Snapping of nail with gel polish

[Chloe Channing]

Please can someone help me/shed some light.

I’ve just had a message off a client to say that a few of her nails have snapped at the sides (will attach photos).

I want to know whether this can be prevented by something I do? Or whether it’s down to her just not having that strong of a set of nails.

This is the second time it’s happened to me now with separate clients & its starting to worry me.

X

 

[user 111574]

To me that just looks like the nail has broken- probably due to having the free edge too long for her nail type.
If she has weak nails normally then a shorter length would be better because she'll be using them roughly hence bending and breaking.

 

[Chloe Channing]

To me that just looks like the nail has broken- probably due to having the free edge too long for her nail type.
If she has weak nails normally then a shorter length would be better because she'll be using them roughly hence bending and breaking.

Thanks for replying.

Would you say for me to suggest to her to have them shorter from now on? She’s one of my clients that just love having long nails so I think she may struggle with this x

 

[Trinity]

Do you buff before application? Splits at that point are classic over buffing results

 

[user 111574]

yes, just be straight with your client - she'll be looking for a reason why her nails have broken anyway.

The clients I have who have long nails, usually ask for them to be cut down in length every 3 weeks when they have a new set of shellac applied. They know they can't cope with their nails if they are left uncut for six weeks! Way too long!

If your client comes to you every two weeks then you could take the length down every other service.

 

[fluffy26]

I’d would say two things as soon as I look at this picture...VERY DRY & TOO LONG. Has she been oiling!? Doesn’t look like it. Also just because you have a gel polish on doesn’t mean you are any more or less likely to break a nail. If she had a normal varnish on she wouldn’t be sending you a picture. She’s broken a nail after what looks like 2+ weeks of gel polish wear, what does she want you to do about it? [emoji848]

 

[fluffy26]

...looks like she needs an appointment soon anyway! X

 

[Persephannie]

I've had this with a couple of clients who are using the support of gel polsh to grow out their nails. At some point the strength isn't enough to compensate for the length and level of activity for their nails. I give my clients the choice to either switch to an overlay service so that I can add an arch to the nail to properly support the length or go shorter and stick with gel polish only. Also know that some shapes are stronger than others. I had one client who wanted me to change her coffins to stilletto. The result? Two broken nails. The support of the gel polish just wasn't enough to keep the stilletto nails from breaking. Shevswirchef back to coffin and now all is well. I think that round and oval are the strongest shapes. Hth

 

[tuan]

You are over buffing the nails because you don't know how to remove all of the gel residue properly and you want the gels to stick better. If you buff the nails, you thin it out, making it really weak and brittle. The client should always leave with the same nail thickness as they came in with. That is one of the sole jobs of a nail tech.

 

[user 111574]

You are over buffing the nails because you don't know how to remove all of the gel residue properly and you want the gels to stick better. If you buff the nails, you thin it out, making it really weak and brittle. The client should always leave with the same nail thickness as they came in with. That is one of the sole jobs of a nail tech.

The OP has NOT confirmed if she has buffed or not . Therefore your comment comes over as rude.
Perhaps you would like to rephrase it so not to offend this nail professional?

 

[tuan]

The OP has NOT confirmed if she has buffed or not . Therefore your comment comes over as rude.
Perhaps you would like to rephrase it so not to offend this nail professional?

Absolutely not. Btw, how would OP confirm it if she is the one who is needing help to diagnose her problem? A lot of things I say come off as rude, but if you are smart, you would see that I only care for the profession. Those who see it as help BENEFITS, while those who are preoccupied with whether or not the statement are rude stay in the back of the line.

 

[7th-Heaven]

Absolutely not. Btw, how would OP confirm it if she is the one who is needing help to diagnose her problem? A lot of things I say come off as rude, but if you are smart, you would see that I only care for the profession. Those who see it as help BENEFITS, while those who are preoccupied with whether or not the statement are rude stay in the back of the line.

Well, no. You actually directly accused her of not knowing how to remove gel polish.
Several possibly reasons for the breakage have been suggested by others, and none of them needed to make baseless accusations to get their points across. TLDR: 1) Nails too long for client's activity level. 2) Wrong shape for her. 3) Buffing the nail. 4) Dry/dehydrated nails. 5) Client might need gel/acrylic for strength if her natural nails can't handle this length and shape.

 

[tuan]

Well, no. You actually directly accused her of not knowing how to remove gel polish.
Several possibly reasons for the breakage have been suggested by others, and none of them needed to make baseless accusations to get their points across. TLDR: 1) Nails too long for client's activity level. 2) Wrong shape for her. 3) Buffing the nail. 4) Dry/dehydrated nails. 5) Client might need gel/acrylic for strength if her natural nails can't handle this length and shape.

Yea, I accused her of not knowing how to take off gel polish. I didn't accuse her of killing someone like you make it sound.

Like you said, there are several possible reasons. But the most common reason is over filing/buffing of the nail plate, which is exactly why I choose to state what I did.

Again, are you here to do nails/offer sound advice or to create drama?

Anyways OP, im pretty sure the snapping of the nail plate is from having thin nails. If the cause of snapping is not from thin nails, YOU SHOULD NOT WORRY ABOUT IT. Simply because its not common on your clients.

 

[Chloe Channing]

Yea, I accused her of not knowing how to take off gel polish. I didn't accuse her of killing someone like you make it sound.

Like you said, there are several possible reasons. But the most common reason is over filing/buffing of the nail plate, which is exactly why I choose to state what I did.

Again, are you here to do nails/offer sound advice or to create drama?

Anyways OP, im pretty sure the snapping of the nail plate is from having thin nails. If the cause of snapping is not from thin nails, YOU SHOULD NOT WORRY ABOUT IT. Simply because its not common on your clients.

Hi - thank you for your comment.

I'm sure I know the correct procedure for a gel polish removal. I'll state my steps below to see if you can identify anything wrong:

1) LIGHTLY file just to break sealant of top coat.
2) Wrap the nails in acetone soaked cotton pads & foil.
3) Leave to soak for 10 - 20 mins.
(If i unwrap and polish isn't ready to budge I reapply for another couple of minutes until polish is properly removable)
4) Gently remove the remaining gel polish with the end of my cuticle pusher without applying too much pressure to prevent damaging the nail.
5) Lightly buff the nail for a smooth finish before gel reapplication.

I'm quite confident that my process of removing gel is correct as I have never had this trouble with any of my other clients.

However, if you wish to add to this then please do

 

[Chloe Channing]

Well, no. You actually directly accused her of not knowing how to remove gel polish.
Several possibly reasons for the breakage have been suggested by others, and none of them needed to make baseless accusations to get their points across. TLDR: 1) Nails too long for client's activity level. 2) Wrong shape for her. 3) Buffing the nail. 4) Dry/dehydrated nails. 5) Client might need gel/acrylic for strength if her natural nails can't handle this length and shape.

Thank you for this x

 

[Chloe Channing]

The OP has NOT confirmed if she has buffed or not . Therefore your comment comes over as rude.
Perhaps you would like to rephrase it so not to offend this nail professional?

Thank you for this x