Which gel as a one off?

[waffle4]

Hi geeks

My brains a bit addled tonight and I need some advice please. My best friends' sis in law would like a clear gel overlay on her nails as a one off. Her husband is severely ill in hospital and she has bitten and picked her nails very low plus they are weak and thin anyway. She just wants something strong put on that she wants to just leave on to grow out. My dilemma is which gel to use. I have Brisa lite smoothing and sculpting plus NSI balance hard gel but I'm unsure which would be best as she wants no maintenance and just something to grow out. I was thinking of using the hard gel but as her nails are so badly bitten I think building an apex is going to be a struggle plus as she wants no extra length I think they may look unbalanced with a tiny apex placement. The same theory goes with the BL sculpting. I could do BL smoothing gel but is this going to be strong enough? Is it ok to leave it on the nails indefinitely just to grow out?
Would BL smoothing gel be strong enough given the state of her nails? (Shellac never used to last on her weak nails either)
Any and all advice greatly appreciated as I really don't want her worrying over her blimmin nails on top of what she's going through.
Thank you geeks x

 

[Wooshka]

Hi geeks

My brains a bit addled tonight and I need some advice please. My best friends' sis in law would like a clear gel overlay on her nails as a one off. Her husband is severely ill in hospital and she has bitten and picked her nails very low plus they are weak and thin anyway. She just wants something strong put on that she wants to just leave on to grow out. My dilemma is which gel to use. I have Brisa lite smoothing and sculpting plus NSI balance hard gel but I'm unsure which would be best as she wants no maintenance and just something to grow out. I was thinking of using the hard gel but as her nails are so badly bitten I think building an apex is going to be a struggle plus as she wants no extra length I think they may look unbalanced with a tiny apex placement. The same theory goes with the BL sculpting. I could do BL smoothing gel but is this going to be strong enough? Is it ok to leave it on the nails indefinitely just to grow out?
Would BL smoothing gel be strong enough given the state of her nails? (Shellac never used to last on her weak nails either)
Any and all advice greatly appreciated as I really don't want her worrying over her blimmin nails on top of what she's going through.
Thank you geeks x

The first issue I see is, none of the above mentioned products are designed to just grow out, they all require maintenance.
Why doesn't she wish to maintain them until they at least grow out a bit?

I think everyone knows I am a NSI girl through and through but on this occasion considering the choices you say you have, I would go with BL smoothing gel. I use Endure from NSI, it's a similar concept to BL smoothing gel, it's there for those weaker/peely/not strong/ridged nails but just like BL, it's not designed to be no maintenance either.

I will be totally honest and say that if this was my client, I would tell her to concentrate on her hubby and come to me when things are better and we can make a plan to get the nails back on track.
If she is that stressed that she is biting, picking etc, then I have to think that no matter what you put on her nails, it won't stop her and then if she does bite/pick product off, she will only do more damage long term.

Normal nail varnish might be a better option just for now, maybe a really bright color and this will give her a reminder not to bite during this time. At least it wouldn't be so damaging and when it looks terrible cause she's bitten bits off, she can remove and re-apply as often as she likes.

Also, sell her some Nurture/Solar oil to apply at least 3 times a day while she's munching away, this will help do something at least

Oh! and of course a big hug for the hard time she is going through:Love:

 

[waffle4]

Thanks for the reply. She doesn't want any maintenance at all as she is practically living at the hospital. She doesn't want a colour, just wants something clear and hard that can just grow out. I also have NSI endure (although I haven't used it yet) so is it stronger than BL smoothing gel? I'm now thinking possibly of using BL smoothing gel but maybe 2 thin coats instead of one for a bit more strength. But I'm worried this may peel?

 

[tinkerbelle1990]

I've used NSI balance as an overlay on one nail like this as a trial and it worked well and apart from filing i did not maintain it. The person was extremely light on their hands though, but thought i'd share a similar experience.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

 

[waffle4]

I've used NSI balance as an overlay on one nail like this as a trial and it worked well and apart from filing i did not maintain it. The person was extremely light on their hands though, but thought i'd share a similar experience.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

Thanks
So did it just grow all the way out then? With no problems?

 

[tinkerbelle1990]

Thanks
So did it just grow all the way out then? With no problems?

Yes, it was perfectly fine. However this was only the thumb nail so it might be different for a whole set. I am doing it on all 10 nails next week though! Although I have told them that maintenance would be at my discretion.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

 

[waffle4]

Yes, it was perfectly fine. However this was only the thumb nail so it might be different for a whole set. I am doing it on all 10 nails next week though! Although I have told them that maintenance would be at my discretion.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

So did you just do 1 layer of builder gel building the apex on that layer? Then finish gloss gel? Did the overlay look thin?
Thanks for all your help Tink

 

[waffle4]

Yes, it was perfectly fine. However this was only the thumb nail so it might be different for a whole set. I am doing it on all 10 nails next week though! Although I have told them that maintenance would be at my discretion.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

Hi just wondered how you got on with the thin NSI overlay? Did it work out ok without any maintenance?

I'm still in a dilemma over what to use as a clear overlay that can be left indefinitely to grow out - hard gel? Brisa lite sculpting? Brisa lite smoothing?

Thanks x

 

[louiser]

If you're looking for the whole thing to grow out then whatever you do with an apex is only going to keep moving and end up off.

If you were doing an overlay would you not just paint an overlay (think shellac but clear) to give slight strength to the nail?

 

[waffle4]

If you're looking for the whole thing to grow out then whatever you do with an apex is only going to keep moving and end up off.

If you were doing an overlay would you not just paint an overlay (think shellac but clear) to give slight strength to the nail?

Yes you're right, it will look unbalanced. I'm going to try Brisa lite smoothing on her x