Nails techs - time management help!

[Inktavia]

Hello!

So today I completed my first full acrylic set in around 2 hours! I was getting a lot of anxiety because that’s a long time (I know it’s not that long especially for a first set..) BUT the girl whose nails I was doing mentioned it takes her normal salon around 50 minutes. FAST!

I spent 30 minutes matching and shaping tips, 30 on application and filing + repeat on the other hand.

I wonder where most of your time is spent and how much time you spend on each step/ total.

And my main question is do you have suggestions on faster speed without compromising anything else?

 

[Cindy2021]

Faster speed will come with time and 2hrs is an acceptable time for a beginner.
Try not to worry too much about it.
I spend a lot of time on prep but I don’t rush it. I also shape tips before application however remember you will be filing and shaping again so you could perhaps save a few minutes at this stage.
Just ensure you have everything ready before your client arrives. When you’re chatting , don’t be looking up and stopping working.
I can do a set in 50 minutes but I don’t want to and I doubt my clients would either!

 

[Cindy2021]

Faster speed will come with time and 2hrs is an acceptable time for a beginner.
Try not to worry too much about it.
I spend a lot of time on prep but I don’t rush it. I also shape tips before application however remember you will be filing and shaping again so you could perhaps save a few minutes at this stage.
Just ensure you have everything ready before your client arrives. When you’re chatting , don’t be looking up and stopping working.
I can do a set in 50 minutes but I don’t want to and I doubt my clients would either!

 

[Trinity]

When you’re chatting , don’t be looking up and stopping working.

This..talk to the hand not the face. The downside is that I started to notice I never made eye contact with people when I was talking to them in general day to day life. It's a fine balance

 

[Alison Pilkington-Child]

I spend half my life looking at these 50 minute sets from nail bars and having to do something with them.
My observations are these... They are very flat - no apex or shape, they are always on tips - never sculpted, they always have lots of lifting around the side walls, there is usually at least one missing or broken, they won't soak off without a fight, they smell like cat pee when you file them, lol!

I know they have been applied by someone who does the same thing all day, day in and day out, I never see nail art or variations in tip shape beyond oval or tapered square. Clients who come to me with these nails are astonished at the gentleness and thoroughness of my prep compared to what they are used to.

Almost without exception these ladies are more than happy to wait longer for their nails to be done and never go back to a nail bar again.[emoji6]

 

[Cindy2021]

I spend half my life looking at these 50 minute sets from nail bars and having to do something with them.
My observations are these... They are very flat - no apex or shape, they are always on tips - never sculpted, they always have lots of lifting around the side walls, there is usually at least one missing or broken, they won't soak off without a fight, they smell like cat pee when you file them, lol!

I know they have been applied by someone who does the same thing all day, day in and day out, I never see nail art or variations in tip shape beyond oval or tapered square. Clients who come to me with these nails are astonished at the gentleness and thoroughness of my prep compared to what they are used to.

Almost without exception these ladies are more than happy to wait longer for their nails to be done and never go back to a nail bar again.[emoji6]

To be fair not all 50 minute sets are like this.....I do L&P all day, every day and therefore my timing is much quicker and I’m very thorough with prep.

 

[Bel's Gels]

I did an efile and speed application course a few years ago.
The educator could do a complete rebalance in under 60 mins. Of course she has been doing nails for years.
But what she suggested is to break it down.
She allows 20 mins for prep, 20 mins for application, 20 mins for finish.
So if she had difficult prep time and it took 30 mins she knew she would have to make up 10 mins elsewhere.
You could certainly devise a breakdown which suited you better.
Perhaps 30 minutes for each.

 

[Alison Pilkington-Child]

To be fair not all 50 minute sets are like this.....I do L&P all day, every day and therefore my timing is much quicker and I’m very thorough with prep.

Of course, and it’s so easy to tell the difference between express nails and proper ones, which are great to work with. I guess the ladies who go to proper techs are pretty loyal though, so I tend to only see the nail bar refugees.[emoji17]

 

[pure]

Look into getting trained to sculpt instead of using tips, that’ll save you 30 mins immediately. I can’t actually remember the last time I used tips and I can do a full set of L&P with gel polish in 60 mins.

 

[Trinity]

Look into getting trained to sculpt instead of using tips, that’ll save you 30 mins immediately. I can’t actually remember the last time I used tips and I can do a full set of L&P with gel polish in 60 mins.

I can tip and blend faster than fit forms, I swear they buckle and twist at the last second of pressing them into place!