Some helpful advice

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geeg

Judge Gigi-Honorary Geek
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Is everyone else as tired as I am of reading a hundred threads that all have the same title and only the name of the product changes? A Few examples:

My Orly GelFX is peeling, chipping, not lasting etc. (feel free to change the name to gelicure, gelish, geleration, Chroma Gel,Artistic gel, Just Gel Polish, Bio Sculpture, CaLGEL, Icon gel, ASP, Pronto, Gelux, Gelax ................. crumbs every company has bought into a coloured gel and now you can buy into it too and have your own private lable (which a huge proportion of these UV soak off gels are anyway even if it is a brand that has private labeled it!)

Even Shellac, although not a gel, gets some of the same kind of posts.

The reason that so many people are having problems is really simple.
1. They are very new to manicuring and nails so have little or no experience
2. They don't really know how to polish
3. They don't really understand gel
4. They choose the wrong types of nails and clients to apply the gel polish to
5. They are applying what is a natural nail manicure product to damaged nails
6. They are giving clients unrealistic expectations

Stop blaming the product you are using people and stop expecting products to work on nails for which they they are unsuitable !!

Give clients the correct Aftercare advice and learn how to prep and polish correctly. Train with the product you are using.

I would make an educated guess that more than 50% of people using gel polish have never had a product class with it, are not using the whole system or messing about with different systems and/or are not using the correct lamp for the system.

I'm sure one of the 'caps' if not more, will fit most if not all of the people who complain, if they were honest.

Here is a novel idea :idea:... why not do a class and then use the WHOLE recommended system from prep to finish and see if there is a difference in performance? if not, then maybe doing manicures is just not for you.

I would welcome your comments on this.
 
Last edited:
If i wasn't on the app I would heart this :) I totally agree with you geeg!
 
Geeg, I was wondering if it might be helpful to some of the people reading this post if you could clarify a couple of the areas you have raised:

2. They don't really know how to polish - do you have any general advice on this that might help people to improve? Or any resources they could read, or advice on how to get better?
3. They don't really understand gel - what, in your opinion, are the points they are missing? Is it that they expect gel to perform like L&P or what?
4. They choose the wrong types of nails and clients to apply the gel polish to What type of clients, in your opinion should not wear gel polish? And what type of nails should avoid it?

I'm just thinking that rather than just highlighting people's shortcomings in asking these questions, it might be useful if people actually some learning points to refer to....

I completely agree that there's no substitute for training by the way, and I am trained myself.


 
I totally agree with you geeg on this one.
I have been using Gelicure for 6months now and have done the certified training in Gelicure. Not only do i feel more confident after doing the training I know that my clients are getting their moneys worth and they also notice my lovely certificate on my wall!
I did have a few teething problems with Gelicure to begin with and after doing the course and lots of practice i now have clients lasting up to 3 weeks.
Why buy a whole system and not pay a few pennies more and do the course? Just silly really!
 
I cant believe how many people dont do the training and just purchase the system and off they go! Crazy!

X

Sent from my GT-S5830 using SalonGeek
 
Geeg, I was wondering if it might be helpful to some of the people reading this post if you could clarify a couple of the areas you have raised:

2. They don't really know how to polish - do you have any general advice on this that might help people to improve? Or any resources they could read, or advice on how to get better?
3. They don't really understand gel - what, in your opinion, are the points they are missing? Is it that they expect gel to perform like L&P or what?
4. They choose the wrong types of nails and clients to apply the gel polish to What type of clients, in your opinion should not wear gel polish? And what type of nails should avoid it?

I'm just thinking that rather than just highlighting people's shortcomings in asking these questions, it might be useful if people actually some learning points to refer to....

I completely agree that there's no substitute for training by the way, and I am trained myself.



If people with these problems did the relevant course then they would know this.
Perfect polishing takes practice and knowing the system you've bought.
 
Short n sweet. Yes.
All questions can be found with a search and before the I'm on a phone....... If the question is googled in safari 9 times out of 10 the result will show a Geek answer.
Now I'm on a phone :) so can't heart so have to do this 'heart'
Vicki x
 
I do agree Frankie. It was only a suggestion, and perhaps the reason that Geeg has not elaborated on these things is because she doesn't want to give this information to those who have not trained, and if that's the case, then that's fine with me. x
 
Geeg, I was wondering if it might be helpful to some of the people reading this post if you could clarify a couple of the areas you have raised:

2. They don't really know how to polish - do you have any general advice on this that might help people to improve? Or any resources they could read, or advice on how to get better?
3. They don't really understand gel - what, in your opinion, are the points they are missing? Is it that they expect gel to perform like L&P or what?
4. They choose the wrong types of nails and clients to apply the gel polish to What type of clients, in your opinion should not wear gel polish? And what type of nails should avoid it?

I'm just thinking that rather than just highlighting people's shortcomings in asking these questions, it might be useful if people actually some learning points to refer to....

I completely agree that there's no substitute for training by the way, and I am trained myself.



Have a look at the tutorials section on here - I think pretty much everything is covered there :)
 
Geeg, I was wondering if it might be helpful to some of the people reading this post if you could clarify a couple of the areas you have raised:

2. They don't really know how to polish - do you have any general advice on this that might help people to improve? Or any resources they could read, or advice on how to get better?
3. They don't really understand gel - what, in your opinion, are the points they are missing? Is it that they expect gel to perform like L&P or what?
4. They choose the wrong types of nails and clients to apply the gel polish to What type of clients, in your opinion should not wear gel polish? And what type of nails should avoid it?

I'm just thinking that rather than just highlighting people's shortcomings in asking these questions, it might be useful if people actually some learning points to refer to....

I completely agree that there's no substitute for training by the way, and I am trained myself.



The thing is if people actually did the courses for the products they used, then these questions would not be asked on a daily basis.

For example the shellac course is so so cheap to do, I don't know about the others as I only use shellac.

Also this site is one amazing tool for all of us. Over the last few months all I see is gel polish & shellac questions. A search button is there for one reason and that is to search previous threads, so these questions aren't on here every day.

In my opinion I think all courses should be a must! If you are using a product then you must know what you are using and how you should be using. Not asking a site questions that you should already know if you had undertaken the training. X
 
I agree. I use Entity and I use the complete system. If I was having problems with it I would be contacting my trainer/supplier not asking on here.
I've had a couple of emails asking me for help and step by step instructions to do something. Why would they be asking this if they had done the training. I am trained in every treatment and product I use.
 
Another slant on this would be if people used the search button (which I do) then people would come across numerous threads on the same things so would have to trawl through a lot of threads to get the answer. I agree though, if you train in a specific product, don't mix and match. X
 
I do agree Frankie. It was only a suggestion, and perhaps the reason that Geeg has not elaborated on these things is because she doesn't want to give this information to those who have not trained, and if that's the case, then that's fine with me. x

The reason that gigi has not elaborated is that she has been busy answering other posts!:green: I have NEVER held back relevant information from anyone if I could help and I wont now, but every question you have highlighted in red has already been answered by me on numerous occasions and all anyone has to do is to look at my posts to get the answers without me having to type it all again yet another time.
 
The reason that gigi has not elaborated is that she has been busy answering other posts!:green: I have NEVER held back relevant information from anyone if I could help and I wont now, but every question you have highlighted in red has already been answered by me on numerous occasions and all anyone has to do is to look at my posts to get the answers without me having to type it all again yet another time.

This is so true. I have only recently registered on SG, however I've been searching on here for help since I started nails just over 2 years ago. During these 2 years I have never felt the need to post as every time I've searched a particular topic I've always found my answer - mainly from Geeg. Thanks Geeg 😄
 
This is so true. I have only recently registered on SG, however I've been searching on here for help since I started nails just over 2 years ago. During these 2 years I have never felt the need to post as every time I've searched a particular topic I've always found my answer - mainly from Geeg. Thanks Geeg 😄

Well it is lovely to have your input now, classynailz, and it would be a sad day for salongeek if everyone only searched and never posted .. but a little looking often discloses 3 posts on the same page with the same question and it would be nice if people had a little look first before posting the same thing on the same page. lol everyone is impatient these days and wants instant answers but I find the answers I remember the most are the ones I have worked myself to get.
 
well done geeg, i get so fed up of reading and answering the same kind of posts!!As much as i want to help people they have to help themselves also!

what ever i do in life i always research it over and over but as you say some techs just seem to think oh ill buy that and just use it and it will be fine!! i dont get this kind of attitude....and it gives the rest of us a bad name!

i find myself having to explain to new clients that have been elsewhere and had problems that if we work together we can figure out what system she would benefit from the most. Last week a client told me that all gels and shellac were just the same as her last tech had told her!!!i soon put her straight!
 
When giving advice most people need a little info to be 'given' to them then shown how to find the rest. Often a short, quick answer will help then point in the right direction. Eg your problem with chipping may be down to polishing technique here's the tutorials section or here's a course...

It can seem tedious and repetitive but that's often what giving advice can feel like :D

I'd much rather keep people interested in learning therefore hopefully not give everyone else a bad name. I often find myself defending Shellac to ppl who've had a bad experience and explaining the science behind it. Would be much easier all round without the messers but I think they'll always exist?! X
 
I agree, if they have competed a training course they would have the information ( or should have) and there are also a variety of tutorials on this very site
 
I've been using gelish since March, so still a newbie I love it! and all of my clients so far get 2 weeks wear from an application. A lot get more, but have them redone due to growth. I've had 1 issue where the nails peeled off, invested in structure gel and now hers last 2 weeks as well :) I spend plenty time ensuring thorough preparation....it makes all the difference :) I also don't promise anything. They ask, how long does it last, I say, it depends, and explain aftercare. Now l&p...thats taking a bit longer to get the hang of ;) haha x
 
Is everyone else as tired as I am of reading a hundred threads that all have the same title and only the name of the product changes? A Few examples:

My Orly GelFX is peeling, chipping, not lasting etc. (feel free to change the name to gelicure, gelish, geleration, Chroma Gel,Artistic gel, Just Gel Polish, Bio Sculpture, CaLGEL, Icon gel, ASP, Pronto, Gelux, Gelax ................. crumbs every company has bought into a coloured gel and now you can buy into it too and have your own private lable (which a huge proportion of these UV soak off gels are anyway even if it is a brand that has private labeled it!)

Even Shellac, although not a gel, gets some of the same kind of posts.

The reason that so many people are having problems is really simple.
1. They are very new to manicuring and nails so have little or no experience
2. They don't really know how to polish
3. They don't really understand gel
4. They choose the wrong types of nails and clients to apply the gel polish to
5. They are applying what is a natural nail manicure product to damaged nails
6. They are giving clients unrealistic expectations

Stop blaming the product you are using people and stop expecting products to work on nails for which they they are unsuitable !!

Give clients the correct Aftercare advice and learn how to prep and polish correctly. Train with the product you are using.

I would make an educated guess that more than 50% of people using gel polish have never had a product class with it, are not using the whole system or messing about with different systems and/or are not using the correct lamp for the system.

I'm sure one of the 'caps' if not more, will fit most if not all of the people who complain, if they were honest.

Here is a novel idea :idea:... why not do a class and then use the WHOLE recommended system from prep to finish and see if there is a difference in performance? if not, then maybe doing manicures is just not for you.

I would welcome your comments on this.

Agreed

The reason that gigi has not elaborated is that she has been busy answering other posts!:green: I have NEVER held back relevant information from anyone if I could help and I wont now, but every question you have highlighted in red has already been answered by me on numerous occasions and all anyone has to do is to look at my posts to get the answers without me having to type it all again yet another time.

Half the fun of choosing a new product is doing the research and I have found the search facility invaluable.
 

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