Thinking of getting my nails done in local nss

[jayneym]

OMG I never EVER thought I'd do this but I'm seriously thinking of going to the local NSS to get my nails done just so I can see exactly what they do .
I've never been into 1 before but need to know what they're doing because EVERYONE is wearing these nails!
I work p/t in a hair salon - all the girls go to the NSS for their nails and I'm really gutted but they obviously prefer them for some reason.
They go for the white tip/ clear and to me they are hideous.
They go for infils every 3-4 wks then after 2 - 3 infils they soak off and have a new set!
I roughly worked out the costing of a forever french v white tip and it worked out £10 cheaper to go NSS until first soak off.
So in the long run its cheaper to have forever french if you are a permanent wearer!(dont know if they realise this)
Can anyone save me from taking this terrible route and tell me what exactly they do in these places?
HELP ME GEEKS- I KNOW YOU CAN!!!!
Any info or feedback on this topic could save a curious geek from having to do something she could seriously regret!:cry: !!!
XXX

 

[persianista]

I have been to one of these places in the past and was really pleased with my nails!!!! Sorry nail people.
My fingers never fell off, nothing went green, and they looked and lasted really well.

 

[jayneym]

Can you talk me through exactly what they did and how they did it please -I'm just so curious!!!
Everyone seems very happy with them - I'm not disputing that they're not good at what they do ( they're making way more than lil old me thats for sure!) I just want to know what exactly they do!
Thanks for your help :hug:

 

[amyloutay]

I am also interested in hearing about this. I am training and all the people I have practiced on normally go to one of 2 (both run by cousins) nss bars. All of them sit there while i do their nails telling me "oh, you should do it like this because thats how the proffessionals do it"! it's really annoying, I haver to keep saying that i dont wanmt to learn to do nails the way they do it because i dont feel their standards are high enough.(I need to find a line to use to explain to people why these nss are so cad without sounding bitchy)

But I am also tempted to go to one to see what they do that keeps these people going back to them!

I have seen the nails they do and they dont look too bad and seem to last well. But the so called advise people keep giving me worries me about how they work.

 

[tigi]

I havent been in one myself, but I do have three clients who used to go! I am kicking myself i didnt take pics of their nails when they came to me. It wasnt pretty......

On soaking off one, the smell of dead fish made my client and me throw up on several occasions and the same client started to cry when i told her i had to get them off before we could start. she had had her nails ripped of by them previuosly and thought i would do the same........

The second clients nails were so damaged i couldnt do anything with them for about 6 weeks, except manicures.

the third client asked me when she would be able to put her hands in water , apparently after going her hands hurt so much she couldnt put them in water for about three days.

I am not saying this to be nasty , but to be honest.

It was nothing short of torture.... please dont go, but peek from the window?

 

[jayneym]

Yeh believe me I've thought about peeking but I NEED to know exactly what and how they do things - I cant help myself!!!!
What application technique do they use , what the routine is u know ?! I want to know it all and I probably wont be able to see properly from the window - I need to see it first hand if you know what I mean!!
Heeehhee - I'm gonna do a stakeout!!!
Come on you guys someones bound to be able to dish the dirt on the finer details. Theres gotta be other nail geeks who are as curious as me surely?!:hug:

 

[persianista]

Nothing bad happened. She trimmed my nails shorter, used a buffer to roughen the surface, stuck a tp on and did the acrylic. At some point in proceedings I had to go wash my hands.
I had french paint which she did superquick with an airbrush. All in all it was quick and a good result.

 

[naturalnails]

Please do not use race as a term for a poor salon! There are lots of poor British salons and lots of fabulous oriental salons.

Just because a salon is quicker and gets more clients than you it does not mean they are doing anything wrong.

We should all concentrate on our own businesses and get as good as we can be to attract the market we want and stop worrying about what others are doing.

 

[hello_kitty]

most people i know that go to them like them cos they dont take long to do, where i take hour n 15/30mins they only take 40/45 mins! but i could prob cut down my timing buy quite a bit if i dont talk tomy clients they they dont! everone i know that goes to one says they dont talk to them n dont ask them what they want just get on n do it! i woiuld love tojust see what they do though! lol! x

 

[squidgie]

I have to say that my experience of a nss salon a couple of years ago was the same as Persianista's. They took about an hour, I asked for french and the tech did amazing smile lines with her brush, and they lasted ages.

 

[Prionace]

If you want to see how NSS work just do a quick search on youtube. There are lots of good examples there. You don't have to put your nails at risk. Some are very fast and even poduce good looking nails but disrespect basic rules like hygiene and overexposure. So it might work, but at what cost for the clients?

 

[MissOwen]

I went to my local one before i started training. Heres what i remember.

Nail plate roughed with a sanding band on a nail drill.
Brushed with manicure brush.
Tips applied.
Acrlic applied in one large bead.
Filed over with drill.
Sent to wash hands.
Passed to a different lady to have french tip airbrushed on then a top coat applied.
Sat with hands under some sort of lamp, nt sure if it was a dryer or a uv lamp though.
Checked by another lady 5 minutes later.
Nails sprayed with something in a tin.... i guess its some sort of setting thing!
Pay another lady.
Leave.

I thought they were great at the time, i didnt have to book an appointment, i didnt have to wait, it was cheap, i had rock hard nails which seemed like a good thing when i didnt know anything!!

But, only went back for infill (and it was just that!) once!! Mostly because non of the people in the shop spoke a great deal of english (this is not a racist comment in anyway!) which made it hard to comminicate what i wanted to them. They also sat, obviously chatting about my nails (i'm a biter) in a language that i couldnt understand, which made me really paranoid about what they were saying!!! Also, all the passing from one person to the next nade me feel a bit like a production line product!!

The speed of the service was great, the lack of a friendly customer service was what i thought it was lacking.

My friend has always gone to the same NSS that i did until recently. I now go to her, and she always says how nice it is to feel relaxed. She is also really pleased that her fingers arent red and sore for 48 hours after having them done!!!

I work on providing the things the NSS cant, a friendly, one to one service, where my client feels important and well looked after.
I also choose not to bother worrying about them, some people will see the light sometime and decide to get their nails done in a nicer manner, some wont!!!

Just remember, every NSS is different! The one local to me may be a completely different to your own local salon. Some are good and some are bad!!! If your local NSS provides a good, cheap, quick service, people are going to use it!!!

Hope this helps a bit

 

[Claire.1611]

I went to two seperate ones a couple of years ago, *****.
First one I went to, I sat down and she assumed I wanted p & w acylics, they drilled my nail plate so it was really thin, I then went to another one (in another district - exactly the same layout etc) and asked for an infill, she drilled down the nails then soaked them in acetone, once they had come off she drilled my nail plate, my fingers felt like they were on fire, the burning sensation was excrutiating! A couple of weeks later I removed the nails myself, my nails were paper thin underneath, I had pretty large dents across my nails - from where the tip had been. I was unable to fasten buttons or do anything with my nails for about 2 months as they hurt so much!
Their communication in those two salons was terrible, they did not speak a word of english, and as she was filing down the side of my extensions a couple of my fingers started to bleed, I kept trying to pull my hand away but she just looked at me, grabbed my finger then carried on!!
The nails stayed on really well, but the white was sprayed on so this started to come off in a few days. NEVER AGAIN!! You would be mad to go!

 

[Bettierae]

Have a manicure instead, and watch whats happening to your next door neighbour! Less risk, just a thought x x

 

[sachi]

I went to them for years! That was before I knew better.... 1st they use bad product that is so hard you almost CAN'T file it off and it takes 2x as long to soak off.
The other bad part about this product is that since it is harder to file they don't spend much time cleaning up for the back fill, thus leaving pockets of air and lines for every fill. Pretty???? Thus the reasone the girls in the Salon need to Soak off and have a new set! So they don't see the nasty lines.

They are in SUCH a ruch to get you in and out they don't worry if they burn you or not, they use the Efile on your NN and not the right way. After a few fills they wikk start to cut deep Vs in you the NN bed from trying to back fill, let me tell you THIS HURTS! and if you have an Pink and while you will SEE the Hot Red V that is cut in to your nail bed.

They do not know what a base coat is. Well I am sure they do, but that takes more time. If you get a polish don't think you will get a base coat. So yes you will have yellow nails! OH but for $5 more you can get the gel Top coat!

Stay out of there. Teach the ladys in your salon the truth. Do a brake down of the cost for them and give them a % off for coming to you since you work in the salon with them, then they will start to spread the word and hand out your cards! They don't know any better! I did not. Ask them if they would go to a Cost Saver or super cuts to get their hair done? I mean THAT is just hair! It is dead and can not Feel the paiin nor turn green and rot off!!! Nails CAN!!

One thing I will say though, I do still go in for a pedi at the one here in my town. The little gal that I go to does a very nice job and she makes them look so nice, and I don't have to twist and stand on one hand to do my own .

 

[mum]

The salons that many of you are talking about so often use MMA which needs a physical bond to the nail plate so a drill is often used. This is the worst aspect. They do this because this is how they have been taught and these are the products they have been supplied with. MMA is not banned but it is inappropriate to be used for nails

One you get past this and watch how the l&p is applied they are often incredibly skillfull. Traditionally, they apply 1 bead with an enormous brush and, within seconds have applied an overlay that has a very good shape (I'm generalising but this is often the case)

The nature of the l&p needs a thick overlay but the dexterity in applying it is amazing. The shine is usually achieved by a UV gel so no finishing.

The nails are applied at speed (due to their skills) and the nails stay on (due to the product). The cost is low as their products are low cost, they take little time and their wages are low. Put all this together and this is why they are so popular with so many. Many of their clients are not bothered that their nail plate are damaged because they prefer their artificial nails so 'it doesn't matter'.

I've recently visited a Vietnamese school and they are being re-educated with EMA. They still use their amazing skills for speed and shape. The products cost pennies more per set.

Traditionally, these salons may be using inappropriate products but this is slowly changing. Their speed and cost will still apply!

This is what is attracting so many clients! My town has 3 such salons and 3 that would not be classed under the horrible NSS banner. Which ones do you think are busy every day all day? The 'NSS' because they are providing more people with what they want! Quick, inexpensive and perfect nails and fewer instances of extreme damage!

 

[barbie*]

If your good friends with any of the girl who go to the NSS to have their nails done why don't you tag along? Don't think it's uncommon for a friend to accompany someone. Then you can watch what they do, but no damage to your own nails x

 

[Natalieabdn]

NNS (none standard salon) yes?

My idea of a NNS salon is

The use of MMA
No accredited training been given to some
Poor hygiene standards if any
No care taken over the protection of the natural nails all.

We have a salon in town and people assume they would fall into this catagory because of their price ect, but it is not the case. In fact some salons you would never think it have less standards than this salon I speak of does.

I feel we need to educate these people towards higher standards., and keep re educating as standards can slip especially when trying to complete with lower prices and changing or missing out stages/product to cut cost.

xx

 

[sks0908]

Like Sachi, I was going to them for about 5 years and never once had a problem, however, I did find that the owner often trained other people (family members) who were not as good, i.e always over filing and touching the skin.

They do the exact same thing as us: prep nail, prime, apply l&P, cuticle oil, and cure after nail art. I liked going to them as they were very quick and just got on with their job without any fake conversations.

However, I do find that I had been lucky in that I found a good tech. Many nss techs over file with an e file on the natural nail plate and obviously their products are often imported from foreign countries which are more toxic

 

[Bagpuss]

so far i have read alot saying "they roughed up my nail" like this is ok.....its not ok...they have to do this roughing up in order for their nasty MMA (which many, not all, NSS salons use) to adhere to the nail...bit like Velcro !!!

Just once is enough to have removed layers of your natural nail....just a few more times and you have thinned damaged nails.

I have seen some beautiful...and very long lasting nails from a NSS....but I have also seen the damage that lies underneath when they have been removed.

It is possible to have it all.....beautiful nail enhancements, strong nail enhancements, clean and safe environment and care taken to ensure the condition of the natural nail is protected....and I personally would rather spend a little more and have all those things.