Thinking of getting my nails done in local nss

[CherryBeauty]

Great thread and very interesting that there are so many different opinions.

A fairly new client of mine went with her friend to the Glasgow East End NSS a number of weeks back and both have had terrible experiences.

Firstly - they didn't talk to her as they spoke very little English - but talked about her short natural nails (like someone else mentioned above) as though she wasnt there and they were looking sideways at her and laughing between them. Not being rascist at all here - just telling it like was told to me. This made her feel very angry and embarrassed.

My client had the acrylic applied so thick that it was totally inflexible and very pronounced. The lady who applied them drilled her side walls and made 3 fingers bleed. After the acrylic was applied they drilled so hard to refine the finish that now she has arched red paper thin ridges right into her nail plate that I cant even hide with masking gel. I have to paint her extensions to cover the mess up as they make her look like she constantly needs infills. The worst part was that she had asked for them to be short and manageable but they did them so long that she caught her finger in her dog lead the next day and her whole nail plate was ripped off. She had to wear a bandage for 2 weeks and have painkilling injections. She's alright now but her new nail plate is only just starting to grow again - and she is a die hard extensions wearer so it looks very poor that she only has 9 done!!

Her friend had a very similar experience only they drilled right through her nail plate and she had to go to A&E to have the majority of her nail plate removed by a doctor (not very nice apparently and lots of bleeding).

Grim eh?

Sharon xx

 

[NailTechi]

Hi Can someone tell me what the NSS stands for and what the difference is? :lol::lol::lol:

 

[Lynne Baker]

non standard salon.
It's where they use MMA. There are many, many threads about this on the forum.

 

[Nickie]

Lets not forget allot of these techs in NSS are not awear they are doing wrong. They have been trained by thier 'boss' and the owner supplies all the products, they are jst given them to work with and allot of the time dont even know whats in them. Many techs from NSS have 'seen the light' when they learn they are doing things wrong they have tidyed up and gone and got good training, CND training included. Its hard I guess if some of them dont speak much english, and all they have is their community to understand they are doing things the wrong way.

 

[alexandra1984]

Hi, i Have been advised that in my local nns they used Illegal monnema?
The same type they use to bond glass together with ? Im not sure how true this is? i dont even know what nns stands for , but i have an idea from the type of salons your describing. Im new to all this, im training in VCTC Nail technology at college, i adore it! x

 

[Tipsy]

My bad. Here in my state, it is banned to be used in Nail salons and if they are caught with it they are fined.





Um... The smell for 1! The smell of and MMA salon will kill you in no time! My head hurt every time i left!
And the way they prep the nail for 2!
and lets not forget... how strong this crap is! So no, I will not get off my Horse thank you very much! I will tell every one I meet what a good set should be!
and MMA aside! Lets talk about the ring of fire on the poor nail bed! NOW, if you know a salon that is all Asian and they DON'T use MMA and they DON'T put a ring of fire on all the girls they touch... then THIS post is not about them. Be it Asian, White, Black, Red, or flipping Purple and Green, the point is the girls are in the OP story ARE getting poor nails!

Sorry, but I don't remember the OP mentioning anything about the smell or ring of fire, just that the white tip/clear acrlic look hidious to her. Can you really say that a salon is nss because of this.

The worse set i ever had was CND gel many moons ago. Don't get me wrong, their products are great but it's what a bad nail tech can do, even supposedly with correct training and good products, i didn't just have rings of fire,more just like a huge bonfire, left my nails incredibily thin and aching for days. (when I finally had them taken off, she buffed my nail down until there was none left.)

Most of the, let's call them discount, salons you will find have now converted to ema and are using brands such as OPI and MISA. Alot of them do still have bad drill skills though but, as i said above, worse can be done with a file and buffer. There is nothing miraculous about the way we work, just that if you can perfect the 1 bead technique then there will be less filing which saves you time. Oh and btw the worse smelling monomer I have come across was in a sample kit sent to me by entity a couple of months ago, couldn't even finish the set I was doing and THAT has NEVER happened to me!

 

[Annie23]

I will hold my hand up and say I am sorry but I just couldnt tolerate reading much more of this thread once I got past page 2. From what I have read there are some points I would like to raise, sorry if these have been repeated.

• Stop bloody worrying about what others are doing and concentrate on you and your own training!!
• For gods sake what kind of friend are you to suggest watching a mates nails be butchered (if this happens to be the case) just to satisfy own bleeding curiosity. This is so offensive to me. One its offensive to allow a friend that doesnt have a clue to have her nails be damaged. Two - what kind of standard to the industry are you setting by allowing friends to go to discount salons. I would much rather do my friends nails for free than watch her have her nails damaged!! Look at it as practise, we all need practise no matter how good we are.
• If necessary stop the chit chat to get speed down, read your clients and ascertain their needs. Some clients like to chat, others just want you to get on with it. Hell I can get a set of good nails out in less than an hour if I don't talk and I'm still training. Use PopIts for clients in a rush that gets your times down even further.
• Why on earth are salon professionals going to these places that damage nails, what kind of message is that sending?? Support your industry and help raise awareness and standards!
• Why on earth do people keep going back if it hurts, surely it doesnt take a genious to figure out THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING!!

anne xx

 

[persianista]

Great points Annie
You don't see us hair geeks on here whining about cheap hair salons! Supercuts charges half the price that I do.
As hairdressers we had to learn to compete with others from day 1, it doesnt seem a big deal to us, and we NEVER slag off other salons.

 

[Lynne Baker]

Thank goodness, Anne. Someone with sense.
Competition is a good thing; it makes you raise your game. So take what it is the NSS salons are offering and do it better and faster.
Pull your fingers out!

 

[kimi1101]

I read another post earlier about the importance of your appearance etc in this job, what client percieve from the way you look. What kind of clients are you looking to get my getting these poor quality enhancements? Either focus on getting clients with more education than this, or ask these nss clients what it is about the salons they like, and see what you can do to achieve that. theres no danger i'm going to "jeans snappy snips" or whatever down the road for a wash cut and blow dry at £9 because i wanna see what its like!!!!!! worse case you could have permanent damage on your nails. thats not a good thing.

 

[Nickie]

Have to say Annie, I totally agree. I always try to educate clients and friends a little about these type of salons, just because Id hate to think of them going to them and me not having said anything. But all in all it doesnt worry me that much. Just keep up with my own training and stuff and keep myself to myself.

 

[sachi]

Sorry, but I don't remember the OP mentioning anything about the smell or ring of fire, just that the white tip/clear acrlic look hidious to her. Can you really say that a salon is nss because of this.

If you read on you will see where I was talking about when I went to a NSS, no the OP. And Yes the ones I went to were NSS. and all the things I mentioned about MY experience flagged it as a NSS, the OP was asking for personal accounts at NSS....

Well I'm interested now. What is the label NSS supposed to cover?! In my mind i see a NSS as a salon that provides little or no prep routine, no choice of application technique, no real enhancement shape (no apex) and poor hygiene. I also associate the term with poor use of nail drills.

This is what comes to mind when I see NSS. Not just the product but the way they do things. And if you all know a salon that is not like this, well then it seems to me that we are not talking about THAT one no matter who works there. But I do think you need to pay them no mind and just go on with your day! As for your friends you can not FORCE them to learn or listen to you. Just give them the facts and leave it at that. I will never go in to a NSS again, if they use CDN or EZ flow or not! It is the rest of the work that bugs me! I will also never go in to a Supercuts. You get what you pay for, but there will always be those who will (my husband... LOVES Supercuts....) and no amount of talking will fix that.

 

[honeycure]

I used to always go to them when I didn't know better.

My experience:
1. First they ripped off the set I had before by sticking a nail tip underneath the nail (ouch!!!)
2. They drilled my already thin nails with a dirty e-file, including my cuticles.
3. They used the brush they used to dust off the table to dust off my nails.
4. Applied tips and shortened them
5. Drilled some more
6. Applied primer
7. Put one bead of product
8. Drilled it down
9. Sometimes would apply UV top sealer, sometimes just applied polish.
10. Done!

I have to say though, the last nss nail tech I went to before deciding to go to nail school was a really nice man. He was quite gentle too. I kinda miss him :/

 

[persianista]

I read another post earlier about the importance of your appearance etc in this job, what client percieve from the way you look. What kind of clients are you looking to get my getting these poor quality enhancements? Either focus on getting clients with more education than this, or ask these nss clients what it is about the salons they like, and see what you can do to achieve that. theres no danger i'm going to "jeans snappy snips" or whatever down the road for a wash cut and blow dry at £9 because i wanna see what its like!!!!!! worse case you could have permanent damage on your nails. thats not a good thing.

There is NEVER a salon called Jean's snappy snips is there?
Nobody in the developed world does a CBD for £9 surely:lol:

 

[cupcake91]

when i went- about 2 months in total, they would rip and pick off any parts of the acrylic that had lifted and drilled & drilled & drilled until i had redness or bruises under my nails, they would make the sides of my nails bleed and as someone said before just look at you as if youre mad when you try to pull away. the heat from the drill was horrible, i could feel it going through my nail bed.

now, i have had them removed (myself) through soaking for hours.
i have to give myself manicures every day (every other if im lucky) as theyre so thin that they just break and peel. Ive had to cut them right down (man hands) because they will just split if i leave them. theyve brown about half way down the nail bed and you can still see the deep indent from where they drilled through the layers & put lots of pressure on my nails.

NEVER. AGAIN. dont bother! apart from the fact that its so painful it will take you 6 months+ to grow the damage out!

 

[All2Hand]

Please do not use race as a term for a poor salon! There are lots of poor British salons and lots of fabulous oriental salons.

Just because a salon is quicker and gets more clients than you it does not mean they are doing anything wrong.

We should all concentrate on our own businesses and get as good as we can be to attract the market we want and stop worrying about what others are doing.

Here, here keep your own house in order and don't worry about them. Their is enough work for everyone. But saying that I did have my nails done once and was not impress.
Dry prep
Cuticle was push back with his big thumb nail, shape like a stiletto
Took the surface of my nail with a efile
He ask me if I wanted my nail French or natural. I said French.
Stuck white tips on.
Prime.
Put acrylic on.
Shape and filed with efile
Told me to wash and dry my hand which in the salon was a dirty towel they for me to dry my hands.
Gel top coat
And then told me it was gel nails I had just had.
The nails look very good and their did last for 3week but I would never go to any saloon like this to have my nails done. And by the way he did not speak to me once, that is not because their English is not very good, it because they don't want to. When you talk you slow down ( don't make money this way)
All of these girls are bothered about is having nice nail and speed.
This is what you have to do, no short cuts produce nice set of nails practice, practice, practice, talk to the hand. The more nails you do the faster you get. And most of all know your product. if you are still struggling ring up your distributor, they are happy to help. Sorry if this is a bit blunt but shop like that make us money. Next time your friends tell you about these shops, educate them and do a set of nails for them. Their will see the different.

 

[Chelliesnails]

Stay well away!!! I went there once and never again!!! Yes there may be 'one' good one but in my experience I'm fed up of people making exucses for them. Most don't talk to you, No consultation, No medical questions and don't advise what would be best suited to the client. It is basically sit down, file nails with efile until the burn or bleed, stick tips and thick acrylic layer, file more until they burn you again, airbrush white tips that wear off in a few days. Pay money out door, no aftercare, no appointment - NO Manners. The file they used on me and cut me, was then used on another client!!!

Yes their nails last, your nail plate is soo thin it laps them up. They might look nice when you walk out the door - but when you take them off your nails are a complete mess.

I do mind my own 'business' but when people slag off professional nail tech's because of these NSS bars they think we are all the same. WE ARE NOT. I follow strict hygeine policies. I never use efiles on natural nails. I've had so many people come to me with major problems due to these bars and want me to put them right. One lady suffers with diabetes, I refused to do enhancements, she went to the nailbar, three months later she came back to me her nails were not green they were BLACK, I sent her to the doctors. They did not ask her any medical questions and caused major problems. She now has no nail beds as they were removed.

So be wary!!!

 

[jnail]

Here's a few links from Investigations into these Discount Nail Bars here in Australia ....

Add links to your websites if you want to help gain Public Awareness :idea:
Educate your clients -

YouTube- Acrylic Nails -------- NASTY NAILS

YouTube- NASTY NAILS - ENCORE

YouTube- Today Tonight - Toxic Nails - 29 Sep 08

YouTube - Today Tonight - Nail Salon Investigation - 1 July 2010

If WE want to stop clients going to these nail bars, its up to US.
WE must educate each and every client that walks in OUR door.


Tell your clients why you use hand sanitisers on yourself as well as them. Why you change your towels and files in between each client.
Why you do not use razors.
Why you spend the time to have a discussion with them about their nail needs and concerns....
If a customer cannot communicate with the technician - WALK AWAY :!::!: :!:
You know what, cheap is cheap for a reason and a cheap nail service can damage your nails for ever!!!! Is it really worth it ..... :?: :?: :?:

 

[yvang619]

I used to work at a NSS salon. What the salon I use to work for did was :
1. Sand your nail plate with a coarse sanding bit
2. Take dust off
3. Apply glue & tip
4. Cut tip down and shape
5. Apply primer (usually in a polish bottle)
6. Apply acrylic in usually one bead
7. file side to straighten out & take excess acrylic out of side
8. Use fine carbide bit to smooth out nail
9. Buff Nail
10. Put cuticle oil on and send client to wash hand
11. If the tip wasn't white tip then they would air brush it on and then use airbrush polish *it leaves a blue tint to the top & looks very beautiful*
12. They may also put a UV gel sealer on top - the brand they used was IBD

HTH, What I do not like about NSS are that they use the same buffer, file, & sanding band on every client until it is no longer use-able. But it depends on where you go, my old work place - the boss and her mother have been doing nails for over 10 years and they do wonderful P&W acrylic & all over Pink acrylic...again I just didn't like the fact that they used the buffer, files, and sanding band on every client. Plus they use credo blades....ekkk I'm scared of those things.

-Youa

 

[Karen Minx]

Has mentioned by someone earlier about some NSS are changing to OPI... now i have never used OPI before so i dont know what it soaks/smells like, but my sister had a set of nails done by one of these discount nail bars which claims to be using OPI acrylic, but when i did her a soak off, it soaked off in the very same way has MMA acrylic would, smelled like fish and dissolved off like a boiled sweet, not like a chewed up jelly baby like my CND acrylic would dissolve off (sorry, its the only way i can describe it )
Does OPI usually soak off/smell like this?

I also did a rebalance on a new client the other day, she normally goes to get her nails done in her home town by a large nail/beauty salon which uses LCN. She said she had called her normal nail tech lady to tell her she had found a nail lady (me) closer to where she works (just for the occasional conveince) who uses CND and asked her if it was compatable to rebalance using CND, and LCN whenever she is home. The nail tech said it was ok so she came to me for her rebalance. When i rebalanced her nails, her acrylic smelled of fish! It didn't file has easily has CND acrylic but it wasn't has bad has filing MMA (which i have expienced once before)
Does LCN usually have fishy smell also?

I have also rebalanced other clients nails in the past which have said they have previously gone to a english nail tech who uses hand filing techniques so i have persumed the nail tech uses EMA, but when i gave the rebalance, the acrylic again stinks of fish!
Am i smelling the fishy smells because i am only used to using the one type of acrylic .....CND? Which i think has no odour at all ... is is it that i am just used to its odour so i think that it does't smell?
Sorry if i have just confussed you all with my blabbering..... i know its sunday morning!

I also would like to add that i know of a CND Master tech who uses the same files/buffers on every client without scrubbing or spraying until they are completly worn out and falling to bits!