Ruins nails?!

[DONZIE]

Hi everyone,

Now I know this is going to upset a lot of people on this site but I'm sorry because I just don't understand. I don't understand how it can be said that nail enhancements do not ruin your own nails? My own nails are a right mess when I take the acrylic off, they are so thin and weak that I couldn't possibly leave them without acrylic on as they bend at the slightest touch. If I break a nail with acrylic on it it ALWAY ALWAYS takes fragments of my own nail with it!!
I know I'm going to get a lot of you shouting at me now and I know I'm no expert at doing nails yet, far from it. But I just can't get to grips with the fact that it doesn't ruin your own nails.
Sorry if I upset anyone but I just can't see it!

 

[Lellipop]

Hi everyone,

Now I know this is going to upset a lot of people on this site but I'm sorry because I just don't understand. I don't understand how it can be said that nail enhancements do not ruin your own nails? My own nails are a right mess when I take the acrylic off, they are so thin and weak that I couldn't possibly leave them without acrylic on as they bend at the slightest touch. If I break a nail with acrylic on it it ALWAY ALWAYS takes fragments of my own nail with it!!
I know I'm going to get a lot of you shouting at me now and I know I'm no expert at doing nails yet, far from it. But I just can't get to grips with the fact that it doesn't ruin your own nails.
Sorry if I upset anyone but I just can't see it!

Hiya,
If removed correctly then L&P should not leave any damage to the natural nail. What does ruin nails is not the products but the overfiling of the nail by bad techs, The clients who remove the product by levering off the product or picking at it.(Its bonded to the natural nail, A bit like plaster on a wall if you knock it and pick at it you cause damage underneath it). With regard to nails feeling thin after removal in my opinion this is because you have grown use to the added strength of the enhancement so the nails will feel thinner.

 

[naturalnails]

Hi Donna,

Ok, enhancement products do not damage the natural nail - it is like saying cars are dangerous - they are not, it is the people who drive them that do dangerous things.

When applying enhancement products only the shine is needed to be removed - you are not "etching or roughing" up the nail. This is not causing damage. When removing the enhancements you need to wait in the remover until all product is removed - do not pick the last bit off - this will cause damage. When you break a nail, this will cause damage but it is not the enhancement's fault it is the fault of the wearer.

If you have worn enhancements for a long time then you will not remember what your nails were like before - they may have been thin and weak and hence that was the reason that you had enhancements on in the first place.

I had a lady in last week whose husband had been made redundant and she could not afford to have her nails done anymore. I soaked them off - she had been coming for a couple of months - she was really impressed that her own nails were now all the same length and she had never had that before. We did a manicure and she left very proud of her own nails. To my knowledge she has not had any problems with them since.

OK her nails were thinner than what she had been used to with the overlays but in no way did she feel they were ruined.


I am not upset by your post at all and I am not shouting LOL.

This is what this board is for - to air our worries and hopefully get help.

 

[Kim Lawless]

I've just looked and seen that you are CND trained. I wonder what's going wrong. Do you do your own nails or do you go to a salon? My point it that maybe they've been over filed by somebody else.

Don't get me wrong................of course you're not gonna get anything healthier than a totally natural nail. Even people that wear JUST polish complain that it makes their nails yellow.

When I soak off my friends and family's nails (ones that I've applied), their natural nail is totally smooth. Yeah, the free edge is weak but that's because it's not be exposed to the air and sunlight I guess. Within no time, it's back strong again.

Now my nails ..................well that's a different story. I 'treated' myself and went to a salon and now I've taken them off, my nail plate looks like the rocky road to Dublin.

I really do think it's in the application. I'm going to do the Fabric conversion course. This may be easier on the natural nail. I'll let you know. xxx

 

[geeg]

Well here we go again Donna. Do we have to go thru this time and time again?

YOur experience with doing your own nails is obviously thinning them, and constant breakages will of course damage the surface, but you have to ask yourself... why are you breaking them?

No One has ever said that constant breakage doesn't damage the nail surface but it is the fact that they are breaking not the acrylic that is ruining them. No breakage no damage. Use your head and think about it.

I bet you have had those nails on and off a thousand times ... what do you expect? MIne don't come off from one month to the next? And I don't break them (once in a blue moon). I bet if I saw your nails, they would be too long and that you are removing them too often.

There are many professional technicians on this site that do not cause damage and who know that when they do things right damage is not caused. Certainly the product only just sits on the surface and dosen't do a thing to the natural nail. This is not a difficult concept to grasp.

 

[Bryony]

Donna,

I can see where you are coming from, but I think there are reasons for these problems that are not due to the product.

What is it that makes your nails so thin and weak? I suspect - over filing - either from constant removal and reapplication(as many of us do when we start out - gotta practise on someone, may as well be ourselves!) or, prior to application, during prep, you are filing too much of natural nail away, you should only need to remove the shine, not the layers of the nail plate. It's a fine line, and one that many beginners have crossed.

Having product itself on your nails doesn't make then thinner - how can it? The nail plate is dead, the only way to make it thinner is to physically file it away. How is having an overlay on your nails any different from having nail polish on? No-one says wearing nail polish damages your nails so what's the difference? - It's in the application and removal process.

With regards to nails breaking, if the product doesn't adhere properly you get lifting, if it does adhere properly and the nail breaks, as you say, it takes some of the nail plate layers with it, but why are the nails breaking? I appreciate that nails will break from time to time but if this is happening frequently it may be an indictaion that your mix ratio is not quite right and the nails are too brittle and therefore, more prone to breaking.

I've had a number of clients who have had their enhancements removed and there has been absolutely NO damage to their nails - any of them. I went through a stage with my own nails of freqently removing and re-applying L&P and was obviously a bit 'over zealous' with my file as my nails became pretty thin and weak. Since infilling them more instead of removing all the time the new nail growth is fine and not damaged at all.
So, in short, I suspect it's just down to technique and WILL improve with practice.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Don't worry about asking, or expressing your point of view, it won't upset anyone.

If you are getting damage then something is going wrong. If you apply the products correctly, and if they are removed correctly (ie no breakages and lifting) then YOU WILL NOT GET DAMAGE.

If you read Doug Schoon's book, it states in there something like, you could cut off a free edge and soak it in monomer for years and the nail would still be the same as when it first went in. Therefore it is not the product that damages the nail.

Yes, having enhancements applied to your nail could result in damage and we're not saying that they can't, but they shouldn't. The reason you have had damage is because they were not removed correctly, you said it yourself!! ...

"If I break a nail with acrylic on it it ALWAY ALWAYS takes fragments of my own nail with it!!" ...

the damage is a caused because they were not removed correctly.

So the three main things that can cause damage are:

!. over zealous filing
2. Breakages & lifting
3. Picking / biting them off.

Therefore as a technician we have to advise clients of such and create damage limitation.

* If you are causing the damage through poor techniques then further training is required.

* If your client is always breaking their nails then they are too long for their lifestyle and should be shortened.

* If your client continually bites or picks them off then suggest a "no-bite" product and weekly infills for a while - if they don't stop then they will have to give up the enhancements because as a responsible tech we must demonstrate that we are concerned about the health of the natural nail. I can guarantee that 99/100 when someone says to me "I had false nails and they completely ruined my nails" that when I ask how they were removed they picked them off.

I hope this finally explains that YES having enhancements applied and removed CAN damage your nails, but they SHOULDN'T.

 

[Bagpuss]

Hiya Donna...x

In the past i have messed about with my nails so much and caused so much damage....thin, week and damaged....it was ME not the product....i am glad in a way that i did do that as i have learned from it....as soon as i started leaving my nails alone (which was when i got busy as i didn't have the time as much) my nails where fine... i never break one anymore so i am confident that my nails are not damaged at all...and if mine arnt then my clients who look after there nails arnt either. (i have some who do pick so no doubt there nails are damaged at the picking point) When the nail breaks Its usually the tip end that has broken off...at the break point you may well see some damage but where the product is still on the nail bed there is no damage at all.
Its the stress of the bang/crack/break that is guilty of causing the damage...the product just sitting there is innocent.
xxxx

 

[DONZIE]

There is no need for sarcasm!
I'm am a new technician in my eyes and am sorry but I'm only trying to understand! I thought this site was for getting help from fellow techicians and that is ALL I'm trying to do. Yes it could well be my technique as I AM STILL NEW TO THIS. I thought it might upset some people but now I'm sorry I asked and am now upset myself by a certain response (most I have to say have been very tactful)

Well here we go again Donna. Do we have to go thru this time and time again?

YOur experience with doing your own nails is obviously thinning them, and constant breakages will of course damage the surface, but you have to ask yourself... why are you breaking them?

No One has ever said that constant breakage doesn't damage the nail surface but it is the fact that they are breaking not the acrylic that is ruining them. No breakage no damage. Use your head and think about it.

I bet you have had those nails on and off a thousand times ... what do you expect? MIne don't come off from one month to the next? And I don't break them (once in a blue moon). I bet if I saw your nails, they would be too long and that you are removing them too often.

There are many professional technicians on this site that do not cause damage and who know that when they do things right damage is not caused. Certainly the product only just sits on the surface and dosen't do a thing to the natural nail. This is not a difficult concept to grasp.

 

[Bagpuss]

I don't think it was sarcasm Donna...just that it has been explained so many times that maybe a search would have answed your question..its been mentioned such alot on here recently and i think sometimes people get annoyed with repeating themselves. I am sorry if you feel upset...please don't get disheartened....your are absolutely right we are here to help each other .... i have asked for help before and then felt silly as it was already on another thread, but still i got my answers...please don't be upset. xxxxx

 

[geeg]

Now I know this is going to upset a lot of people on this site --- I know I'm going to get a lot of you shouting at me now and I know I'm no expert at doing nails yet, far from it. But I just can't get to grips with the fact that it doesn't ruin your own nails.
Sorry if I upset anyone but I just can't see it!

Now Don't go getting upset when you have asked for this completely. I'm not being sarcastic but telling you straight.

This topic was only covered a week or two ago and has been talked about so many times, there can be no excuse for not understanding. If you had searched this topic there are no end of posts about it.

If you ask for it you should be able to take it.

Sorry everyone but sometimes even I have to let it out!!!

 

[Lellipop]

There is no need for sarcasm!
I'm am a new technician in my eyes and am sorry but I'm only trying to understand! I thought this site was for getting help from fellow techicians and that is ALL I'm trying to do. Yes it could well be my technique as I AM STILL NEW TO THIS. I thought it might upset some people but now I'm sorry I asked and am now upset myself by a certain response (most I have to say have been very tactful)

This site has many differnet people use it with many differnet opinions, If you asked a question out in the big wide world you would get many different responses and in many different styles. We are all different so the way we respond to posts will also be. What one person would see as sarcastic another would see as stating facts. I think if you ask for opinions on something, You will find that everyone will come up with their own response to that question, In the community this is called freedom of speech.
I think its best to take on board everything that as been written and not be upset if you don't agree with everything written.

 

[ValencianNails]

i won't apologise in advance, so here goes.......

<clambers onto soapbox>

why don't people use the bloomin' search options???

not just this particular thread but countless others, especially over the last few weeks.

if the search option (which is better than ever) was used then not only would it stop posts from being repeated over and over again but it would also save having to type the same old replies over and over again.

<falls off soapbox>

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Hi Sandi, going slightly off topic now!! I do take your point about searches, particularly when the subject was only discussed about a week ago. But I would think virtually every nail topic has been discussed at some point, and so we'd have no threads and then we'd have no Geeking, and then I'd have to be normal and do the housework and the ironing and watch Eastenders!!!!!!! :lol:

 

[Vetty]

I know that not many of us know everything..... but I don't see what you hoped to achieve by posting this as a topic. As others have said before me it has been raised more than once in the last week or two alone, let alone the gazillion times beforehand in the life of this board!

Like you I am Creative trained and I truly believe enhancements themselves not to damage natural nails. Damage can result, but the reason should be obvious.

This is a controversial topic because it usually results in someone feeling victimised, but I really don't see how asking for advice on this and then getting stroppy at the advice given is helpful.

I hope this doesn't end in a 'right that's it, I'm never posting again' like comment, this board caters for all kinds of people at all levels. I feel honoured that I can ask people like Geeg for a critique of my nails - in the real world I would have no opportunity to do that.

Finally(!), I don't wish to offend, but I do wish we weren't always such sensitive little flowers!!!

Yvette
x

 

[naturalnails]

......
This is a controversial topic because it usually results in someone feeling victimised, but I really don't see how asking for advice on this and then getting stroppy at the advice given is helpful.

I hope this doesn't end in a 'right that's it, I'm never posting again' like comment, this board caters for all kinds of people at all levels. I feel honoured that I can ask people like Geeg for a critique of my nails - in the real world I would have no opportunity to do that.

Finally(!), I don't wish to offend, but I do wish we weren't always such sensitive little flowers!!!

Yvette
x

Very well said.

Before this board, we would have to pay lots of schekels to get one to ones by some of the industry greats - here they give their advice freely and deserve the respect that they have earned over their years.

Another criticism placed on here recently was that people dont give their honest opinions but when they do they get slated - they can't win.

Sorry this is a bit off topic too - meybe just a tad! LOL.

 

[DONZIE]

Sassy Hassy I couldn't have said it better myself!!
As for being able to take it....I can take constructive critisism and people telling me that it is more than likely to be something I am doing myself. I just don't think it is necessary to say things it such a sarcastic manner!! Yes I did ask for opinions on this but not to be made to feel like a child being told off! I didn't understand that's why I asked and sometimes just by reading things doesn't always make it crystal clear. I can't help it that I didn't understand and it's not a question of making excuses for it I just didn't understand.

Hi Sandi, going slightly off topic now!! I do take your point about searches, particularly when the subject was only discussed about a week ago. But I would think virtually every nail topic has been discussed at some point, and so we'd have no threads and then we'd have no Geeking, and then I'd have to be normal and do the housework and the ironing and watch Eastenders!!!!!!! :lol:

 

[wondernail]

Hear, hear Donzie!

It may have been better to advise someone who asks a question that has already been answered to do a search...as many posts do, rather than make someone feel stupid for asking and upsetting them for the day.

That has got nothing to do with constructive critisism and everything to do with being civil to each other.

 

[DONZIE]

And just to add I also value greatly the advice of the top Geeks on this site and most of all Gigi. And I'm not getting stroppy at all Yvette, quite the opposite. I just don't think it is necessary to be off hand with people who are only asking advice, there is no need for it whoever you are!
It is definitely better to be shown some things and sometimes not easy to understand things in writing, most things yes.

Sassy Hassy I couldn't have said it better myself!!
As for being able to take it....I can take constructive critisism and people telling me that it is more than likely to be something I am doing myself. I just don't think it is necessary to say things it such a sarcastic manner!! Yes I did ask for opinions on this but not to be made to feel like a child being told off! I didn't understand that's why I asked and sometimes just by reading things doesn't always make it crystal clear. I can't help it that I didn't understand and it's not a question of making excuses for it I just didn't understand.

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

I don't understand how it can be said that nail enhancements do not ruin your own nails?

Yes it could well be my technique as I AM STILL NEW TO THIS.....

I think you have answered your own question here.......go over your technique and see where the problem is, is it your file prep, are you a bit eager and heavy handed with the file, are you using a 240 grit only once going in direction of nail growth ???? Using light pressure almost non existing, you are just removing shine not keratin....

What about your blending technique, are you blending just the tip or does your file touch the natural nail ?? As the nail grows, the nail damage is growing out with it, hence the flimsy free edge when you remove the enhancement to apply a new set. Then you blend again and the same happens..... Its like roof tiling nail damage, the nail damage being the slates , if you can see where I am coming from....

So look at your application techniques ..... try this............ paint your natural nail red.... apply a tip, now blend it how you usually blend it..... how much of the red enamel is coming off on your file ????? Imagine then red enamel is the keratin....... the more red on your file, the less keratin on the nail...........
Then try it again, try not to touch the enamel at all with your file !!!!!
Not as easy as you might think, but once you have cracked it it's goodbye to flimsy nails and hello to great blending skills !!!!
Have a go !!!!