If you’re looking for a little insight into why some clients get lifting, and others don’t, here’s something to consider. (Note: There are many causes of lifting Acrylic & Gel nails, the following is just one example that may help)

I get asked a lot by nail techs about problem clients that no matter what you do, their acrylic or gel nail enhancements still lift off! This can be very frustrating for the client that really wants to keep nails on and even more frustrating for the nail technician that puts in all the effort, time and investment in good quality products, including all the adhesion boosters that their money can buy.

I would many years ago have a problem with a couple of my clients  because they would clean their entire house with domestos, bleach, jif, etc, no gloves, just before getting their nails done. Their nails would be saturated with whatever their hands had been in, I could even smell the bleach on their skin! They thought that by cleaning the whole house before coming in to the salon to get their nails done, they would not wreck their nicely done nails when they got home.

Acrylics and gels have trouble sticking to a damp surface.

Eg: You know when you go swimming or sit in the tub for a long time, your natural nails go clear and they take a few hours to dry out and go back to normal.

When I first started doing nails 20 years ago, I had a lot of problems with another one of my clients acrylics falling off, she worked in a greasy chicken & chips shop every day, her nails were saturated in chicken grease, which I found out later is a solvent to nail glue!, her nails would fall off in 2-3 days, it was very frustrating, and I hope they didn’t end up in the chicken stuffing! (And really… in food service she shouldn’t have had them done anyway)

So for the clients out there reading this:

Wear gloves whenever you can to protect you nails from moisture absorbing into your natural nails, especially just before getting them done.

And for the nail techs out there reading this:

If you have great results all round except for one or two, its the clients’ nails, not you.
If you have problems with all clients it’s you.

Written by Christine Maher.

Executive Director, CNE (Senior educator of beginner nail technicians for 12 years and Nail tech for 20 years)

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to do nails make sure you consider all of the possibilities.

The level of training and advice you get will determine your success or failure in your new career.

Don’t be fooled by mail order, distance learning or correspondence courses.

To learn how to do nails well, you need hands on person-to-person contact with your teacher. You need your teacher to be right there with you, helping you step-by-step and making sure that you hold the hand properly, hold the nail files correctly, and use your brushes and tools accurately, without causing any injury to your clients fingers.

Reading a textbook, completing assignments, or watching videos, is not what it takes for you to be ready to take money from paying customers.

One of my biggest annoyances is seeing people hand over good money and get ripped off. It makes me very angry. And I feel powerless to stop it.

Don’t rush into handing over money, always ask lots of questions. Make sure you, the paying customer, get what you deserve. You want to learn how to do nails and do them well. You want to be confident and proud of your work.  Don’t rush into a short, crash course or get rich quick scheme with all the bells and whistles.

If it sounds too good to be true,  it probably is!

Written by Christine Maher.

Executive Director, CNE (Senior educator of beginner nail technicians for 12 years and Nail tech for 20 years)

A very popular salon service these days is coloured gel on toes.

The benefits are many:

1. You get colour that is instantly, fully cured and won’t smudge in your shoes.
2. You get an incredible shine that lasts.
3. It looks exactly the same as nail polish if done correctly.
4. It doesn’t chip off like nail poilsh does.
5. Most nail techs and beauty thrapists find applying the technique of applying the gels easy to master, so it’s easier to find a salon that can do a good job. 

As mentioned in a previous post, nails don’t actually “breathe” so wearing gels will not suffocate the nail, but some good advice is to give toenails a break from colour gel throughout wintertime.

The reason for this break is that toenails in wintertime are more often in shoes and socks, so they are prone to being moist and damp from sweating. This can cause the toenails under the gel overlay to become moist.

Giving toes a break throughout winter, gives them a chance to dry out and be ready for the spring & summer seasons to come.

Written by Christine Maher.

Executive Director, CNE (Senior educator of beginner nail technicians for 12 years and Nail tech for 20 years)

The big question, did you ever hand over money for an injury?

When you booked in your appointment did you say ”Can I please have a Full set of Acrylic Nails and 2 bleeding cuticles to go?”

I’m really serious, I, unfortunately now more than ever, hear stories about clients leaving salons with wounded fingers, not just red and sore but acually bleeding.

I ask these people the following questions when they complain to me about being injured:

1. Did the technician immediately stop using the tool that caused the wound?
2. Did the technician throw away the file or drill bit after they made you bleed?
3. If you were injured with a metal tool, did you see them disinfect it?
4. Did you think about the client that was sitting in the same seat before you?, Or the client before her?, Or the one before her?, etc.
5. Do you really think that you were the only client that walked out of the salon that day with a bleeding finger?
6. AND finally…….After receiving the injury, did you pay the technician money?

If clients continue to pay for these injuries, no matter how accidental it seems at the time, they are saying to the Nail Technician ”It’s really OK if you injure me”

Lets look at hairdressing as an example. If a hairdresser, acidentally nicks your ear with the scissors, more often that not, they would apologise (admit fault) and not charge you for the haircut. You would also acknowledge that it most likely was a once off genuine mistake.

If you went back to the same haidresser and it happened again at the next visit, would you be so forgiving?

Would you keep going back for more?

I don’t think so. There’s no way I would.

If you’re looking for a great nail tech, yes they are out there! Ask the Nail Tech what steps they take to prevent injury. Explain your concerns or previous experience. Remember you’re the PAYING customer you have the right to protect your health & safety. Open communication with your nail tech is paramount. Yes you can have acrylic or gel nails done WITHOUT PAIN, you just have to find the right technician.

Don’t support nail techs that don’t put client health & safety first.

Written by Christine Maher.

Executive Director, CNE (Senior educator of beginner nail technicians for 12 years and Nail tech for 20 years)

Contrary to popular opinion, your nails don’t actually breathe.

In fact, my mum has been wearing acrylic on her nails constantly for 20 years, ever since I started in the industry! And her natural nails underneath the acrylic overlays are perfectly fine. Why? Beacuse her nails are not 20 years old, they are only 6 months old. Really it’s like when you have your hair coloured, it grows out and you need to keep getting the re-growth done. 

Your nails don’t ever need a break from enhancements to get “air”, they are not suffocating under there, because the nail is made from dead keratin cells, the living part of the nail is under the nail plate itself, it’s called the nail bed. The nail bed underneath does need oxygen but it’s getting it already from the oxygen rich blood supply.

If you ever notice your natural nails starting to deteriorate in condition whilst having gel or acrylics done regularly, this may be that your nails need a break from the source of the damaging factor. As mentioned in my previous post, it could be from forceful removal or abusive techniques being put into practise on your nails by an underskilled, not so caring nail tech.

So if your nails are getting damaged over time they need a break from the “human” errors, not the products, remember the products don’t damage the nails at all.

Written by Christine Maher

Executive Director, CNE (Senior educator of beginner nail technicians for 12 years and Nail tech for 20 years)

There are 2 things that damage nails,  and those 2 things are NOT Acrylic and NOT Gel!

Unfortunately, it’s always the products that get the blame, but that’s not always the case.

 The 2 things that can do damage to natural nails are:

1. Clients

This may happen in a few ways:

• * This type of nail damage ususlly comes from the client “removing” her own acrylic or gel nails with force. This type of damage can take up to 6 months to grow out.
• * Damage to the nail can also happen from neglecting the reccomended salon visits as the nails grow out, they become top heavy as they get longer and the enhancement product pulls up on the natural nail, tearing and damaging it.
• * And some clients like to have their nails too long over the end of the fingertip, this also puts pressure on the natural nail plate underneath and could do damage.

2. Nail technicians (and don’t get me wrong here, some nail techs are brilliant at their job!)

There could be a lot more causes here:

• * Over filing the natural nail before applying the tips, acrylic or gel
• * Over filing the natural nail when buffing the tips down
• * Over filing the natural nail around the edges and sidewalls when finishing the acrylic or gel
• * Over filing the nail when buffing during a re-visit (usually called a refill or rebalance)

> you can probably see a trend here now…….and there’s more

• * Forcing the nails off during a re-visit with nippers, a plastic tip, a cuticle pusher or even a scalpel!
• * Repeated soaking off of acrylic nails or gel nails in acetone
• * Applying too many coats of primer
• * Over filing with a drill (this can also cause a burning sensation which can lead to permanent scarring of the nail bed tissue under the natural nail)

If your nails have red patches in them after being done, your natural nails have been, unfortunately, buffed thinner. This will take 3-6 months to grow out.

If you’re ever concerned about quality within a nail salon, why get 10 nails done when you can ask for a free trial. Just get one nail done to sample their work. It will also help you determine whether acrylic or gel is for you, you can see how it looks, how fast it grows out, how it feels, and also find out if you’re tempted to pick it off or not.

And if the nail tech knows you’re just gettng one acrylic or gel nail done to try out their work, they will apply much more care, effort and attention to impress you with their skills and craftsmanship.

Written by Christine Maher

Executive Director, CNE (Senior educator of beginner nail technicians for 12 years and Nail tech for 20 years)

So is it Acrylic?

Or do you want Gel?

Or what about just Nail Polish?

To keep it simple, I say there’s 3 levels of strength:

1. Nail polish, or “nail enamel” as some call it. That’s the weakest. Most of us have tried nail poilsh at some time, so we know what the strength of that one is like.
2. Gel overlays or “Gel nails” as some would call it, that’s in the middle
3. Acrylic overlays, or “Acrylic nails” as some would call it, that’s the strongest product you can put on your nails to protect them.

So which one damages your nails less? well that’s another story, it’s not really the product that does the damage….. to be continued

Written by Christine Maher,

Executive Director, CNE (Senior educator of beginner nail technicians for 12 years and Nail tech for 20 years)