My nails are a disaster! I don't know how to do them.

[becky-wales]

hello ... I am completely new to this site and note there are so many posts in relation to acrylic nails...

Heres the story so far.... !!! I am a beauty student at present and wanted to teach myself how to do acrylic nails.. if im honest, I have 4 children, hub only works part time, am paying for my own beauty course still and funds are a bit tight for me to do a professional course at the mo... so anyway, I bought a box set from my catelogue which includes a cd with all the step by step instructions, it was called "pop acrylic nails".. so lovely I though! im away lol ... the box set come with "nail forms" and from day one I thought I do not want to use the nail forms.. i just want to do it the normal way, the nail form way sounded too long winded.. my teacher at college says I have a steady hand so should be fine doing it without the forms.... anyway because the cd teaches you how to do the nails with the forms, I don't really know how to do it without them... I have done 2 of my friends nails and they fell off after two days so a total disaster really lol ... I have a few questions... sorry if I sound dumb lol but I am unsure of all the technical names at present !!

I can prep the nails fine, and stick on the tips with no probs at all but then the trouble starts.... I need to know whether I need to put the bead of acrylic just from the nail tip down over the rest of the nail plate or does it (the acrylic) need to go all the way down over the white tip too??? and then lol do i file it down afterwards to get it nice and smooth and then do it again or just the once??? this is the part i am stuck on.. a few little pointers would be fantastic for me.. i really do not want to fork out on a training course... im pretty good at learning once I have been told what to do !

Also, do you think the acrylic liquid and powder which came with the set, is not as strong as what you would usually buy? cause i was worried that the nails i did do fell off after two days lol .. total nightmare I know... there is no brand name on the products i used from the box set it just states "acrylic powder and acrylic liquid" lol please dont shoot me for this lol .... its like something out of a horror movie...

anyway the story gets worse lol.. i then thought id buy some powder and liquid from EBAY !!! lol FROM CHINA .. brand name of the liquid is HONGNUO lol it states maximum adhesion monomer and the powder is called Ju HONG... in three colours, clear, white and pink.... i have yet to use these as I first need to get the technique right!!

As im qualified in manicures and pedicures, I am aware of contra indications, contra actions, a&p, etc etc .. its just the method explained to me and then the next question is the best liquid and powder to buy (i.e not too expensive) and where do i get these products from?? we have a sallys services here in wales, but i find it very expensive !!!

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments, insults, whatever you want to throw at me lol

Kind wishes

Becky xxxxx

 

[mum]

Oh dear Becky! I think you are tying yourself in knots here!

This really isn't the way to achieve any sort of success in nails! Sorry. (I'm sure you want truthful answers).

There are not many people who can concentrate on learning so many things all at once. Why don't you concentrate on your beauty for now and get really good at doing that. Then, later down the line if you are still interested in nails, go about it in a way that has a better chance of working for you?

If you are hoping to do some treatments to supplement your training costs then offer mani/pedi and maybe waxing that you probably already covered in your training.

If this isn't enough add on Minx or Shellac or Gelish, all of which are easy to learn and you have the qualifications to buy them.

Learning L&P takes a huge amount of practising when you have GOOD instruction. Surely your time is taken up on your existing learning and your family?

In my opinion, 'park' the L&P and concentrate on what you're already doing

Good luck

 

[persianista]

Becky please understand that this is a pro forum. Nobody is gonna try and teach you nails. They have all invested time and money in their careers, use pro products and try and learn how to be the best that they can be.

As you already have a little mani training surely the concept of being a professional was explained to you. What you are attempting to do breaks almost every accepted health and safety guidline in the nail industry.

Please rethink your mad idea of buying unknown chemicals off eBay. We don't want any mishaps happening to you.

Take your time, save your money and invest it in good quality training for your career. Please don't come to harm because you are going about things in completely the wrong way.

 

[geeg]

I agree with the above 2 answers completely.

You say your prep is fine but obviously it is not as 23rds of nail problems such as lifting and coming off are due to incorrect and ineffective prep and you have no idea of the techniques involved.

This site is not to take the place of educators or good solid nail training.

Take the advice of the others.

 

[emmaspeers]

Hi I agree with posts above, I am trained with lechat and paid over £200 for my course, at home which was brill cos much easier for me cos i have children too... However even after this training and 6 mths later i am facing problems even with the training and have many times contemplated giving it up despite bein praised at how steady my hand is and good i am! However I have just been looking at products on ebay as i am thinkin of trying a new system myself, and there is a product called christrio one gel.... I have no idea how good this is, but have had an email from the seller saying they have faced no probs as yet and should last 2-3 wks with right application / care and as it is a one gel system not confusing at all. They send instructions if you request before purchase of the item. Hope this helps

 

[geeg]

Every professional here is absolutely against untrained or trained people buying pro use only nail products from fleabay!! Please do not do it or listen to others recommendations to do it.

For a start it is insulting for those of we professionals who have respect for what we do to buy stuff from fleabay.

Next there is no guarantee you will get what you have paid for .. could be anything in the pots.

Third you are trying to enter this industry through the back door and not in the right way and you will be uninsured for nail services and lastly

I think it is down right blatant to come on a professional site and ask professionals to help you to do everything in an unprofessional way.

 

[Ruth Mills]

I really wouldn't risk unknown chemicals off eBay either! If you do a search on "MMA" by using the search option on this site, you'll see how bad this is for people's nails (as well as being dodgy from a Health and Safety standpoint); do the Chinese products from eBay come with an ingredients listing and MSDS (materials safety data sheets)?

If you *do* want to learn how to do nail enhancements, then I'd recommend you do your clients a favour by investing in quality training and products from a reputable professional brand, rather than risk your clients' health by skimping on training and using unknown products off eBay!

 

[emmaspeers]

I am really sorry if i caused offence by sugegsting above product - please note i was not recommending it as i said i have just seen it myself, just to note it is a uk seller, and usa brand, i did notice the chinese / hong kong brands and the price tells me this is no good lol. I was looking at reputable brands on the site tho like star nails, bio sculpture, and others. I have posted about le chat and probs i am having and am at a stand still with my nail practice, if anyone has time please answer re lifting - I am ripping my hair out and dont know where to go next! Again sorry if i caused offence, i am new to the site so dont know whats right or wrong n just tryin to be helpful

 

[busybee32]

Hi I agree with posts above, I am trained with lechat and paid over £200 for my course, at home which was brill cos much easier for me cos i have children too... However even after this training and 6 mths later i am facing problems even with the training and have many times contemplated giving it up despite bein praised at how steady my hand is and good i am! However I have just been looking at products on ebay as i am thinkin of trying a new system myself, and there is a product called christrio one gel.... I have no idea how good this is, but have had an email from the seller saying they have faced no probs as yet and should last 2-3 wks with right application / care and as it is a one gel system not confusing at all. They send instructions if you request before purchase of the item. Hope this helps

Emma as previously stated this is a professional site for professionals. We DO NOT advacate the buying of professional products from ebay other than nail art bits, If you havent had the relevant training then you shouldnt be advising others to buy stuff of ebay, for one you dont know if its the real deal and second you should be supporting your local distributors.
Please both of you if you are really serious about doing nails then book up for a course and invest in decent training, decent products and excellent support from you educators.
Do not advise other new commers to the industry to buy PROFESSIONAL products from ebay!
Many of us here have spent thousands getting the relevant training and education and its not just a one off either I myself go on training at least once a year its an investment and keeps you top of the game.
Not only that insurance is another big thing that you need qualifications for you CANNOT work on the general public without it, and if you are buying products from ebay then your insurance will be void as you havent purchased from a known trader!
Please in future keep your comments about ebay to yourself.
Jen

 

[geeg]

I am really sorry if i caused offence by sugegsting above product - please note i was not recommending it as i said i have just seen it myself, just to note it is a uk seller, and usa brand, i did notice the chinese / hong kong brands and the price tells me this is no good lol. I was looking at reputable brands on the site tho like star nails, bio sculpture, and others. I have posted about le chat and probs i am having and am at a stand still with my nail practice, if anyone has time please answer re lifting - I am ripping my hair out and dont know where to go next! Again sorry if i caused offence, i am new to the site so dont know whats right or wrong n just tryin to be helpful

Professionals support their industry and the legal distributors who support them by helping them to grow their business and teaching them with excellent quality training and supplying legal products and MSDS. Not by buying products from illegal distributors who have no right at all to be selling professional products .. will never be there to help when you need it and charge extortionate prices instead of wholesale prices to those who are trained and can buy wholesale.

You can buy products to set yourself up to do tattoos but would you go to someone who had bought off fleabay and then set up as a tatoo artist?

Stay away from the place and get the training ad support you need from your original provider.

 

[Ruth Mills]

Professionals support their industry and the legal distributors who support them by helping them to grow their business and teaching them with excellent quality training and supplying legal products and MSDS. Not by buying products from illegal distributors who have no right at all to be selling professional products .. will never be there to help when you need it and charge extortionate prices instead of wholesale prices to those who are trained and can buy wholesale.

You can buy products to set yourself up to do tattoos but would you go to someone who had bought off fleabay and then set up as a tatoo artist?

Stay away from the place and get the training ad support you need from your original provider.

Well said, Geeg! If you're buying products purporting to be "professional" brands on eBay, it's nigh on impossible to guarantee the provenance of the products; they could be cheap fakes using inferior (possibly even dangerous) chemicals, and I recently read about someone on Facebook who had had over a grand's worth of CND products stolen only to find some of her products turn up on eBay - which the eBay seller had bought from a car boot sale - so they were unable to find the original thief unfortunately.

So, buying "professional" products on eBay may well be supporting criminal activity - whether counterfeit products or genuine professional products that have been stolen!

 

[totalbeauty]

This is precisely why the media get the wrong idea of nail enhancements because of people trying to do this without training and then setting up and working on clients. It gives the rest of us a hard time defending our profession with all our years of hard work training and gaining valuable experience to produce high end, quality nails.

Concentrate on your course first, if you want to go into nails, start saving as you need to invest heavily into a good training course to start doing nails, and forget about these one day courses that promise you will be a nail technician by the end of the day! I have been doing this for ten years and always think I can improve, so its something you always need to update your skills. If you can afford to do this maybe next year then start getting some information on training available and dont take any shortcuts.

Hope this helps X

 

[emmaspeers]

I dont know what makes you think i havent trained - i have trained with a le chat professional in my area. Which i found thru le chat! I am facing a few problems myself as i have mentioned! I didnt expect all this rant at me, i apologised and we all make mistakes!! I thought this site was for advice, and as I trained professionally i thought i was a professional albeit a beginner....

 

[Bagpuss]

I dont know what makes you think i havent trained - i have trained with a le chat professional in my area. Which i found thru le chat! I am facing a few problems myself as i have mentioned! I didnt expect all this rant at me, i apologised and we all make mistakes!! I thought this site was for advice, and as I trained professionally i thought i was a professional albeit a beginner....

Your right, you have trained and you are welcome here...:hug:...what is being said to you on this thread is said with the best intension's and with passion and respect for our industry...something that unfortunately we have struggled to get for along time. So buying from the likes of Ebay or advising others too is just making our job harder when trying to gain some respect for a very real and proper profession and thats what we are trying to show/teach you....stick around hun, you will end up just as passionate as the rest of us..:lol: x

 

[Dawn]

Dear Beckie,

I too am new to this industry, and my finances aren't great, but I don't think I could learn to do nail extensions to a professional standard from a commercial kit.

Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts if you want to do this properly and professionally. If you're not qualified, you cannot get insurance.

I've just done a manicure course at my local college, and with a lot of searching, have found a nail extension and nail art course at another college. However, this is something I REALLY want to do, so will find the money somehow. Also as a student, I was able to join a wholesale hair & beauty supplier, so can get products at wholsale prices, which is a great advantage.

Could you offer mani/pedis to friends/neighbours/family to raise some cash? Could you do a bit of p/t work, when yr husband is home to look after the kids? It might take a while to save up enough funds, but i am sure it will be worth it in the end. Good luck!

 

[Bagpuss]

Emma has done a course ...

 

[emmaspeers]

**deep breaths** lol... okay have wiped my eyes and thank u so so much bagpuss! I feel a whole lot better and hope u can all welcome me and accept my apology (have looked for an emoticon with red cheeks cant find one lol). Have posted a thank u on my thread also bagpuss... just facing a few dilemmas right now and to become a 'nail technician' hasn't been easy for me as I had much criticism from my family which I have had to fight against, so I am passionate (albeit windling vastly of late) and hope to become more passionate as i learn to master perfection!!! First few applications i did lasted 4 wks, which i was amazed at however i have obv changed something ... will try all the things advised thanks

 

[Bagpuss]

Hey no probs...:hug:...thing is that this job really does look alot easier than it is. I think alot of people think its going to be as easy as being shown and then just doing it. But it takes alot of practice and many many months/years until you feel completely confident in what you are doing.

We have all experienced problems like lifting, breaking, confidence issues...we blame ourselves when often its the clients...learning how to know when its us or the clients...and heaps more....but stick with it...get more training when you can and just practice practice practice.

 

[becky-wales]

:cry::cry: ok then.. i think ill just get my coat and escape through the "back door" pmsl ! one of those "lord please just eat me up moments , springs to mind"!!! lol

Sorry if I caused offence to any of you professionals on this site.. but as emma stated, I only asked for a bit of advice.. and thanks to everybody who replied... and for the advice given.. please note though, I would NEVER start doing nails on the public without any relevent liability insurance and definately before I was compitent enough to carry out my handy work................lol (excuse the pun) ! on the public, practicing on friends and family is one thing, but to be let loose on the world is another question whatsoever!!

I think I will visit Sallys and get some nail stuff there, but I still want to learn and a friend of mine has a son who works for a top LONDON salon who is willing to give me some training in exchange for some manicures/pedicures on his mum ... so GREAT!!! I really want to do nails as much as the other beauty side of thigs as most of my friends pay a lot of money to have them done so I know there is good money to be made out there!! So I shall return and let u all know in a few months how im getting on with the training.... if I can afford a short course in the meantime, I will def take it up!

Kind wishes

Becky xxx

 

[becky-wales]

oh and one more thing... I promise I wont buy any more products off fleebay lol ! xxx