Shellac Help needed as feeling pretty sad

[Snazzybiz]

Hi Geeks,
I m sorry if there are hundreds of posts about this, but I have just received a message from my first paying Shellac client who's nails I did last Thursday to say that she is going to go back to Jessica Geleration as she’s not happy with the Shellac.

I am feeling pretty upset about it as I am trying to setup a mobile beauty business and this is the first time I have done this clients nails. So not a great start!!!! :cry:

She says that it has chipped on five nails on the corners, she says that it’s not my work that she’s unhappy with it’s the product. However I know that I must have done something wrong as the product is fab.

I have asked if I can take it off and redo it on her but I just wondered if
Anyone has any suggestions of what I have done wrong.

These are the steps I took: -
I used cuticle away with a pusher and the curette, then washed off with water.
Scrub fresh over the nails

Applied a thin coat of base coat and cured for 10 seconds,
Applied colour coat and cured for 2 mins then applied a second coat and cured for 2 mins.
Applied top coat and cured for 2 mins.
Removed the tacky layer.]

I am using the CND lamp.

All I can assume is that I haven’t capped the free edge properly which has caused it to chip away.

Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks x

 

[eden_beauty]

awww poor you its horrible when things go wrong and clients are not happy - I have had this a couple of times with shellac too but you know if you KNOW you are doing all the steps right then it has to be something else.......is she on any medication that you think might affect her natural nail at all?? Did she have any splitting or peeling on her natural nail before you applied shellac? If so this needs to be lightly filed or buffed so that its smooth before the application......other than that remember there are some people that cannot accept shellac on their natural nail as there are with all products.....If you forgot to ask her about the meds maybe do that now and see...Lisa Chin uo though!

 

[geeg]

Hi Geeks,
I m sorry if there are hundreds of posts about this, but I have just received a message from my first paying Shellac client who's nails I did last Thursday to say that she is going to go back to Jessica Geleration as she’s not happy with the Shellac.

I am feeling pretty upset about it as I am trying to setup a mobile beauty business and this is the first time I have done this clients nails. So not a great start!!!! :cry:

She says that it has chipped on five nails on the corners, she says that it’s not my work that she’s unhappy with it’s the product. However I know that I must have done something wrong as the product is fab.

I have asked if I can take it off and redo it on her but I just wondered if
Anyone has any suggestions of what I have done wrong.

These are the steps I took: -
I used cuticle away with a pusher and the curette, then washed off with water.
Scrub fresh over the nails

Applied a thin coat of base coat and cured for 10 seconds,
Applied colour coat and cured for 2 mins then applied a second coat and cured for 2 mins.
Applied top coat and cured for 2 mins.
Removed the tacky layer.]

I am using the CND lamp.

All I can assume is that I haven’t capped the free edge properly which has caused it to chip away.

Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks x

First thing that sticks out to me, is that you rinsed your Cuticle Away off with only water .. This is not sufficient to really clean the nail plate. Cuticle Away should be rinsed off with water and a liquid soap such as a bactericidal soap ... One part liquid soap to ten parts of water mixed and ready to use in a spray bottle works well and is easy to have to hand.

Second thing I noticed is that she says her colour is wearing or chipping at the corners which leads me to ask were her nails in strong and good shape? If she has been using a gel polish, then her nails will have been repeatedly buffed and may not be in the best of shape to be able to cope with a power polish like Shellac which is thinner and meant to be used as a colour coat on natural nails and not an enhancement.

Third thing is you mention capping! With Shellac, we don't take an extra step to cap the free edge with extra product. We in fact seal the free edge only with the most minute amount of product ... Many of us do this seal as we polish and not as an extra step at all (as per my step by step here on the site in the articles and tutorials section under nail finishing).

In my experience, those who cap with Shellac as if it were a gel, get into trouble as the extra product gets built up and is too thick and as we all know, it it "thin to win" when using Shellac.

My last point is this ... When clients are used to gel, they do not appreciate unless you tell them, that Shellac is not a gel. Shellac is better described as a power polish !! Meant for the natural nail client who loves her nails and wants them to look polished, with no buffing and no extra bulk; with zero dry time, long lasting wear and a resilient mirror finish that looks perfect for two weeks or longer.

 

[kezza*]

Have you practised shellac beore this client? have you been wearing shellac?

I only ask because I bought Shellac about 3 5 weeks ago. Did my nails first and was pretty dishearted only because my application. It only lasted a week. My nail are weak and flake, second time round I spend more time on the application making sure all coats covered the nail, wasn't so close to cuticle, and I sealed the free edge, oh and buffed any flaking. I got two weeks out of it. I've done my nails again and again I fee; it's a better application. Practise on uyour own before you can see more what's going on.

Good luck and keep going it really is brilliant I say to client's it's a longer lasting polish I try not to mention gel to much it confuses them.

 

[C the Results]

Power Polish!! I love it i will be using that from now on thanks Geeg

 

[Redduck]

When I shellacked my nails last week I did a little test for myself. I did one hand properly and sealed the free edge. On the other hand I did two fingers without sealing the free edge at all and on the others I sealed them by capping them with extra product. The hand I did properly is still perfect, the two fingers that I didn't seal have worn quite a lot at the free edge and the ones I capped have chipped a bit. It certainly showed me the importance of sealing the free edge properly. Mind you, i'm still taking way to long with clients so I need to speed up a bit and stop checking and re-checking the shellac!

 

[geeg]

Power Polish!! I love it i will be using that from now on thanks Geeg

Well that is really what it is and I think we all who are using it so successfullly need to completely segregate ourwselves from the gels. Shellac is in a league of one ... on its own ... a completely different and new category and there is nothing else like it. You dont need to explain the science to the client just ell it like it is .. the product and the performance of Shellac will speak for you. xx :green:

 

[Pretty Geeky]

Mind you, i'm still taking way to long with clients so I need to speed up a bit and stop checking and re-checking the shellac!

This is me too! I take FOREVER to Shellac (and most other things tbh :o) I'm a complete perfectionist and I'll probably always be able to spot something I'm not happy with in each treatment.

To the OP - take heart. If it was only the first time you've done something you can't expect it to 100% right away. You seem to have done everything correctly (except perhaps the removal of Cuticle away with soap/water spray as Geeg has pointed out). Have a couple of practice runs on yourself. I'm doing this just now to try and "test" the product by not wearing gloves etc. I want to 100% be able to say to clients what is likely to happen if they don't treat their nails well etc. And I'd like to experience all the realities of bad application ie crinkling, bubbling, faded patches etc. Best of luck!

PGx

 

[Liane]

Just a quick query, am I right in thinking that if a client has weak nails, say after prolonged use of gels/L&P, Shellac wont be any good for them? Is this because the nails may split and peel and Shellac doesnt prevent this? What would you do if someone wanted a removal and then Shellac?

Sorry for all the questions!!

 

[Emily S]

Just a quick query, am I right in thinking that if a client has weak nails, say after prolonged use of gels/L&P, Shellac wont be any good for them? Is this because the nails may split and peel and Shellac doesnt prevent this? What would you do if someone wanted a removal and then Shellac?

Sorry for all the questions!!

I went from L&P enhancements to Shellac without a break (well, a day) and the first set lasted about 7-8 days and I re-did them, since then they've been brill.

I don't look after my nails as I should do either, wash up without gloves, rarely solar oil etc and they were still fine. It's worth a try, if the client has a full understanding that they may not go the duration.

 

[gr8nailz]

Well that is really what it is and I think we all who are using it so successfullly need to completely segregate ourwselves from the gels. Shellac is in a league of one ... on its own ... a completely different and new category and there is nothing else like it. You dont need to explain the science to the client just ell it like it is .. the product and the performance of Shellac will speak for you. xx :green:

I like the term "Power Polish." I think I adopt this.

I went from L&P enhancements to Shellac without a break (well, a day) and the first set lasted about 7-8 days and I re-did them, since then they've been brill.

I don't look after my nails as I should do either, wash up without gloves, rarely solar oil etc and they were still fine. It's worth a try, if the client has a full understanding that they may not go the duration.

@ Emily,

But do you find that your Shellac doesn't last primarily because of the treatments we're performing on our clients? That's what I'm finding. My Shellac usually lasts only 7 or 8 days because I'm constantly in acetone. The Shellac on the first 3 fingers of my dominant hand usually deteriorates in a week or so. My left hand still looks amazing.

 

[Emily S]

But do you find that your Shellac doesn't last primarily because of the treatments we're performing on our clients? That's what I'm finding. My Shellac usually lasts only 7 or 8 days because I'm constantly in acetone. The Shellac on the first 3 fingers of my dominant hand usually deteriorates in a week or so. My left hand still looks amazing.

Hmm, possibly but then it still lasts the majority of that as well but I don't do more than 8/9 sets of nails maximum a week, whereas I'm sure you do?

It certainly last better than my enhancements ever have done, my right hand always ended up tatty - Shellac really is the best thing since sliced bread

 

[gr8nailz]

No argument here!

 

[purpleivy]

well, I hate sliced bread..... but I luurrrrrve Shellac!

 

[ELJ-11]

Ahh I don't tend to buff the nails... what buffer/file do you recommend from S2 that buffs the best?

 

[Snazzybiz]

Thanks for all your replies, sorry for not getting back sooner I have an 8 week old baby so time is in short supply at the moment.

I went back and redid the clients nails, they weren't as bad as I was expecting but they had chipped which isn't right.

I soaked them off which I thought was going well as when I removed the cnd wraps the shellac had all bubbled up and came straight off. However there was shellac left on the nails still which would not come of with an orange wood stick so I reapplied the wraps and still nothing in the end I opened the wraps and resaturated them with disolve which eventually took it off In total it must have taken an hour to remove it. So i must have done something wrong there as well. I watched hollies video about removing shellac and thought I had followed it. Perhaps I need to get the wraps on even tighter. Do people find a dispensing pump is better for saturating the wraps?

Anyway once off I reapplied new shallac using a water and antibacterial spray as advised above for the cuticle away and my client said she would let me know how she gets on with them. So far I haven't heard from her which I am hoping is a good sign ( fingers crossed).
Will let you know.
Thanks nice again.
X

 

[purpleivy]

I know that the removal wraps are supposed to be best, maybe they are for some people, they do look more professional, granted. BUT I did a side by side testing with foil/lint combo against the other hand with the shellac wraps. I have to say, the shellac came off better with the foil wraps. I shall have another try with another tame client some time.

I wonder what I could be doing that the results were as they were. I've copied the procedure given exactly.

 

[Lovebeauty14]

Also been having trouble with Shellac but after reading Geegs tutorial I now know what I've done wrong! My Shellac was also chipping which I now know was down to me not washing 'cuticle away' properly and not capping free edges properly. Here's a link to Geeks tutorial

http://www.salongeek.com/nail-finis...-colour-coat-system-application-tutorial.html

It's awesome! Hopefully now my nails should be perfect and I'll be amazing when I start doing clients! 

 

[#1Tinkerbell]

I am also buying this system.... Info is great and thanks for all the tips!!

 

[Mrs RSM]

We have clients who last up to 3 and a bit weeks and it has not chipped at all but just grown out. Applied correctly it really is an amazing product and well worth the investment. My tech is doing more shellac than anything at the moment.