Newbie needing a bit of advice please :-)

[mrsH]

Hi there,

Just wondered if anyone could offer me a bit of advice please.

Am very new to this, but after getting really frustrated at visiting ALL my local salons and getting fed up with sore fingers/wonky nails/lumpy bits etc, decided I could do a lot better job myself. I have booked onto a local College Course which was due to start in March but not enough people booked in so its on hold now until later this month (and then only if they get enough in).

I am doing quite well myself, I even have a friend who is really quite helpful in letting me practice on her, but there are a few questions I have and even though I have surfed the net looking for answers, I'm stuck.

So if any could help me I would be very grateful.

1. I'm assuming that you can put Gel on top of Acrylic. I did my friends nails with Acrylic then went on to put a Sparkly Gel on top. The effect was really good but after a week, the Gel started to chip slightly (even though I put Gel on the ends to seal) I did Acrylic, 2 Sparkly Gel coats, then a Clear Gel Coat. I cured each coat for 3 minutes.

2. When I visited the local discount salon, I once had a lovely red polish put on and it lasted 3 weeks with NO chipping and no wear, but it was only a nail varnish covered by a clear top coat....do they use a special polish/top coat as when I tried this myself, within 3 days the ends had started to "wear" and lose their colour.

3. When it comes to removing Acrylic with Gel on top, is there an easier way. I soaked a cotton wool pad with Acetone, wrapped them in silver foil and left them for 45 mins, and it didn't touch them, I ended up filing the gel off then soaking in a bowl of Acetone (placed in a bowl of hot water) but it just took forever....is there an easier way.

4. One thing that confuses me is....when you finally become a Nail Technician and start doing other peoples nails, how much come back do you get...say for example someones nail chips after a week do you have to repair it for free? How long are they expected to last without any comeback?

Many thanks if anyone can help

MrsH

 

[lozenja]

Hey hun,

I think these are all questions that will be covered in your course. Try to be patient and wait. Practising without training is going make you gain bad habits. My suggestion is to practice normal nail polish over and over, until you get in to your course.

All the best


Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

 

[racheleewing]

I think you can't put gel on top of a normal nail varnish? It needs to be buffed or a sticky gel residue to stay.

I have taken a course in gel and acrylic nails recently and have been using the gel I got with the kit they gave me, it's called Frauline 38 ?! and lasts for about a week before it starts to wear away at the sides, I have read that this is the quality of the gel? I was sure to buff the nail completely and did 2 thin layers of gel and a gel topcoat.
Could anybody recommend a great quality gel? It makes me not want to do anybody's nails for fear of them coming back and complaining a week later!

Thank you

 

[Becky_simon]

Hi there,

Just wondered if anyone could offer me a bit of advice please.

Am very new to this, but after getting really frustrated at visiting ALL my local salons and getting fed up with sore fingers/wonky nails/lumpy bits etc, decided I could do a lot better job myself. I have booked onto a local College Course which was due to start in March but not enough people booked in so its on hold now until later this month (and then only if they get enough in).

I am doing quite well myself, I even have a friend who is really quite helpful in letting me practice on her, but there are a few questions I have and even though I have surfed the net looking for answers, I'm stuck.

So if any could help me I would be very grateful.

1. I'm assuming that you can put Gel on top of Acrylic. I did my friends nails with Acrylic then went on to put a Sparkly Gel on top. The effect was really good but after a week, the Gel started to chip slightly (even though I put Gel on the ends to seal) I did Acrylic, 2 Sparkly Gel coats, then a Clear Gel Coat. I cured each coat for 3 minutes.



2. When I visited the local discount salon, I once had a lovely red polish put on and it lasted 3 weeks with NO chipping and no wear, but it was only a nail varnish covered by a clear top coat....do they use a special polish/top coat as when I tried this myself, within 3 days the ends had started to "wear" and lose their colour.



3. When it comes to removing Acrylic with Gel on top, is there an easier way. I soaked a cotton wool pad with Acetone, wrapped them in silver foil and left them for 45 mins, and it didn't touch them, I ended up filing the gel off then soaking in a bowl of Acetone (placed in a bowl of hot water) but it just took forever....is there an easier way.



4. One thing that confuses me is....when you finally become a Nail Technician and start doing other peoples nails, how much come back do you get...say for example someones nail chips after a week do you have to repair it for free? How long are they expected to last without any comeback?



Many thanks if anyone can help

MrsH

You can put a gel top coat/gel sealer over Acrylic but I wouldn't be applying layers if gel over acrylic. Why not just stick with the gel system?

They probably used a coloured gel or a power polish. So could b Shellac or Gellish or any other brand.

Most gel top coats/sealer need the 'Seal' breaking before soaking! So use a 180 grit file the surface. Should take about 20 mins to remove when foiled and soaked in Acetone.

This I would say you play by ear. If it happens within a day or 2 and something drastic happens then I'd say do the repair for free unless it keeps happening time and time again they r either doing something to them or your application isnt quite right.

 

[mrsH]

Thank you so much for your replies.

In my local nail bars the nail polish they use are not Gel. They have lots of colours (unlike shellac) and you generally get your nails put under a cold air drier ! When I asked at my local Nail Wholesaler, they told me I needed a "Top Coat" .....is this something special, as I have quite a few topcoats bought in Boots/Superdrug.

Thanks Emily, the reason I tried the Gel on top of the Acrylic was because I really wanted the practice with Acrylic and my friend wanted Glittery nails LOL. The time before when I did just Gel, the nails just didn't seem as hard wearing..maybe I'm wrong !

Patience has never been one of my best qualities, if I want to do something I want to do it NOW and I punish myself unbelievably for any inperfections. I know I will learn everything on my nail course, but it doesn't stop me wanting to get it right now....I've bought everything I need so I will continue to "faff" about and experiment.

Thanks once again everyone, and I will continue to look on here in case anyone else adds something that could help

:Grope:

 

[PixieBeauty]

Just be aware that if you start playing around with some products before you are trained you run the risk of causing damage hun, either damage to your friend's nails, or over exposure to chemicals (for either of you) can cause allergic reactions that once they have developed may never go away. I'm not over-exaggerating, but do be careful as you are dealing with chemicals don't forget. There are lots of posts on over-exposure and allergic reactions on here so please make use of the site for that, and hopefully it will become clear when you start your training (if it's good training!).

Be careful chick! Xx

 

[K4t1e195]

Hi there,

Just wondered if anyone could offer me a bit of advice please.

Am very new to this, but after getting really frustrated at visiting ALL my local salons and getting fed up with sore fingers/wonky nails/lumpy bits etc, decided I could do a lot better job myself. I have booked onto a local College Course which was due to start in March but not enough people booked in so its on hold now until later this month (and then only if they get enough in).

I am doing quite well myself, I even have a friend who is really quite helpful in letting me practice on her, but there are a few questions I have and even though I have surfed the net looking for answers, I'm stuck.

So if any could help me I would be very grateful.

1. I'm assuming that you can put Gel on top of Acrylic. I did my friends nails with Acrylic then went on to put a Sparkly Gel on top. The effect was really good but after a week, the Gel started to chip slightly (even though I put Gel on the ends to seal) I did Acrylic, 2 Sparkly Gel coats, then a Clear Gel Coat. I cured each coat for 3 minutes.

2. When I visited the local discount salon, I once had a lovely red polish put on and it lasted 3 weeks with NO chipping and no wear, but it was only a nail varnish covered by a clear top coat....do they use a special polish/top coat as when I tried this myself, within 3 days the ends had started to "wear" and lose their colour.

3. When it comes to removing Acrylic with Gel on top, is there an easier way. I soaked a cotton wool pad with Acetone, wrapped them in silver foil and left them for 45 mins, and it didn't touch them, I ended up filing the gel off then soaking in a bowl of Acetone (placed in a bowl of hot water) but it just took forever....is there an easier way.

4. One thing that confuses me is....when you finally become a Nail Technician and start doing other peoples nails, how much come back do you get...say for example someones nail chips after a week do you have to repair it for free? How long are they expected to last without any comeback?

Many thanks if anyone can help

MrsH

Agree with becky_simon on the gel. You can put a gel sealer over acrylic something like glaze n go. But I wouldn't b applying layers of gel over acrylic. You can get glitter acrylics Hun.

The type of top coat and polish you use makes a big difference I try and stick to either china glaze or opi because I know they are both very good quality and last a lot longer than cheaper polishes.

Again what becky_simon says is correct you have to file off the gel before you can soak the acrylic off especially if you are using a hard gel.

With people coming back it really does depend on the product you use and how good you prep work is. If its the odd one or 2 and they are repeat customers I generally do them for little or no price but if someone comes back after a day or 2 saying all or most have come off I know something must be wrong because this never happens.

Hope this helps Hun.