Nail Biter Heeeeelp!!!

[Krissy G]

Hiya Everyone,

I'm a newbie, doing VTCT in Man & Ped and Nail Extensions and just in the midst of practising on anyone and everyone who'll let me. The only problem is that both my guinea pigs are nail biters.
Ruth in one of her previous replies mentioned that the cuticles grow like the clappers on a nail biter....so that could be one the problems i am fighting against.
Also my model has really short nails beds.....sort of, how shall I say it.....stumpy and fat?! This poses a problem with the fact that zones 2 & 3 are really short. Bit of a pain in the bum when you are learning and trying to get the right amount of product in the right zones and not end up flooding cuticles and getting bulky sidewalls.
This morning she has showed me her nails, and all I want to do is dunk her nails in remover and crawl under my desk and die!!
I have managed to sculp on her nails as I am able to get the forms on....just! And to be honest i prefer to sculpt than do tips. However i don't feel at all confident enough yet to try and extend her beds with pink acrylic.
I removed all the cuticle that I could, but by God they are bulky and hard!
I think I might be making my life difficult here, my confidence is waaaay low at the moment and I could probably do with practising on someone with nails that are in a little better condition. At least then I can gauge the quality of my work on 'normal' nails rather than a nail biter, and work from there.
Any help from you guys would be really appreciated!
Thanks

 

[DONZIE]

Hi
I did the foundation course with Creative Nails in July this year and although there were some sculpting forms in the kit, we were not shown how to use them. We were also told not to perform on nail biters as this is done in a specialised way and there is another course that covers this. I myself would not want to attempt a nail biter because I think unless you have been shown properly that there will be a lot of problems with these that would only knock my confidence to rock bottom!

 

[Krissy G]

Hiya,

Yep......in hindsight maybe i have let myself in for a whole world of pain!!!

 

[Kitten]

Krissy G - I'm also doing the VTCT mani/pedi course at the moment & am going to follow this with the Nail Technology one in Feb after we've qualified in the basic manicure stuff. I'm assuming from what you've said that you're trying to practise nail extensions on a nail biter, and from the little I know i'd say you're making life a bit too difficult for yourself!!! I'd suggest maybe getting hold of a nail trainer, or find a model with 'normal' nails to practice your technique on, until you're really confident with what you're doing. Then you can progress onto nail biters and adjust your technique to suit their particular problems, as they're much more tricky from what I understand? I've invested in a second hand nail trainer (from someone on this site actually!) and can't wait to get going! I know I'm probably not much help but thought I'd add my tuppence worth! Good luck! xxx

 

[Krissy G]

Thanks Kitten, all advice greatly received!

 

[Lellipop]

Hi Krissy,
I do feel it is not a good idea to have nail biters as models at this early stage of training. It will just seep your confidence away, Nail biters are a problem even for tech's like myself at times. Its funny really because when I first trained I had the same problem all my nail biter friends wanted nails and were the first to offer to come along, Yet my friends with nails didn't want to risk any damage to their nails has I was just starting out. Get a nail trainer to practice on and see if the college can get a model for you preferably with unbitten nails.
Good luck

 

[Krissy G]

Thanks for the advice Lesley, I do practice on unbitten nails at college, however you don't get to have a good 'play' if you know what I mean. It's i'll do one finger then you do one finger malarkey!
I have had some, let's say interesting, enhancements on my nails over the past few months! And some cut fingers from over zealous filing and buffing......ouch! I can't wait to finish the course and get my lovely nails back.
I will see if i can find a willing victim with unbitten nails in the meantime.
Thanks again

 

[talented talons]

I have to say that nail biters are considered to be advanced techniques in Nail Enhancements, so the fact you are even trying to do them is very brave. I myself only had nail biters to practise on when i first started out in March, so i know exactly what you mean.

one thing i would say is because a nail biter always has her fingers in her mouth, her cuticles will be very thick due to them being chewed. To really make a difference with getting this thinner and softer, they need to have a regular treatment with cuticle oil, preferably two/three times a day, rubbed in to the cuticle area, which will then help them become softer and easier to gently push back and to remove the skin that has grown down on the nail plate.

I think you are very brave to try doing these nails, so well done you, but if i were you try to find someone with a longer nail bed and better nails to practise on, this will then help to build up your confidence, which right now is what you need.

 

[Krissy G]

You're absolutely right, and thanks for the hints and tips.
I will see how much my practice has improved my technique on Thursday night when i go into college. The girl I practice on has decent nails, so my confidence should get a boost then.....fingers crossed (pardon the pun!).

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Hey Krissy, good on you for having a go and getting as much practice as you can, and do you know what is so good is that you can see that your work is not as good as it should be, and that is half the battle. Too many so called techs are out there doing pants work and don't even know it's bad!

You're making it an extremely uphill task to be practising on nail biters, but just think how easy it will seem when you get a good hand to work on. The main problem with nail biters is tip sizing (or form fitting) as they have so little nail to work on it's hard to see the true width of the nail, and that's where a lot of the skill comes in, and keeping the product off any excess skin and cuticle.

Good luck and happy nailing!

 

[Krissy G]

Thanks Sarah......hopefully i will see the improvement tonight!