Should I just give up?

[cfp1980]

Oh my heart went out to you. I did exactly the same. Trained ten years ago or so with LCN (gels) then CND a always hated my results doing acrylics and gel. Did lots of extra one to one courses and still couldn't get rebalance And gave up nails. Looked back over some old photos and realised they were not as bad as I thought.
Did a Shellac course two summers ago to restart doing manicures and pedis and shellac. Did one paying customer who to be fair the minute she sat down and slagged off another technician I felt deflated. I knew she would return and she did. The shellac "fell off"!!!!
Always had a problem with thick top coat despite buying two new bottles - invested £90 in one of those nail shaking machines (seriously I had to laugh at my self over that). My next step could be another course but I'm just about ready to give up again. That and people in my area are doing shellac (that's what they advertise as) at nearly half the price I was recommend to charge by cnd!
I have a lovely set up at home - feel frustrated fed up annoyed - you name it!!!!!!

CND top coat is so thick it took me ages to get used to the consistency - I hate it when it gets to the end of the bottle and it's all gloopy.

I have a home salon too - I would love a salon but there are so many in the area ( more hair and beauty salons than shops) so im happy not to pressurise myself in case I don't make the rent payments.

The shellac wouldn't have just fell off she just have picked at them - have you done friends and family and your own to see how long they are really lasting - you don't know what this lady has been doing, cleaning
Products can cause lifting (kitchen wipes are the worst!) - also suggest the solar oil which will help maintain them and they will last longer.
Easier said than done though I am useless at retail!

How about a bit of market research - go to the cheap salon and watch how they apply just so you can see if there is something you're missing out on your PEP - and if it's not CND make a scene in front of their other customers haha.

See, even if I do reach perfection (which I doubt) I have chinese bars to compete with!! So I just remind clients of the dangers and damage that can be caused xx

 

[debilour]

Cannot see anything wrong personally. 👍

 

[Nails At The Hat Hire Company]

Oh I know. Hence the quote marks " "
Classic nail technician's bin of life. "Oh they just fell off"
I've done friends and all last well. Just not sure how to compete with all the salons offering "Shellac" (when we trained in shellac know it isn't!!!) and under cutting.
The top coat worries me as everything else goes on perfect and then it gets ruined in that last part of the service.

You will be fine. We all have ups and downs and dips in our performance confidence and it's like all the posters have said - practice practice practice ......... Which would be fine for me if only for the top coat

 

[pure]

The picture isn't scary lol Although tbh it's difficult to see much detail as they have polish on. A close up without polish would be better.

I would also advise trying to stay away from severe biters while you're learning. They're difficult enough anyway and often don't last well, so won't help with building your confidence.

 

[BobSweden]

I think you have received some good advice, but I'd like to give you and others in the same boat a different perspective.

There is something of an assumption by newbies who come into this industry, that a five day course that provides a diploma is a sign that you will learn all you need to know and develop your skills enough within this time. Partly this false idea is propagated by some schools because if they told the truth about how much real work is involved, fewer people would want to do it. And partly it's because few people would be willing to pay for a 3 month education.

If someone told you that you could learn to drive a car in 5 days and pass the test, most of us would think they were a raving loony. We know from our friends that many of them needed at least 20 lessons, some perhaps 40 or 60, and they had to practise driving over months. That doesn't include the hard work to learn all the theory either. No wonder then that most people fail the test first time.

The skills and knowledge to become a proficient NT are similar to this. Like with driving you have to practise and develop your hand / eye coordination, and you have to learn enough theory to keep yourself and others safe.

So don't be hard on yourself. As a rule of thumb it takes on average 100 sets of nails to get to a fairly proficient standard and thousands of nails to be really, really good.

 

[cfp1980]

Thank you all for your advice and reassurances - these nails didn't last a week they just came off whole like a stick on nail - she said she could have glued them back on!

So I will try again on a non nail biter, try a different primer and try to perfect my tip application - as there may have been air underneath.

I now have my practice hand too... Hopefully the confidence will build in time but I don't want to offer something that makes me get worked up leading up to the appointment and then worry about getting a call to say they've popped off :-/

It was a 2 day course initially (acrylic) - I paid extra to do a 3rd day (gel) and we barely got shown rebalance so even if they last I don't think I could offer infills 😳

Thank you all again xx

 

[1434cundell]

Practice is the way forward. I do sculpted extensions with hard gel, but don't ever do a full set as I'm just not confident. I stick to repairs only. Don't give up though if it's what you want.....remember you learn from every mistake and the fact that you care so much about getting it right means that you are going to be great. X