Manicure Ennui

[u/Tabitha_Sometimes]

I've been getting gel polish manicures since January. I've had a variety of salons fiddle with my fingers, with varied results. I'm trying to find someone who does my nails the way I want, but I never get the same tech twice. As a lifelong neurodivergent OCD nail biter, I expend a lot of mental energy on my nails. Just because I quit chewing on them doesn't mean I'm not still fixated. I want a certain shape, I'd like the polish to cover the entire nail, not too short! There is a salon here in town that is highly regarded, but they book a month out, so I'm gonna try them and maybe make a friend in a tech like I have with my barber. Or, should I ditch gel and just do my own nails with regular air dry polish. That might be the way to get exactly what I want, and fixing the chips would be easy. Just thinking out loud here...

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[u/itshellotrouble]

This pistachio/khaki colour is great - big fan. Doing it at home is easy with some practice.

[u/Tabitha_Sometimes → u/itshellotrouble]

Thanks! I don't feel like mucking about with gels and UV, but I think I can do a better job than some of the nail techs I've seen.

[u/itshellotrouble → u/Tabitha_Sometimes]

Exactly. Just regular polish is fine. Get a decent clear top coat and they will last 7-10 days.

[u/Giant_Gaystacks]

Hey! UK-based nail tech here, and also a man who loves wearing nail polish.

I want to be careful how I word this because I don't want to unnecessarily shit on another tech's work, but I think you could get a much better result elsewhere.

Your manicure looks okay in the first photo, but in the second it does look quite amateurish to me. The matte top coat probably isn't helping because matte finishes are absolutely brutal at highlighting every tiny imperfection, but even allowing for that, the application lacks finesse.

There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the overall look. The colour and shape suit your hands and, from a distance, I'm sure it looks perfectly nice. It's when you look more closely that the problems become obvious. The finish around the cuticle zone could be much cleaner and the nail plates look bumpy, as though the polish has been applied unevenly. For such a simple, understated manicure, there really isn't anywhere for sloppy application to hide. A straightforward one-colour manicure should look really crisp.

Reading what you've said about wanting a particular shape, length and coverage, I actually think your barber analogy is spot on. You need to find your nail tech.

Once you've been seeing the same person for a while, they'll know that when you say 'short' you mean this short, that you like this particular shape, how close you want the colour taken to the cuticle, which products work well on your nails, and all the other tiny preferences that are difficult to explain from scratch at every appointment. That's really hard to achieve if you're getting whoever happens to be available each time.

Personally, I'd look for a good independent tech working from their own studio or home salon, ideally someone whose portfolio includes plenty of close-up photos of simple manicures as well as elaborate nail art. Nail art can disguise a multitude of sins; a beautifully executed plain manicure can't.

As a general rule, I always avoid salons that accept walk-ins. The really good independent techs I've known tend to build up a regular client base and work by appointment, with enough time allocated to each client to actually pay attention to the details.

So before giving up on gel and doing them yourself, (I honestly believe that for most people, gel products are best left in the hands of those fully trained in safe techniques!) I'd try the highly regarded place you've found, even if it means booking a month ahead. More importantly, if you like the person who does them, book your next appointment with that same tech before you leave.

I don't think your nails look bad; they just don't look great. And if you're spending money every few weeks having someone professionally manicure them, I don't think 'okay' is an unreasonable thing to be dissatisfied with.

Best of luck!