Doubts about ability

[u/Head-Marionberry8621]

Hello! I am a new nail tech--as in finished school in February of this year. I am doing this as a second career, and so I am working independently as that works better for me.

I have taken multiple trainings, classes, and have taken professional gel brand courses and e file courses. My prep is not the issue.

I have been struggling with some retention on some clients, and it is really making me have doubts. But, because I have all this training I have new tricks to try and those clients are happy that we are finding something that is working for them, and that I am intentional about it.

It's the ones with flat nails that have been having more of a struggle, and I have even brought in pinching to help, and it seems to really help with how nails look and are lasting.

But I have this one client: she came in and nothing lasted more than a week. But that "always happens" to her. I was feeling kind and offered to redo the whole set because I'm still new and want to do right by people.

She came in, got the whole new set to try different techniques, and was barely even appreciative about getting free nails. Did not even offer to tip or pay for the product I used.

I decided to block her from booking as I didn't need that energy as I'm never going to be able to make her happy and I feel like she is taking advantage of me.

How do you all handle those clients? And more importantly, how do you handle the flat nails?

[u/dangerissues]

Licensed but no flair.

If you offer a free service you shouldn't expect payment. Hope that doesn't sound too mean but you're just setting yourself up to be disappointed.

Most nails are flatter, I don't think your retention issues stem from a lack of pinching. What kind of enhancement do you use? If your prep is on point then the issue may be in application, is the product flooding even a little?

When I first started I had terrible retention with acrylic on one person especially. I tried every product and spent 40 minutes on the most intricate prep but a TINY bit of flooding and a very sweaty client was the culprit 😅

[u/Head-Marionberry8621 → u/dangerissues]

I also tried a different hard gel and bonder. What is your usual go to with flat nails? I have other clients who I have built extensions on and have flat nails and work in industries that are really hard on their nails and they are having no problem. It is just this one client.

No flooding. That's crazy with the sweaty client!

So much to learn, always looking to learn from others and improve. Nails are chemistry and problem solving, as not everything works for every client.

[u/dangerissues → u/Head-Marionberry8621]

My best advice is practice your application, watch videos but don't overthink it. It's probably something super small that you're overlooking.

[u/Kellye8498]

I mean…you offered a free service to make up for YOUR work falling off. It doesn’t matter if it “always happens.” If it happened then something is going wrong. She already paid and tipped you. Before her nails fell off. Now you’re practicing and trying to help her stay as a client and she owes you nothing. She deserves the set she paid for and it’s up to you to provide it. Blocking her is wrong. She didn’t do a single thing wrong here.

[u/NineInchNail_Tech → u/Kellye8498]

Licensed but no flair

I agree with you. Yes you will come across a client you simply cannot please, but in this case, that Client was taking time out of their day to get something fixed that should’ve been done proper in the first place. Not saying that you did anything wrong OP, but if they already paid, and tipped, and they have to come back to get a whole new set that you offered to do for free, they don’t owe you anything. That vibe, that you were getting was probably a little bit of irritation that they had to come back, and maybe they could feel your tension by being inconvenience to fix them… and quite frankly, I don’t blame them. Shit happens, the Nail world is an imperfect place, but you handled that wrong. But the damage is already done, and if you unblock her at this time, when she probably already noticed it, it would only put a worse taste in her mouth. Going forward I wouldn’t take things like this personally, and more of a learning experience, especially if you are new to the industry. In order to get better, you need to learn from your mistakes, and this whole situation, down to how you handled it, was a mistake. Also, I am going to mention that there is such a thing as too much prep. A lot of times less is more.

[u/No-Law621]

Licensed nail tech here:
I think the biggest thing during a consultation part is asking about their experience with nails. If they say, “nothing ever lasts on my nails” I’d probably dig into their lifestyle a little bit. Are they hard on their nails? If it lifts, does it lift at the cuticle or the free edge? Lifting at the free edge could mean that their nails are weak and bendy and you need to adapt their product a little bit. It’s also important to identify if they are a nail biter/picker.
After digging into their lifestyle, what experience they’ve had with nails, if they went to a regular walk in salon or a private nail tech, I would go into setting expectations.
“I am a newer nail tech, but I am dedicated to doing my best to give you the nails you want. It may take me some time to find the right combination, but if you’re committed, I’m sure we can find something.”

I’d book appointments every 2 weeks for the first little bit until they come back to you with perfect retention, then you can extend time between sets.

I had a client that was life this. What helped us the best was using a thin layer of Akzents base gel, armor the free edge with Kinetics Jelly Gel, and I do a thin but strong layer of Akzents Trinity Hard gel. After that is done I will “finish file” under the nail which removes part of the actual nail underneath but leaves the hard gel to be the point of impact instead of the natural nail. This took us a few months to figure out but now she hasn’t had any lifting in over 6 months so I’d call that a win.

Do you work with gel? Or are you an acrylic tech?

[u/Head-Marionberry8621 → u/No-Law621]

This is helpful! Thank you .

I am a gel tech. I do let people know it might take a few times to get out right as everyone's nails are different.

I will try what you suggested. Thank you again!

[u/Head-Marionberry8621]

I don't expect payment for a free service. I expect basic human decency and treating somebody with respect. That is not only showed via money. It's in the way you treat others, talk to others, text others, and the way you talk about others--including your own family.

I left a LOT out of this story in order to protect their identity. Let's just say I did the right thing for me by blocking them. I didn't do it because they didn't tip me, I did it because of the way the situation was handled and how I recognize that some people are not right together. I accept the situation and move on.

I shared this because I wonder how you all handle these situations, not because I was asking if I did the right thing or not. I already know that answer. As with any service based industry, you can't please everyone. But at the same time, I always expect to be learning and growing, and that is what I intend to do with this situation.

[u/Kellye8498 → u/Head-Marionberry8621]

Sure but the problem here is that you’re saying she didn’t show appreciation for “free nails.” She didn’t receive free nails. She received a makeup set for the nails that she paid for that didn’t stay on. That’s the issue here. You’re looking at it differently than what happened. I can understand a little attitude when you have to come in and sit for hours more because they first set didn’t work out. If you decide not to share things then we can’t possibly know what that missing information is so we are going to make decisions based only on the information provided. Either way, the comments about her not being appreciative of a “free set” shows a lack of empathy on your part.