My first Shellac - nightmare!

[Floss26]

Apologies in advance for the lengthy post guys! :sad:

I'm halfway through the CND Complete course and have covered mani/pedi and Shellac so far. This afternoon my neighbour came round for Shellac - my very first client outside the classroom. I went through all the steps as I've been taught, but when I was about to start the 2nd colour coat I noticed a bubbly, gritty appearance developing. I assumed that I hadn't done enough cuticle work on that particular nail and made a mental note that I obviously needed to be more thorough next time, even though I thought I had been, but then - to my horror - all her nails did the same! They looked dreadful. I was absolutely mortified and there was no way that I could continue, I just had to remove the product and apologise profusely. The client then said that this had happened to her once before, which made me feel slightly better, but even so! :sad: My only saving grace was that I wasn't charging her.

I phoned my educator, who said that the most likely explanation - in view of the fact that she said it'd happened before - is that the client has very oily nails and that the use of Nail Fresh should help. I then dragged my long-suffering hubby up to my nail room and carried out the exact same treatment on one of his hands - identical products etc - and his nails look fine. But my (already fragile) confidence is shot to pieces! Could I have done something different in the first place? And can you ever identify these "oily" clients in advance, before the problem occurs, or is it just one of those things??

 

[An*Gel]

You are being WAY too hard on yourself! :hug:

It's very hard to see cuticle on the nail plate; it's only when you apply the base that you'll see the little lumps appear if it hasn't been fully removed.

It's really important to remove as much cuticle as possible and then really scrub in your scrubfresh to purify the nail plate and remove any containments.

If this happens again, don't panic. You can go ahead and remove the base coat with your scrubfresh and start again. (the base is so thin and cured for 10 secs so it will come off very fast)

Your confidence will come in time, don't worry about that!

Maybe Shellac some friends in the meantime so you won't feel under so much pressure.

:hug:

 

[Floss26]

Thanks An*Gel. I really did think I'd removed all the cuticle though, and I scrubbed each nail for a good 10 seconds with Scrub Fresh. If anything, I was less thorough with hubby's nails and they look perfect! (In fact he can't wait to show them off at work tomorrow lol ).

 

[Lucybluebell]

Oh don't be too hard on yourself. I am recently qualified and it really doesn't take much to knock my confidence.
I hope a more experienced geek can offer some help. But try not to let this worry you too much, remember your husbands nails we perfect lol
:hug:

 

[An*Gel]

The things our poor hubbies do for us eh? :lol:

 

[Floss26]

^^ Thanks Lucy. Someone else has just contacted me and asked me to do a set, and I'm torn between jumping straight back on the horse or licking my wounds for a few days! :sad:

 

[Floss26]

The things our poor hubbies do for us eh? :lol:

Hmmmm. Let's just say I make it worth his while! :wink2:

 

[An*Gel]

^^ Thanks Lucy. Someone else has just contacted me and asked me to do a set, and I'm torn between jumping straight back on the horse or licking my wounds for a few days! :sad:

Get back on the horse... you'll be grand!

Feel the fear and do it anyway

 

[geeg]

Maybe the nails were still wet with the ScrubFresh rather than thoroughly dry, in which case the Acetone in the ScrubFresh would be attacking the Shellac. There's allot to think about but it will become 2nd nature when you have a good few under your belt.. :hug:

 

[deanosnana]

^^ Thanks Lucy. Someone else has just contacted me and asked me to do a set, and I'm torn between jumping straight back on the horse or licking my wounds for a few days! :sad:

IMHO, it's best to jump straight back on the horse...less time to think about it. Good luck!

 

[deanosnana]

Hmmmm. Let's just say I make it worth his while! :wink2:

Oh An*Gel, I'm blushing... :o

 

[An*Gel]

Oh An*Gel, I'm blushing... :o

:lol: :lol:

 

[Floss26]

Maybe the nails were still wet with the ScrubFresh rather than thoroughly dry, in which case the Acetone in the ScrubFresh would be attacking the Shellac. There's allot to think about but it will become 2nd nature when you have a good few under your belt.. :hug:

Thanks geeg, I do suspect it was down to a chemical reaction as they all seemed to "bubble up" right in front of my eyes iykwim? Do you think I was perhaps too liberal with the ScrubFresh?

 

[Floss26]

IMHO, it's best to jump straight back on the horse...less time to think about it. Good luck!

Thanks deanosnana - I've taken your advice and my next victim arrives tomorrow afternoon (gulp! )

 

[An*Gel]

Thanks geeg, I do suspect it was down to a chemical reaction as they all seemed to "bubble up" right in front of my eyes iykwim? Do you think I was perhaps too liberal with the ScrubFresh?

Yes...if they bubbled, that would be a sign that the scrubfresh hadn't dried. It's not that you were too liberal with it, you just need to wait a minute or so for it to dry fully before you apply your base coat.

 

[Floss26]

Yes...if they bubbled, that would be a sign that the scrubfresh hadn't dried. It's not that you were too liberal with it, you just need to wait a minute or so for it to dry fully before you apply your base coat.

Thanks An*Gel that's useful to know. Gosh it's one steep learning curve right now - I'm sure learning how to deliver babies was never this complicated, lol!

 

[geeg]

Well you could have been too liberal with the ScrubFresh ... A damp pad is all that is required, not a wet saturated pad. Nails are pretty absorbent so do not saturate them with ScrubFresh then it won't take so long for them to dry out again. I think your husbsnd's nails proved that point pretty well.

 

[Floss26]

Well you could have been too liberal with the ScrubFresh ... A damp pad is all that is required, not a wet saturated pad. Nails are pretty absorbent so do not saturate them with ScrubFresh then it won't take so long for them to dry out again. I think your husbsnd's nails proved that point pretty well.

The pad definitely wasn't saturated with ScrubFresh by any means. I've been looking at Holly's YouTube videos on cuticle work to try and see where I went wrong but I'm still none the wiser - the only thing I didn't do is put a wee bit of soap in my water spray when I deactivated the Cuticle Away. I'm also wondering if I relied too much on my curette and didn't use the pusher enough to remove the cuticle. Do you think the whole "oily nails" theory is a red herring?


On a positive note - hubby is still rocking his Strawberry Smoothie.....

 

[geeg]

The pad definitely wasn't saturated with ScrubFresh by any means. I've been looking at Holly's YouTube videos on cuticle work to try and see where I went wrong but I'm still none the wiser - the only thing I didn't do is put a wee bit of soap in my water spray when I deactivated the Cuticle Away. I'm also wondering if I relied too much on my curette and didn't use the pusher enough to remove the cuticle. Do you think the whole "oily nails" theory is a red herring?


On a positive note - hubby is still rocking his Strawberry Smoothie.....

Let me put it this way ... All these OILY nail plates that so many people so conveniently blame for all sorts of their problems? I have only ever seen 2 examples in my entire career that has spanned 30 years now!! I think it is a convenient excuse for many. JMO

 

[Planky1]

Another point to consider is to make sure your base coat is shaken really really well. In one of Holly's videos, she applies base coat that hasn't been shaken properly and it goes on all grainy. Then she applies it after a good shake and it goes on lovely and smooth.

So make sure all your Shellac gets a good mixing :wink2:

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