Terrible experience of gel nails

[shelmck]

Hi
I'm new to this site but wanted some advice from you wonderful pro's

I have been having gel nails since august last year and have had nothing but great nails until before christmas.

My usual nail tech was sick and the salon couldnt fit me in before christmas so I frantically called every salon in my nearby area until I found someone who could fit me in.

I went a few days before christmas and had my nails buffed right back and almost started from fresh (not infills)

All was ok until about a week ago when big chips of my nails started coming off. I always oil my cutiles at nighttime, and buff the edges and put a fresh top coat on once a week (twice in between my in fills)

So, my nails started to badly chip, and I mean chip towards the bottom of my nail towards my cutile.

They then got worse and were almost pulling away from my mail apart fro where I have my white tips painted on.

I was catching them on clothes, my hair etc and were REALLY painful and started to bleed on the edge between the white tip and normal bit of my nail.

I was desperate to get them off so tried to pull them off completely (managed to to do this on 3 nails, but ended up in agony with throbbing fingers and plasters.)

So I googled removing gel nails and sat for half an hour one night with my nails in acetone nail varnish remover and they didnt budge. So I did something even more drastic and sat with my nails in bleach (please dont shout at me :cry but still the nails wouldnt even becom sticky or budge AT ALL.

So I called a mobile nail person who I visited yesterday who wrapped my nails in foil and squired some stuff on them, and still they wouldnt even budge. I mean, they were rock solid and she couldnt believe it either. They were like concrete.

So in the end she buffed them away, leaving a thin layer of gel and I have also bought some opi envy nail strengther to get my poor nails back to normal.

But basically they look awful, they are all cracked and split, the top layer of my nail have come completely off some of my fingers and they are so sore and tender.

The nail lady I saw yesterday (who was lovely and who i'm going to see for manicures for the next few months to give my nails some TLC) had no idea what was used on my nails by the person who put them on.

Has anyone here got any ideas as I feel really upset and annoyed at this whole situation?!

Sorry I have typed forever, I just needed to rant to someone as hubby doesnt seem to see the big deal, but my nails are no ruined and painful. Humpf

Thanks for reading, and advice please!
Shel
xxx

 

[marioned]

Some gel nail are able to be soaked off in acetone, but most are buff (file) off, so no matter how long you soaked them in acetone or bleach they wouldn't have budged. A nail tech should know this.

When you say you "buff" the edges, do you really mean "file"? If so, this can break the "cap" or seal put over the edge of the nail and cause lifting. You shouldn't be doing this. Good for you using your cuticle oil though.

You should have either gone back to show the second salon what was happening to your nails, or gone to the first salon to get them to repair them.

Sorry to sound harsh, but you now know what happens when you don't go for repairs when they are so obviously necessary (causing damage to the natural nail when it was catching), try to pull off the enhancement (which pulls layers of nail off) and soak them in unsuitable products.

I'd check if the new mobile tech has qualifications and insurance. If she does, fair enough, but I would have thought she would have known about gel nails needing to be filed. Otherwise go back to your regular salon for TLC to your nails until they consider your nails able to have the gels replaced. Book your appointment for your next visit before you leave the salon and that way you will be sure they can fit you in when you are due a rebalance.

Sorry if I sound as though I am gving you a row.....but I am! It's meant in a good way though, so you don't ever consider doing something like this again. :smack: You're going to have to live with the effects for a good few months until your nails grow out. Get some CND Solar oil and use it at least night and morning. This is a wonder product and will help your poor wee nails.

Sorry for my rant :hug:

 

[Bev Rose]

Hi,
I'm sorry you have had such a bad experience with your new tech.:hug:

It could be that she has used a 'buff off only' gel. This is a gel that will NOT soak off if using the acetone method.
Some gels will soak off and others are a buff off - as they are non porous, no acetone will even dull them. The tech who tried to remove them using foil etc should of realised this.
Were they definitely gel? There is a possibility that you went to what we professionals call an 'NSS' salon, which may of claimed they were using a gel product, but in fact, could quite easily of been using an acrylic product containing MMA (Methyl Methacrylate) This is a horrendous product for the nail and is truly a nightmare to remove - begins to look yellowy & cloudy when worn & smells of fish when attempting to file or soak. The soak method with this product has taken me 3hrs + to remove!

Have a look at this
Consumer Alert - MMA

Does this seem like what was used?

Assuming they weren't MMA nails.....

Why they started to chip in the cuticle area could be a number of reasons, probably the product was on too thick, not cured properly, not correctly applied by the tech.
Yes, you are naughty for soaking your poor fingers in bleach.:smack:
But, your not the only person I have heard trying this. You'd of been better ringing the salon you had them put on by and asking them to remove them, at the very least putting in a complaint that they were chipping and splitting.

Marioned has made a very valid point regarding buffing & filing your own nails between appointments, and the importance of regular maintenance appointments.

 

[tracey louise]

i agree with whats already been said.
i am very suprised that your other tech didnt realise that they needed to be buffed off as you had already tried soaking them.
i have to say i am baffled as to why you would try and rip them off when your nails were already sore and to try and soak them off in bleach.
have you heard somewhere that bleach would soak it off?
having said this i am sorry that you have had a bad experience but im sure you have learnt from it.now you know how important regular maintainance is if you want to continue to wear enhancements.its just a shame you had to find out the hard way.
im sure you appreciate your original nail tech much more now though and i hope your nails dont take to long to get better.xx

 

[shelmck]

thanks for your replies, and thanks for your advice.

The lady who filed my gels off for me said she had seem something similar before, which was used in some asian salons and is like a mix between acrylics and gels?
She said the stuff I had on definitely wasnt biosculpture or calogen as they would soak off?

I guess I should have gone back to the person who put them on but I was so miffed as her for doing such a bodge I didnt fancy going back to her again.

Someone in their replies mentions that the gel layer might have really thick, which is was. It was a good few mml's up from my nail and when they started to come away they almost looked acrylic because they were like full pieces of gel, that resembled an acrylic nail.

Also, the edges when they started to lift went a yellowy see through colour and I could see like bits of dust or glittery bits in it?

When they were being put on she kept dipping her brush in the gel and then in a tub of strengthener stuff?

The reason why I tried bleach to get them off was because the tech who put them on said I will be fine showering, cleaning etc and the only thing that will lift them is bleach. So thats why I tried it

Also, a couple of you question why I buffed the nails? I have always been told to buff the ridges that appear when your nails grow (the bit above your cuticle) and take off the old top coat with non acetone polish removed and put a new coat on, and to this once a week in between infills? I was even given an info sheet about this from my regular salon? Is that info wrong?

Oh well, I have learnt my lesson. But I am going to give gels a rest for a while anyway, to let my nails rest.

At the moment the opi strengthener seem to be soothing the cracks and my nails at least look shiny with it on!

Thanks again for your replies
xxx

 

[Sassy32]

thanks for your replies, and thanks for your advice.

The lady who filed my gels off for me said she had seem something similar before, which was used in some asian salons and is like a mix between acrylics and gels?
She said the stuff I had on definitely wasnt biosculpture or calogen as they would soak off?

I guess I should have gone back to the person who put them on but I was so miffed as her for doing such a bodge I didnt fancy going back to her again.

Someone in their replies mentions that the gel layer might have really thick, which is was. It was a good few mml's up from my nail and when they started to come away they almost looked acrylic because they were like full pieces of gel, that resembled an acrylic nail.

Also, the edges when they started to lift went a yellowy see through colour and I could see like bits of dust or glittery bits in it?

When they were being put on she kept dipping her brush in the gel and then in a tub of strengthener stuff?

The reason why I tried bleach to get them off was because the tech who put them on said I will be fine showering, cleaning etc and the only thing that will lift them is bleach. So thats why I tried it

Also, a couple of you question why I buffed the nails? I have always been told to buff the ridges that appear when your nails grow (the bit above your cuticle) and take off the old top coat with non acetone polish removed and put a new coat on, and to this once a week in between infills? I was even given an info sheet about this from my regular salon? Is that info wrong?

Oh well, I have learnt my lesson. But I am going to give gels a rest for a while anyway, to let my nails rest.

At the moment the opi strengthener seem to be soothing the cracks and my nails at least look shiny with it on!

Thanks again for your replies
xxx

Hi I use Calgel and I advise my clients to buy a buffing file and a top coat and tell them to do the same as what you have been told.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Just to add to what has been said, you haven't really had a bad experience of gel nails, but more likely a bad experience of a poor technician. I so often hear clients say they have had bad experiences of gel or acrylic when in reality the product is not to blame, but how it was applied.

Sorry to hear of your bad experience, I suggest you go back to your original technician who DOES seem to know what they are doing and you know you can trust them. She can probably even put gel back on those damaged nails to keep them covered and protected and act like a little suit of armour ... and she WILL know how to remove them properly too!

 

[Terese]

do you think the nail tech could have used an acry-gel?

My experience of gel is that it is very easy to remove

Why not ring the place where you had them done or even better still go in and see them and let them give you some good manicures and products for the hassle!

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Why not ring the place where you had them done or even better still go in and see them and let them give you some good manicures and products for the hassle!

I assume by the context of your sentence that you mean "give" as in freebies and if so then I am sorry but I don't agree with this!!!! If a client is not happy with the goods then the advice should be that they ring the salon at the time with a complaint so that it can be sorted professionally. Once a client has tried to remove the nails herself then they have effectively tampered with the goods and that is NOT the responsibility of the salon. Therefore the technician has no legal requirement, or even moral one, to provide free treatments or products.

At least that is the advice that we would be giving a technician if she said that a client came back and complained but had removed them herself and was demanding freebies.

If I have misunderstood your post then no worries!

 

[tracey louise]

The reason why I tried bleach to get them off was because the tech who put them on said I will be fine showering, cleaning etc and the only thing that will lift them is bleach. So thats why I tried it

i still cant get over the bleach thing.if i was being treated by somone who said something like that to me then i would think there was something wrong.
but as i already said its a shame you had to learn the hard way but someone else said it may be possible for you to get gel put back on them by your original tech.i think you would be suprised at how quickly they recovered as they will be protected.good luck.x

 

[sknight]

Oh dear!! I agree with sassy, the best thing you can do when you have any concerns about your enhancements is to call the tech who did them straight away so they can inspect them and find out what has happened. It might be something she did/didn't do or it might be something you did but it's important to get to the bottom of it. I think if you decide to go with another tech then don't be scared to ask them about their products and training.

 

[Bagpuss]

As has already been mentioned....some gels soak off...some gels don't. The fact is the reason your nails are in such a bad state now is because of your attempts to remove them.

The buffing that was done of the free edge might have cause the lifting at the free edge as you may have broken the seal...you wouldn't have know this as its what you where told to do by your other tech with a different brand of gel....but after care sometimes varies from salon to salon due to the difference in products used.

Plenty of TLC and some nail oil should help to get your nails back to normal...and damage will grow out in time.....or visit your normal tech and have them overlayed to protect them while they grow out.