Painful soak offs

[tigi]

I was hoping someone could advise me on a client i have.

She was in pain during her soak, said the acetone was stinging and hurting her. I checked her hands and there was no apparent redness or soreness but i dont like hurting my clients!

Now she will be due a soak off in about 2 weeks, her nails and hands are looking nice, no cuts, redness or anything and she says her nails feel fine . I was wondering if anyone can suggest how i perform a soak for her as i am a bit worried about hurting her!

Its not the filing that is giving her the pain, its having the acetone on her nail. she says this has happened before.

I have put what i do to soak off below, i was told this was how to in my training, and i have done quite a few soak offs and have not had this problem with other clients.

i soak the cotton pads in acetone and wrap around the nail and then place foil over, after about 15 mins i remove, file a little then place the nails (fingertips) in the bowl and then every ten mins i check the nails and file gently and return the fingertips back into the bowl, and keep doing this until the product is gone. very often though the product turns a bit glue like and just comes away from the nail no problem, though i dont pick or prise the product from her nail plate. i use a 180 file to file off.

Any help you can offer me would be great, thank you .

tigi
xxxx

 

[ValencianNails]

Do you have to do a soak-off?

Why not just rebalance continuously?

No need to worry about the acetone issue that way :hug:

Other than that... you could apply oil to the surrounding skin as it should act as a barrier.

 

[tigi]

I do a soak off about every 4 or fifth visit, new tips on etc, i dont soak off every two weeks, (sorry, i didnt make my self clear there did i?) i advise solar oil to all my clients and she says she uses hers every day.
and i put solar oil on them every they come for rebalance. (she comes every 14 days for her rebalance).
I am just concerned as the last soak off as painful for her and being quite new i was worried i am doing something wrong and i want to be ready for the when she is due her soak off.

 

[Nails Plus]

I soak cotton pad with acetone, wrap in foil as you do but then wrap in a warm towel and leave for at least 20-30 mins, before unwrapping one nail at a time. Usually product is removed easily with a little help from a wooden hoof stick, if not re-wrap and and try again in five mins, a light once over with a white block to finish.

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

I do a soak off about every 4 or fifth visit, new tips on etc, i dont soak off every two weeks, (sorry, i didnt make my self clear there did i?) i advise solar oil to all my clients and she says she uses hers every day.
and i put solar oil on them every they come for rebalance. (she comes every 14 days for her rebalance).
I am just concerned as the last soak off as painful for her and being quite new i was worried i am doing something wrong and i want to be ready for the when she is due her soak off.

I think Sandi means for you to put solar oil on the surrounding skin before placing your cotton wool on for soaking off......it helps protect the skin a bit from the acetone x

 

[VHunter]

I don't understand though.
Why soak off to begin with?
I mean, unless it's a nail that's been battered to hell and back and you don't want to file the lift because it's been so abused it tore the nail plate...I understand soaking that.

But why not just keep rebalancing/infilling as required? I don't see a need for soaking off that often, UNLESS they are tip-n-dip (aka gel-resine)... which are brittle things and get yukky over time.

Also, instead of acetone; why note use a 'soak off' product, intended specifically for enhancement removal that is slightly buffered and usually has some skin treating ingredients added (like vit E and what not, depending on the brand). To my mind, this would be less harsh than straight acetone. Particularly if you're soaking off that often.

Another thought, if you're soaking that often, and using a 180 each time to remove 'left-overs', you have to consider that this 180 is touching the nailplate at some point, and refiling the same area over again... a bit at a time, over time will thin that area... know what I mean? Leaving it tender.
ESPECIALLY in winter months when nails grow more slowly, and so the zone that was originally near the eponychium will take some time to reach the free edge - imagine how many times that same zone is filed again and again as it grows out?

Can you please explain why you soak off so frequently?

 

[knopka]

tigi, are you using pure acetone?
If so, there's no wonder that your client feel pain, if she has a sensitive nail plate, that will happen all the time.
Use any special nail product removers. Also, before soaking off the nails, file off some product from the top with a electric drill, to make the surface more thin. That will make the proccess much faster, and the heat won't be like that.

 

['chelle]

Why do you soak off every fourth or fifth set? I have clients who havent had a full set since the day they first walked into my salon over a year ago, there's no reason why you cant just rebalance every time and from what you've said about this client experiencing pain during a soak off it sounds like this would be the best course of action for this lady.

The only time I do a soak off is if the client doesnt want to wear enhancements any more. I do get clients coming in saying they want a soak off and new set, and when I ask them why they tell me that other techs in the past have told them that they have to have a new set every now and again. Honestly I could bang my head against the wall every time I hear this as it frustrates me so much!! There really is no reason to have to do this and all I can assume is that there are some techs who like to squeeze extra money out of their clients in this way. When I explain to my clients that they have have rebalances forever and a day if they like, they are always pleasantly surprised and rarely say they would still like the soak off and new set.

 

[adelekeegan1]

I react like this to acetone.

I had worn Brisa gel (buff off) for nearly two years and decided to switch to L&P for a change. After a few weeks I decided to go back to gel (I much prefer doing it) and decided to soak my nails off. I did one hand with the cotton wool method and the other immersed in remover.

My nails felt terrible, they bled underneath (on the hand that was dipped) and they all buckled and I was left with quite a bit of onycholysis This had happened in the past but I assumed that I had overdone it being newly qualified.

I do have very thin nails these days (age not overfiling) I don't have any problem with the skin being affected - just my nails.

I have never seen this problem on a client though.

 

[tigi]

well, i am using acetone because my trainer told me to. she said to use acetone to remove the enhancements. your replies got me doubting myself so i emailed a fellow student on the course and she confirmed that we were told to use pure acetone and to follow the procedure i have outlined.

And the question about why remove and replace? well, again its down to what i was told during training, and also because i am still fairly I am finding a new set looks nicer on the client than backfilling all the time. after about 8-10 weeks I feel the look of the nail is not as nice as when i first do them and although its getting better , i think the clients prefer it too. i dont charge a lot as am just graduated and so am not really making a lot of they have a new set ( £18 for new set and £15 for a backfill).

THank you for all your helpful comments and suggestions, I think I will play around with trying a few different techniques and also try a product called get them off as suggested in a pm to try and make it easier for my client. I just wondered why this lady was suffering but none of the others are. I shall do the cotton wool technique and not dip the nail and see if that helps .

thank you again, you are all so helpful.

tigi

xxx

 

[ValencianNails]

Try and get yourself some product remover as opposed to pure acetone, it's buffered and has conditioners in it.

hth's

 

[tigi]

ill definately get some product remover and will email the trainer tomorrow (what joy!) and ask her to clarify the acetone situation.

am so glad that i asked this question now as I really dont want to be injuring my clients!.

thank you again

tigi

 

[champagne]

Practice re-balancing to get the nails to look as good as new as oppossed to soaking off...

Apart from anything else it must be a very time consuming practice to get into...

 

[sknight]

ill definately get some product remover and will email the trainer tomorrow (what joy!) and ask her to clarify the acetone situation.

am so glad that i asked this question now as I really dont want to be injuring my clients!.

thank you again

tigi

This is what this site is for so if you have any other questions get asking!!

Practice re-balancing to get the nails to look as good as new as oppossed to soaking off...

Apart from anything else it must be a very time consuming practice to get into...

I agree, a good rebalance will look the same as a new set when you have had enough practice.

 

[NoLimitNails]

Try reading the tutorial for the forever french rebalance.

I worked at a place where we did soak offs every 4 week (which would be by every rebalance) and so does a lot of people in denmark, actually havn't seen anybody working with L&P not soaking of. Some of our clients complained about productremover also, but these ladies had very thin skin on the hands, so bet it was down to that.

I have now decided myself that I wont do soakoffs (unless the obvious ones) because I can do a rebalance a lot faster when using the method described by Gigi.

 

[nailzoo]

what does a "buffered" product mean, is it less effective, is it weaker, or does it just have additives that make it sound fancy?

Most are acetone based (I can't imagine a chemical thats says to other chemicals "right, stop working now), but I can underand adding other chemical to make it less harsh and some moisturising factors.

Some people add cuticle oil to acetone, but this just sits on the top and adds oil when the fingers are pulled out ...... kinda like putting baby oil in your bath, that leaves a slick on the surface of the bath (an oil slick) your skin only grabs it on the way out of the bath (it coats you on the way out of the bath, not while you are in it). Then we dehydrate to make the new set stick better anyways!!!

You would be better of to add some glycerine ( a humectant), lube or even KY jelly (as it's more readly absorbed into the skin) or some other humectant.

 

[Vetty]

what does a "buffered" product mean, is it less effective, is it weaker, or does it just have additives that make it sound fancy?

Most are acetone based (I can't imagine a chemical thats says to other chemicals "right, stop working now), but I can underand adding other chemical to make it less harsh and some moisturising factors.

The product remover that I use is a buffered acetone - the buffering makes it kinder and less harsh to the skin but the acetone is the chemical that removes the product!

 

[xx_ur_angel_xx]

Why do you soak off every fourth or fifth set? I have clients who havent had a full set since the day they first walked into my salon over a year ago, there's no reason why you cant just rebalance every time and from what you've said about this client experiencing pain during a soak off it sounds like this would be the best course of action for this lady.

The only time I do a soak off is if the client doesnt want to wear enhancements any more. I do get clients coming in saying they want a soak off and new set, and when I ask them why they tell me that other techs in the past have told them that they have to have a new set every now and again. Honestly I could bang my head against the wall every time I hear this as it frustrates me so much!! There really is no reason to have to do this and all I can assume is that there are some techs who like to squeeze extra money out of their clients in this way. When I explain to my clients that they have have rebalances forever and a day if they like, they are always pleasantly surprised and rarely say they would still like the soak off and new set.

How do you just keep re-filling if the client has french tips? they will just grow out surely?

 

[Bev Rose]

How do you just keep re-filling if the client has french tips? they will just grow out surely?

I hardly ever have to soak off a clients nails, unless they are having them permanently removed. My Clients tend to have a new set approx every 12 - 18 months or not at all. If a rebalance is done correctly - as in there is sufficient old product removed where necessary, then the rebalanced nails should look like a new set.

I rebalance when the apex has moved or the whites have moved down the nail plate and the natural free edge is showing. I don't use white plastic tips, I sculpt the whites in zone 1.
So when it comes to rebalancing, I file down the thickness in zone 1 first, over into zone 2 and smooth the area of product in zone 3 (in a nutshell), remove any length if needed, then re-apply my whites into zone 1 (free edge) and pink into zones 2 & 3.
Even if you use white tips as an initial set, you can still rebalance using white liquid & powder for the new white french area (Zone 1).

I soak off using pure acetone, I never have had any problems with clients having any kind of reaction to it. I use the cotton disc & foil wrap method for each finger - but I always file first to remove a significant amount of product before application of the acetone soaked cotton disc(cut in half) and then wrap in foil. This way, by the time I have done the last finger - filed, cotton pad & wrapped, the first finger is ready to come off, using a wooden hoof stick. I leave the thumbs till last as they take longer, being a bigger nail in general.
Application of solar oil onto the skin around the finger prior to applying the cotton disc and foil would help your client, so would some removal of the product by filing before trying to soak off.
Perhaps, if you are not doing this initial file to remove some product, the client has her skin in contact with the acetone for far longer than she would if you filed some product away first.

xxxx

 

[1999judy]

There is no need to keep doing these soak offs hun.
You HAVE to be able to rebalance using P&W or natural or whatever you use.
If you use white tips then you can use your white powder when you rebalance...if you can't do this then maybe take another course that will...in the long run...save you time, effort and products.
To keep soaking off and applying a new set is ludicrous to say the least..it's like offering half a service.
Sorry if that offends you but I am just trying to offer some help x