, so feel free to pull it apart as much as you like.

I'd love to make a difference, and educate the public.

PS I've tried to put them in laymans' terms rather than using nail jargon and technical language.

PPS later posts may not make sense as I am editing it as everyone adds there two penneth

 

[Sassy Hassy]

NAIL ENHANCEMENTS – THE PAINLESS APPROACH

(Intro - see Glorsclaws version on a later post too, think it's better but can't cut and paste it in to here!)
Bet you know of someone who has had a bad experience with nail extensions? Or maybe it was you. The Nail business is the fastest growing sector of the beauty industry and unfortunately this has led to a lot of malpractice due to inadequate training. This has resulted in you, the unsuspecting public, suffering as a result.

So let me guide you through what you should expect from you Nail Technician.

PART ONE
MINIMUM STANDARDS

Good hygiene standards are one to watch out for to prevent the risk of cross infection from one client to another. Your technician should sanitise both yours and their hands with a sanitising gel or wipes. They should spray their files at the beginning of your service, and all metal tools should be soaked in Barbicide (or similar) to discinfect them. As they work they should continue to clean as they go and work in an uncluttered space.

A consultation recorded on paper with questions ranging from your lifestyle (hobbies, sports etc), an evaluation of your natural nails, any previous nail experiences, to medical questions in case there are any reasons why extra caution could be needed by your technician. They will also advise you on the length of your enhancement suitable for your lifestyle, and the shape that best suits your hand. You must be given aftercare advice that you must follow to keep your nails looking their best.



PART TWO
NO PAIN NO GAIN

Having nails put on is a painful experience! NO IT IS NOT. If you ever suffer any discomfort then let your technician know - there is no such thing as no pain no gain in the world of nails. If they state that this is normal and is okay then get the hell out of there, they are not competent and will seriously damage your nails. You wouldn’t let your hairdresser burn you or cut your skin, so don’t let your nail technician.

Over filing can cause anything from painful friction burns, at the very least, to separation of the nail plate from the nail bed (onycholisis) at its worst. Beware the electric file in particular – in the wrong hands these can do untold damage.

Cuticles should not be cut if at all possible – it will only make your skin grow back harder, a good cuticle oil used daily will moisturise this dry skin; if you had dry skin on any other part of your body you wouldn’t cut that off, you’d moisturise – wouldn’t you?

PART THREE
ACRYLIC IS BEST


Yes it is! That’s because all three systems of nails come from the acrylic family. The preparation up to the application of the “acrylic product” is pretty much the same for all three systems. So what are the systems? ……..

System one is liquid and powder (often referred to as acrylic). A liquid monomer and a powder polymer are mixed together to create the product applied to your nails. It has its own “setting” agents and so hardens as the technician works with it. They are more rigid and so are probably suited to the more heavy handed amongst us. They are removed by soaking in acetone

System two is gel. This is a premixed product with a gel like consistency, which will not harden until it is cured with an ultra violet light. They are more flexible and so tend to have less lifting problems. There are two types of gels: porous which are removed by soaking in acetone, and non-porous which can only be removed by being filed off.

System three is wraps – usually silk or fibreglass. This is built up with a layer of fibreglass or silk and then resin applied, it is then “set” with a spray activator. These nails give a very thin appearance but are still strong.

In these days of technical advancement all 3 systems are equally strong, if your technician uses a good quality brand.



PART FOUR
GELS DO LESS DAMAGE THAN THE OTHERS

WRONG!! No system harms or damages your natural nails. It is poor application and improper removal that does this.

This is the main reason that you should go to a fully qualified technician – not one who has just completed a two day course, they are not qualified. Too many people think they can take a short course and then see it as a licence to print money – ask to see your technician’s qualifications before they even touch your hands.

Likewise, a good technician who values their clients will continue to attend training courses even after they are qualified. So don’t be fooled by the tech who has been doing it for 20 years, if they haven’t updated their skills then they may only offer 20 year old technology.

Nail enhancements must be removed correctly and professionally. NEVER try to remove them yourselves, and NEVER pick them off – more damage is caused this way than by any other method!!