What were your nails like? And what helped you?

[Violet Star]

Hiya geeks,

As some of you may know im new to nail enhancements and im struggling my nails seem to not be upto scratch yet.

A question for you all is, when you first started out with nail enhancements what were your nails like? (In your own opinion)

And what helped you improve your skills to become a good nail technician?

xx

 

[chantell simone]

Lots of practice and a whole lot of patience

 

[deanosnana]

When I first started doing nails, OMG...not good. The nails I do now are not perfect but I'm working on it. LOL!

Honestly, this website has been a TREMENDOUS help to me. There is so much great advice on here. And the tutorials are FAB!

I also attended some CND courses and the education I received from them was amazing!

I'll keep plugging along...

 

[angel fingers]

mine were much too thick at first.

researching and looking at pictures gave me the guidance of what i wanted them to look like and then i had a clearer idea of where i was going with the application.

also taking extra training periodically to hone my techniques helped. i believe its never possible to learn everything all at once no matter which training you take. its just not possible to take it all in at first.
so taking it in stages helped a lot.

first concentrating on one area, such as prep or tip blending and when that is going well to move on to incorporate other aspects say... smile lines.

then when you have addressed your issues one at a time it will eventually come together and produce a good nail.

the other big thing i learned is not to expect too much all at once.
i thought i would be good at it straight away and became very despondent when i wasnt. but ive realised since that i was putting myself under too much pressure and was actually progressing as you would expect a student to.

 

[Violet Star]

Im exactly the same Susan. Im putting myself under ALLOT of pressure, as on here everyone is very good at nails and some produce the most amazing nails in the world!
And i sit and wonder why am i not achieving this? Then i have to remind myself i am new to this and many on here have years of experience behind them.

I plan to do some sets of nails and see where im going wrong my mentor told me if there is anything im not confident with or not good at to then book a skill building class to improve on the areas im not good at.
xx

 

[Urban Geek]

I wanted to be great at nails before I even started my first course. I worked towards my NVQ and my Creative Masters in the first year. In hindsight, I probably tried to do too much too soon.

Working towards my Masters with Creative was the best education decision I made as well as entering the competition circuit. Doing comps forces you to address your weaknesses and takes you beyond your comfort zone.

A great help also in improving my skills was in doing a Creative Master Technician's nails. It was torture. Whilst I did her nails, she didn't critique at all but when I had finished she used to tear them to ribbons. Sometimes I was so upset that I felt I should give up but I like challenges lol! Having said that, despite all the critique, she used to love coming to get her nails done and said they were the best she ever had. It was painful but I learned so much from that and found that I was never ever intimidated thereafter doing anyone else's nails.

Try and enjoy the learning experience. Don't be impatient. Practice, practice and practice! ENJOY the challenge!

I know you will be a great nail technician as you have the dedication, passion and drive. Well done on all your hard work and I look forward to seeing you doing absolutely knock out nails in the not too distant future xxx:hug:

PS: When I lived in Essex, all the Essex geeks (most of them anyway) used to get together and help each other with their struggles. It was fab and very rewarding. Why don't you take the initiative and arrange one. I am sure there are still a lot of Essex geeks who would be up for it.

 

[Violet Star]

I wanted to be great at nails before I even started my first course. I worked towards my NVQ and my Creative Masters in the first year. In hindsight, I probably tried to do too much too soon.

Working towards my Masters with Creative was the best education decision I made as well as entering the competition circuit. Doing comps forces you to address your weaknesses and takes you beyond your comfort zone.

A great help also in improving my skills was in doing a Creative Master Technician's nails. It was torture. Whilst I did her nails, she didn't critique at all but when I had finished she used to tear them to ribbons. Sometimes I was so upset that I felt I should give up but I like challenges lol! Having said that, despite all the critique, she used to love coming to get her nails done and said they were the best she ever had. It was painful but I learned so much from that and found that I was never ever intimidated thereafter doing anyone else's nails.

Try and enjoy the learning experience. Don't be impatient. Practice, practice and practice! ENJOY the challenge!

I know you will be a great nail technician as you have the dedication, passion and drive. Well done on all your hard work and I look forward to seeing you doing absolutely knock out nails in the not too distant future xxx:hug:

PS: When I lived in Essex, all the Essex geeks (most of them anyway) used to get together and help each other with their struggles. It was fab and very rewarding. Why don't you take the initiative and arrange one. I am sure there are still a lot of Essex geeks who would be up for it.

Wow intersting read there hun. And thank you for having the faith in me :hug:

I do need patience along with the determination that i already have.

I might arrange a essex geek meeting that sounds really good

xx

 

[Urban Geek]

You could also ask an experienced nail technician if they would be your mentor. Also shadowing technicians is a great experience too xx:lol:

 

[Bagpuss]

here is a look at my practise nails when i did my foundation in 2004.....

I got lots of help from this site...practiced lots and lots on as many people as i could, compared my nails to others on here and really looked at my work....from all angles...i would sit and look at the nails...looking for imperfections...basically trying to critique my one work.

 

[poshpinks]

When I first started doing nails it took me about six hours they were very thick and didnt look to good, I really wish I had taken photos of the first nails I did because if i could look back at what i was like to what i do now then i could see how i have progressed. I am still learning things to this day only about three weeks ago something clicked and my mix ratio is perfect and that has made a huge difference to my nails. I think practice , working in a salon , talking to other nail tech ( that was a huge help ) this site and i got the nail class book . If u can maybe get to know a good nail tech someone that has been doing nails a while and just ask theem to help i just used to go to a salon near me and watch the lady doing clients and ask her question that helped as i would go home and practice what i had seen her doing. Also when i worked in a salon for the first time doing nails the girl there showed me little tricks and techniques to try and all this help , but I still feel there is so much more for me to learn. One other thing i found that helped was trying different products and nsi was a good product that i tryed as they sent me a free sample and with it a dvd which was great.

 

[jojosnails]

My first ever full set took me about 4 1/2 hours! i couldn't get the hang of smile lines, zone 3 was always too thick, there was a point I thought I'd never get the hang of it!:lol:

Lots and lots of practise was what helped me!

 

[geeg]

I have always had a natural ability with a brush. My mother was a highly trained artist and my 3 brothers are also very artistic in all sorts of different genres; so we had a head start with our genes BUT my nails really became beautiful and natural looking when I was lucky enough to meet a mentor named Barbara Griggs. Barbara used to do all the posters for CND and I looked at them endlessly and tried to copy her work.

When I met her at a training I was in awe. Never thought she'd give a newbie like me the time of day. All the educators for CND were so close and had worked together for years and who the hell was I? the new kid on the block. But I was part of the Creative family.

Well Barbara took me under her wing. Taught me how to carve out a lower arch, taught me how to use the 'line of light', taught me many many techniques. It is important to learn how to use those techniques and to develop my creative eye. Allot of them I describe in my book 'nailclass'.

I will forever be grateful to her for her generous time. Years later I did the nails for an important add campaign and some posters for Creative and she told me she was so proud. That meant the world to me.

You will get where you want to go with determination and hard work. :hug:

 

[cro-mari]

Apart from picking great advice from here and experienced techs and looking and admiring to their work, which helped me big, big time, there is one other thing that I think helped me, and that is myself, and I'm not being sarcastic, please don't take it this way. Here's the thing:

I decided to work right after nail school. Opened my business and knew, what I earn, that much we will eat. I didn't found this place untill just last year. I certanly wasn't brush - related artistic person, so that I might have had 'my way' with the brush already. But I decided, or just knew... or to be more accurate - I did not doubt myself, just went with it. My nails were not something to be proud of at all. But right after nail school I was producing nails for paying clients. I had a good product, so no matter the shape and the form, but at least nothing lifted. That gathered my first clientele.

All that happened not because I'm some genious fast learner, oh no... the opposite! But you know, it seems like great percentage of our abilities, or let's say - development of our abilities - depends on our faith, selfconfidence, call it whatever. Just don't beat yourself with pressure!

So for starters - just decide you want to do nails. Or better yet - decide that you're god at it! Of course you will look at your nails and compare them to others and see what you need to improve, but just stay on this road, and don't give up and you'll soon be seing results.

As pathetic as it may sound - but for me proven to be true - whatever you put your mind to - you can do it. Whatever that may be. For example, you know what I did? My friend needed a jazz singer for his band and asked me am I intersted. I just said - ok, why not. Haven't been singing for 15 years, and that was in the church. But I picked the most difficult horrid Chick Corea song (I didn't know it was horrid and difficult :green and just went up there and sang. He dropped his jar on the floor. But once he told me that this is hard to sing, that song is difficult and that pro singers are affraid to sing his music, my voice crashed. See my point?

 

[fifitrix]

Please don't be disheartened. When I think back to my first nails that I done, well I don't really want to think about them tbh.:lol:

You just have to stick at it and practice as the others have said on here, that's what I done and believe me there is many a day that I am not happy with nails that I have done and other days I'm just a wee bit chuffed with myself. I learned so much from putting my nails up from critique on here too.

Keep at it :hug:

 

[Exquisite Touch]

when i first started four years ago my nails looked like tumors on the end of fingers
I very nearly many times sent my trusting brush to the grave yard. but with a lot of determination and the fear of failure I over come my fears....

with one on one training with young nails educator clare kelly and information from salon geek, they are not perfect but im getting there. I dont get lifting anymore and my smile lines smile. A far cry from four years ago.

Dont give up hope, One of my girls at the salon is training to do nails and with each set she does I see an improvement, she kicks herself each and every set until the model comes back with each one still in tact and then i see her smile.
For me one day it just sank into place, even now i talk myself through the procedure as im doing it and im telling myself, cuticle on the nail plate = lifting, dehydrate the nail plate leaving behind pathogens, prime, leave a gap at the cuticle area, angle my brush
and each and every time im telling myself make it smile not frown.
dont give up hope just keep telling yourself I am good at this I know my product.
Deb x

 

[spn01]

Oh my first set of nails after doing my foundation training, how can my girlfriend and I forget. The day after I completed my training, I got up super early and got stuck into making the spare room an oh so professional nail room. Fluffed myself up so I to looked professional and then braced myself for "faking it to I make it" :green:
Well being the perfectionist I got lost in my work, my poor girlfriend after 3 hours requested a break. On completion of tips and overlays (pink & white) I had these perfect mountains. Well a bottle of wine came out and I filed away, filed away, filed away, we were laughing so much I had tears rolling down my cheeks and the mascara was not waterproof. (so much for looking like the professional now) 6.5hrs in total and I was sooooo pleased with the final results.

Even today I am not a speedy nail technican but I do my full sets and rebalances in 1.25hrs - use waterproof mascara:lol: and throughly enjoy what I do.

 

[Violet Star]

I am glad to see (in a good way) that everyone had a few problems of first i supose its natural.

I do know where i go wrong so i know what to correct - My smile lines at first when i place the white gel on are pretty good and then i go into perfectionist most and try and get it really exactly perfect then end up messing it up by playing with it too much.

I have really improve on my Apex not so much gel on zone 3 and more gel in zone 2 and 1.

I also think i need to improve on my shape.

xx

 

[sknight]

You have just described what I went through messing it up by thinking too much. You will see step by step your improvements and you have already seen some yes? You will be fine x

 

[littlegrohl]

The first Picture i ever posted..
This was from my first course..



Probably my favorite..
Taken after further education
and lots of help and advice.


keep going!! Never give up!!

 

[Jode]

Violet Star I feel your pain!

Thick nails. Mix ratio. Lifting. Breakages. Blending the tip too much/not enough. Too much product in zone 3.

I started "doing" nails in september 2007 and believed that after a 39 week part time course at a local college, that I would be able to create a beautiful set of nails, just like the professional salons. After all, I am "qualified" right?

No, I was wrong. Big Time.

It is okay now because like you, I found CND. I have one to one sessions booked in the next month and I cannot wait to learn more and more importantly get those bubbles out of my product!

Yesterday I did a set of enhancements that I was completely unhappy with. Even though the client seemed to loved them, I felt very frustrated. I just want to be better....... and better and better. There is nothing I can do except learn to be patient and practice everyday.

With the right knowledge, skill set and guidance from other professionals who really care about your development as a nail stylist you will get there. I know that tomorrow I will not be the best nail stylist, not even next year, or the year after that. But I will try my best!

Oh yes, I find sitting down with some product and tips really useful. Without a client watching your work you are more likely to pick up what works and what does not.