Practice hand

[NatalieC1983]

Hi All,

Please can I ask advice on practice hands.

Are they any good?

What do you practice with, is it just acrylics?

do you favour the silicon hands or the plastic ones where the tips pop off?

thanks in advance

 

[Noodle]

Hi All,

Please can I ask advice on practice hands.

Are they any good?

What do you practice with, is it just acrylics?

do you favour the silicon hands or the plastic ones where the tips pop off?

thanks in advance

Nail training hands are far superior (in my opinion) to the plastic silicone ones.

They‘re fairly reasonable in price these days too.

 

[NatalieC1983]

Nail training hands are far superior (in my opinion) to the plastic silicone ones.

They‘re fairly reasonable in price these days too.

Thanks, I thought that may be the case and that the silicone ones are more for aesthetics.

 

[Amber5748]

Hi All,

Please can I ask advice on practice hands.

Are they any good?

What do you practice with, is it just acrylics?

do you favour the silicon hands or the plastic ones where the tips pop off?

thanks in advance

You can practice anything you would normally do on a clients nails during a treatment including nail art.

 

[Champagnedreams]

Personally I prefer the silicone ones and not for aesthetic purposes. Silicone practice hands have more realistic sidewalls and cuticle area making my practice more like an actual client’s hand. At the end of the day it is a very personal choice and largely dependent on your purpose for wanting one. If you’re wanting one to practice nail art for instance, one of the training hands should be just fine but if you are wanting to practice acrylic/gel application then you may prefer a silicone hand. There are many silicone ones that are reasonably priced so just do proper research if you choose to go that route. Just my two cents....

 

[NatalieC1983]

Personally I prefer the silicone ones and not for aesthetic purposes. Silicone practice hands have more realistic sidewalls and cuticle area making my practice more like an actual client’s hand. At the end of the day it is a very personal choice and largely dependent on your purpose for wanting one. If you’re wanting one to practice nail art for instance, one of the training hands should be just fine but if you are wanting to practice acrylic/gel application then you may prefer a silicone hand. There are many silicone ones that are reasonably priced so just do proper research if you choose to go that route. Just my two cents....

thanks, strange question but can you push back the cuticle area on the silicone ones? (Looks like you can) for practice this would be very helpful. I’m a bit paranoid about cuticles and hurting people.

 

[Trinity]

thanks, strange question but can you push back the cuticle area on the silicone ones? (Looks like you can) for practice this would be very helpful. I’m a bit paranoid about cuticles and hurting people.

No, it's silicone it just bounces back. The nails you work on are removable/replaceable so it can't be attached like living tissue.

Cuticle work should be gentle, letting cuticle removing products do the work, tools should just be removing the debris, not scraping or pressing too hard. Do it to yourself, watch how much pressure you apply to yourself and how firmly you press, then replicate that on clients as a starting point. Also remember not everyone experiences pain or discomfort at the same level, what hurts some clients will barely register with others. Have the confidence to press as firmly as you need but ask the client whilst doing the first finger if that pressure is OK with them. The trick is to ask the question in a way that they can say it hurts without thinking they will offend you or feel like they are complaining. I say 'cuticle work feels a bit weird but shouldn't hurt...how is that for you?' They'll either say 'no it's fine' or something else, this is when you listen carefully to what they say and take your lead from them adjusting pressure as needed.

I have a couple of clients who love it and ask me to do them all again
I have one client who absolutely loathes it, her feet fidget and she tries to twist her fingers away the whole time. She's been coming for years, I've proven the need for it so we have agreed now that ignore her fidgeting, hold her finger tightly and just get on with it and get it done as quickly as possible.

 

[NatalieC1983]

No, it's silicone it just bounces back. The nails you work on are removable/replaceable so it can't be attached like living tissue.

Cuticle work should be gentle, letting cuticle removing products do the work, tools should just be removing the debris, not scraping or pressing too hard. Do it to yourself, watch how much pressure you apply to yourself and how firmly you press, then replicate that on clients as a starting point. Also remember not everyone experiences pain or discomfort at the same level, what hurts some clients will barely register with others. Have the confidence to press as firmly as you need but ask the client whilst doing the first finger if that pressure is OK with them. The trick is to ask the question in a way that they can say it hurts without thinking they will offend you or feel like they are complaining. I say 'cuticle work feels a bit weird but shouldn't hurt...how is that for you?' They'll either say 'no it's fine' or something else, this is when you listen carefully to what they say and take your lead from them adjusting pressure as needed.

I have a couple of clients who love it and ask me to do them all again
I have one client who absolutely loathes it, her feet fidget and she tries to twist her fingers away the whole time. She's been coming for years, I've proven the need for it so we have agreed now that ignore her fidgeting, hold her finger tightly and just get on with it and get it done as quickly as possible.

Woe this really makes me feel a lot more relaxed about this. Thanks so much.
I’d seen a few threads and videos where people trim the cuticles and are quite rough and it really worried me as I’m probably quite like the lady you have who doesn’t like it.

 

[Trinity]

Woe this really makes me feel a lot more relaxed about this. Thanks so much.
I’d seen a few threads and videos where people trim the cuticles and are quite rough and it really worried me as I’m probably quite like the lady you have who doesn’t like it.

That gives you better insight then, you're more likely to take more care than someone who has no idea of the discomfort it can cause

 

[NatalieC1983]

That gives you better insight then, you're more likely to take more care than someone who has no idea of the discomfort it can cause

that’s fantastic then, do you trim them or is that not advised? It looked so risky!

 

[Trinity]

that’s fantastic then, do you trim them or is that not advised? It looked so risky!

What do you mean by trim? Russian Manicure style cutting off? No absolutely not and never will. Nip off sticking up bits flapping around and likely to be picked or torn, yes.

 

[NatalieC1983]

I saw a video of a tool that she ran around the cuticle with a blade in an it trimmed the whole thing but it worried me I’d hurt someone. That’s fantastic thank you for you help.