Nail enhancements coming off!

[Milliecat]

Help! I qualified in July on my VTCT Nail Tech course. Unfortunately I have not had much call as yet for acrylics and recently got a call from a new client in September. I first done her daughters nails, 1 came off the same day but the mum told me it was her daughters fault as she got into a fight???? I done the mums nails the following week (on a Saturday) by the Wednesday, 1 had come off, she said she glued it back on but by the following weekend they all started to come off! What am I doing wrong? The mum told me she had 4 relatives/friends that were going to contact me to have their nails done, however, have had no calls from any of them? Am now not confident about going to do anymore acrylics? Am buffing the nail and cleaning it before applying glue and nail, the system I am using is Salon Systems, this is what was trained on at College? I charge £20.00 a full set, should I contact the mum and offer to redo them for a £10.00? Any tips????

 

[yeahyeah]

im not familiar with that system, does it not require primer? are you not only removing the shine from the natural nail plate but also remembering to remove dead tissue around the cuticle? im not sure if these are your only acrylic clients but if not are you having lifting problems with any other clients? the issue is most likely within your prep somewhere, but it couldn't hurt to ask her some questions regarding her treatment of her nails (does she work with any chemicals, does she wear gloves when using cleaning products, has she used sunscreen on her hands, etc) although some clients will never admit when they've abused their enhancements, lol! good luck
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[Cathie!]

Hi there, sorry to hear you are having a few problems, I know it does knock your confidence.

If you could give a run through of how you are preparing the natural nail before applying your product, the answer may lie there.

 

[Liljenren]

I got this problem as well and am newly qualified, this was a few weeks ago actually and like you I totally lost all my confidence in doing them and had people lined up but felt slightly like I didnt want to let them down, however I contacted my trainer and they said it might be that they have a high moisture content in their nail bed or that their hormone levels are quite high etc it could be a lot of things to do with their diet as well apparantly.

Anyway I took that as a valid answer and carried on doing some more and they have been fine so it cant be something im doing. I would just bite the bullett and do them as normal and you might find that the situation is the same as mine and its just the peoples nail beds as it was only two of the people i'd done that came back to me which isnt a lot. I just put more glue on and blended the tips in a bit differently to make sure there was more of a bond and also made sure I paid more attention to drying out the nail bed before I put anything on them..

ps) If any of my advice was wrong then please do not blame me - its what I have been given lol

 

[shell28]

Im no expert in acrylic but if the nails are coming off that easy they were never on in the first place hun. Try talking us through your prep and maybe someone will be able to see where you have gone wrong, but remeber your very new to nails and problems like these will happen keep practising and please dont give up x:hug:

 

[naturalnails]

Firstly, stop blaming yourself!

Every new technician has issues like this. If the client kew you were knew then she may be just trying to play on your insecurities by making you feel bad about her nails coming off.

If you look through the articles on here there are so many great ones - especially one on Perfect Preparation. This is the most important step.

Were the nails too long for their life style - lots of clients demand great long talons because they seem to think that the longer they are the more value for money they are getting LOL. If someone comes in with no free edge then it will take them quite some adjustments to cope with nails that even go to the end of their finger pads.

Baby steps are what it takes - read the articles and see what you might be doing differently and try some of the things to see if it helps.

We all get lifting and service breakdown problems when we start but the more you do the better you will get.

Just remeber this:

Practice doesnt make perfect - perfect practice makes perfect - you have to be practising correct techniques!

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Milliecat]

Firstly thanks everyone for your feedback. I know practice will make perfect, however, there does not seem much practice opportunities at the moment. Will have to start working on the family. Here is my nail prep process. If I am going wrong or missing something out please advise.

1. Sanitise hands and nails
2. File natural nails
3. Push back cuticles.
4. Buff nails to remove natural shine
5. Clean nails of any dust
6. Apply primer
7. Apply artificial nails
8. Primer
9. Apply acrylic

Couple of questions?

1. I apply glue to the artificial nail and apply to natural nail at an angle. Is it worth also applying some glue to the natural nail?

2. Can anyone recommend a good acrylic system, what is The Edge like?

3. When doing an acrylic white tip, is it worthwhile painting a bit of white nail varnish on the tip also before applying pink acrylic over the top?

Any other tips would be appreciated.

I have since spoken with the client whose nails came off and she is going to have them redone at the beginning of christmas. I offered to do them at a reduced cost as compensation. Scared stiff about the next lot coming off!!!!!!!!!

 

[geeg]

I think lack of experience, lack of really good nail education and information, and lack of a good product and lack of clients for practise are all hampering your progress.

Please do not be offended but you have a long way to go with your education if VTCT is your only qualification. Both it and the NVQ are a minimum standard qualification which means you have only just startedout on the road to being a good nail technician, not reached the end of it.

For instance, priming twice is not something that you should do nor should it be necessary to do with a good quality product.

Yes, applying adhesive (we do not use glue in the nail business) to both the artificial tip AND the natural nail edge DOES make a better bond and a longer lasting bond for the tip.

We dont push back cuticles, but we do push back the eponychium and then you must remove the cuticle from the surface of the nail plate with a disinfected metal implement and cuticle remover. If any cuticle is left on the nail plate, you will get lifting.

We use white powder to form a white tip and not polish. If you use polish it will yellow instantly ... I have never heard of a professional using polish to create a white tip.

YOu're looking for great education and a great product?? Look no further than CND which stands for Creative Nail Design. With them as your partner you will really get started in the nail business and have all your prolems solved.

Ring Sweet Squared 0845210606 and find out more plus register with them to get further information and info about classes near you. Good Luck

Firstly thanks everyone for your feedback. I know practice will make perfect, however, there does not seem much practice opportunities at the moment. Will have to start working on the family. Here is my nail prep process. If I am going wrong or missing something out please advise.

1. Sanitise hands and nails
2. File natural nails
3. Push back cuticles.
4. Buff nails to remove natural shine
5. Clean nails of any dust
6. Apply primer
7. Apply artificial nails
8. Primer
9. Apply acrylic

Couple of questions?

1. I apply glue to the artificial nail and apply to natural nail at an angle. Is it worth also applying some glue to the natural nail?

2. Can anyone recommend a good acrylic system, what is The Edge like?

3. When doing an acrylic white tip, is it worthwhile painting a bit of white nail varnish on the tip also before applying pink acrylic over the top?

Any other tips would be appreciated.

I have since spoken with the client whose nails came off and she is going to have them redone at the beginning of christmas. I offered to do them at a reduced cost as compensation. Scared stiff about the next lot coming off!!!!!!!!!

 

[LoveNatural]

You said it best geeg!

My problem with lifting was ALWAYS my prep work.

Visit this site if you would like to see pictures and videos. Young Nails - Nail Art Products for Professionals

Go to the education section. In the step-by-step guides under Mani-Q, they have great advice on prep.

There are also a lot of other sites that'll help you on your way.

And like geeg said, you need great training to be a great nail tech. Continue your education and you'll get it down pat soon enough.

 

[Milliecat]

Thanks everyone for your feedback, it has been very helpful. A couple of friends have offered to let me practice on them, one of them also recently completing a nail tech course, so we can talk each other through bits and pieces. Regarding pushing back the cuticle (eponychium), college trainer referred to this as the cuticle area and we never actually used cuticle remover to clear away any bits of skin, so this is something I will definitely concentrate on. Also only to prime after tip attached and only on the natural nail; I was advised over the natural nail and the tip? With a bit of practice in the meantime, I will look into doing another in depth course at a later date, CND seems to be the one everyone talks about on Salon Geek.

Many thanks again for your advice