TPTW would you ever give up on a nail biter?

[dellaznailz]

I have a chronic male nail biter client. I have never seen anything like it

After full explanation about maintenance, overexposure, after-care etc. I agree to sculpt his nails. Sculpting is my preferred technique anyway but he literally has about 2 mm of nails left so tips would not be viable. He had been to other techs whom all tipped and he hated them.

He makes TV appearances so is paranoid about them looking natural. I kept them very short, thin and used Geeg's 'secret Mix' for the impression of a tiny free edge.

If I say so myself they looked amazing and the client was so pleased he have me £100!!!

3 days later he came back having bitten them all off :irked: He didn't blame me and was happy to pay for another full set as he loved the way I had done them.

OK, no problem, it's his nails and money! Did them again and they looked great, he was pleased and off he went.

This has happen about 6 times now

I know it's a bad habit, I have done my best, he is happy to get them redone, I have explained repeatedly about the risk of overexposure and told him at the first sign of problems I will stop doing them.

so what would you do?

Business is business so no I don't give him a 'frequent' client discount :lol:

What are your opinions on this? would you give up on cannibal clients like him or take the money and do the best you can?

 

[naturalnails]

You make "taking the money and do the best you can" sound like a bad thing LOL.

I think as long as he is happy to not give up on you, then I think you should continue. He is obviously happy with what you do. You also give him great nails which he is happy to be seen with.

 

[Vetty]

It's really hard, I had the female equivalent of your client (not so high paying mind!) and we did give up in the end...... To start with she was fine, saw her weekly but during the 2nd week she lost one so I went to replace it. Couple of days later another one..... Then she lost one and I couldn't get to her for a couple of days and she bit the rest off in the meantime.....

Then it was almost as if she knew she could get them off and they lasted for ever decreasing amounts of time. After about 8 weeks we decided as a mutual thing to call it a day. She was hoping for a 'magic bullet' cure for nail-biting and sadly I didn't have it.

IME enhancements can cure some people of nail-biting but not all......

Good luck and it sounds like you are doing a fab job :hug:

 

[chocolatepickle]

My SIL was like this and even though I knew it was her biting them off I felt so disheartened and responsible every week when I went to fix them up, I honestly dont know that I would have kept doing them had she not been family as it was getting me down and knocking my confidence.

However, I did stick with it and now she makes it the full 2 weeks most of the time with all still attached- she often has lifting which still disheartens me but I know deep down she is really responsible and not me as I catch her biting/ chewing/pulling - sometimes before I've even left!

Slowly slowly she's improving though, its been about 8 months since i began doing her nails though so not overnight.

I think if a client realised it was their fault and like yours, was happy to keep paying then yes I would keep going with them as long as they wanted.
If the client didn't accept responsibility however and took it as my fault (some people just wont take responsibility for their own actions) then no I wouldnt as it would upset me too much- I'm a sensitive soul like that!

 

[Klassy Klaws]

This is a very difficult the business woman in me says keep going as long as he is happy to pay but the tech in me says maybe its time to call it a day before her permanently damages his nails by biting the enhancements off.

I think I would sit him down and give him the facts and say you are happy to carry on but if he continues to bite them off thinning the nail plate every time you would have to call it a day.

I have had girls who bite but after being told I would not recommend continuing with the service while they were continuing to bite as the damage they were causing could be permanent they all thankfully tried and most succeeded and continue with the enhancements.
:hug:

 

[dee]

well at least hes not "they just fell off " client !! at least he owns up to biting them off , i know it must be frustrating but me personally i would happily keep doing his nails :lol:

 

[katiebbaby]

Wow great thread della. I totally cab understand you situation it is so annoying when you spend time doing beautiful enhancments only to see them chewed off.

The man in question seems to be understanding I was going to suggest maybe trying to persuade him to keep them on for two weeks then as sn alternative when infilling ( as I'm sure he's not having p&w lol) just smooth z3 seel and instead if filling with l&p using shellac until eventually there would be no l&p only shellac on nn? However I can't see him going for tutti frutti can you? Lol

I have a lady same as chocopicks sil whom is really tiny weeny dolls hands and bites her nails awful and I gave up in the end and her untill shellac and she now comes every 10 days and is so happy she had been able to grow hrr own nails using shellac. I applied wild fire to tiny little nails and she came back after 6 days and I re-applied abd the growth was amazing I have pics on my phone of week 1-2-3 I will put them on when I get round to downloading I phone app lol.

Good luck I hope you find a resolution, you could always give him gloves ha ha

 

[laurakate]

I don't know how people manage to bite through extensions, I'm trying to imagine the sensation of biting through them and it makes me cringe.

As long as he's happy and there is no scope for long term damage to be done, I think it's ok

 

[dellaznailz]

He came back today, all gone again!

thank you for your thoughts geeks :hug:

As Klassy Klaws says the tech in me is worried about the long term effects

We agreed he will now come in every other day for a 'tidy' as he told me today they had really grown so he tried to shorten them with nail clippers

 

[Belle De Jour]

Hey ya the main thing i would be concerned about as you have mentioned is overexposure, not just from products on skin but also because the majority of nail biters as far as im aware do actually ingest the chewed off nail!
might be worth pointing out to him that its is a obvious no no!
providing he is not ingesting and doesn't get over exposure great for your bank balance :lol: nice when you get those generous payers!

 

[tigi]

I run a nail biting clinic and have to say that have ever had two clients go back to biting. its important to address the problem as to why he is doing it. Dont give up, if he is willing to come to you and you are happy then maybe eventually the advice you are giving him will start to make a difference. Try to see if you can both work together at the cause of biting?

tigi
xx

 

[Penny Vintage]

I used to practice on a lady who used to love biting her nails. It was a daily thing she looked forward too when watching neighbours everyday. And never wanted to stop so I just did my thing when she wanted and hey it was practice y'know. lol.

 

[JuicyLucy]

I run a nail biting clinic and have to say that have ever had two clients go back to biting. its important to address the problem as to why he is doing it. Dont give up, if he is willing to come to you and you are happy then maybe eventually the advice you are giving him will start to make a difference. Try to see if you can both work together at the cause of biting?

tigi
xx

I'd really love to know what you do in this clinic. It sounds like a great idea.

I have personally managed with lots of patience and time to convert a number of nail biters over the years. However, it seems sometimes that even after years of successfully growing them and loving them, a few have slipped easily back into their old habits! They come back and we start again, but it takes no time at all to get them back on track.

I have one client who now only bites her one pinkie, but when I say bite, I mean there is hardly anything left. Whatever I do, I just can't get her to leave it alone.

The problem with many nail biters is that if they are not eating them they are picking or flicking them. Most the time they don't even realise they are doing it until the nail is gone.

It may take many months. Perhaps you could get him to agree to leave one finger alone at a time? Maybe a twenty week plan or something? I don't know, just thinking out loud.

It sounds like he really values and likes your work so I am sure he will want to work with you so that you don't give up on him.

No one has mentioned the cuticles and the layers of hard non-living tissue often seen on cronic nail biters. It is my pet hate when they first come in