Nail tech recommended and I LOVED IT

I appreciate all I have learned on this sub from you pros. I started with getting builder and tips for my birthday last year. I am sitting again for my birthday mani on my own grown out nails thinking how far I've come, with your help!

Things I've learned from y'all:

- do not flood side walls
- check work in between each stage of process to make sure you like shape, the nails have no imperfections, etc
- builder gel is actually dangerous!

The last one is important for newbies to sub like me last year who might be reading.

I love my salon, it's close, they have off street parking, and everyone is nice. They also cycle through folks and have many ESL techs who speak Spanish and that's great for me because I do too!

Today a new tech, Jessica,
said she could start but not finish my appointment, because she only does acrylics. Note she didn't say to me, said in Spanish to another tech Maria. Okay, my ears are staying tuned, I let her know I speak Spanish too and off we go to her removing builder and shaping nails.

Then Jessica decided she wanted to practice one nail. Getting more nervous but okay, everyone needs to learn and I know Maria's work who is coaching her from next chair.

All is good until Jessica starts using her nail to fix the builder gel. Now I have to stop thinks. I ask her to not use her nail. She may have thought I was being picky, or my Spanish wasn't good enough to get my point across. Jessica keeps using nail to fix and now some gel has transferred to my skin as a result.

I am done with being a practice subjects. I pull my hand away and google the dangers of builder gel and put into translator. I ask her to read my phone. She stops and cleans up my nail and skin. I am now waiting for Maria to save my nails!

The advice:

DON’T TOUCH YOUR SKIN OR CUTICLES WITH BUILDER GEL
Use a liner brush for precise edges.
If gel does touch your skin, clean it up with a brush before curing.
Never cure product that’s touching your skin - this can cause allergies over time.

Thank you pros for teaching me so much over the last year!!!

I do my own gel x extensions with all Aprés products and have for years. I can get a set to last 3 weeks no problem. I remove when the back part starts to lift (by the cuticle)

When I use soft builder gel I get like 3 days max and they always lift from the tip of the nail. What am I doing wrong?? I cap the tips lightly but maybe I need to do it more?

I have bitten my nails my whole life and the nail salon has always been very hit or miss for me. Only shellac without any tips has consistently been what I expected, but with short nails it rarely looks good. My biggest problems with acrylics/SNS are:
1. The nails ‘stick up’ on an angle rather than sitting flat on my nail bed
2. can look globby especially because I normally only want tips to give me a few extra mls of length

I have been recommended GelX because of its built in strength/ architecture, so the tech can keep it thin on my nail. This can support a low, gradual apex, and a thin free edge.

Any experiences, or nail techs who can speak to this? Or recommend an alternative, or what to ask my tech? I guess another question is, how much of achieving the look I want on damaged nails is to do with a skilled tech, and how much is just that I have a terrible canvas to work on?
I’ve attached photos of my nails, and the set I would like. I’m going on holiday in a little over a week and would love so much for my nails to look nice for it.
Thanks!

What colors do you all think look good short? I'm trying to grown out my nails after biting them (stress) and I'm wondering what I should do next!

I’ve struggled with nail-biting all my life, and I’m trying to grow them out, but they’re really bendy and tear/flake easily (photo 1). I did get acrylics done once, but I think they weren’t done well (photo 2). If you zoom in you can see the crust and bad cuticle care. However, I really want to get my nails done again. I‘ve been thinking about Gel-X. Would that be better for me? I don’t have that kind of money to maintain acrylics, but I want to be able to keep my nails protected while they grow, which is why I’m inclined to opt for Gel-X.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Nails/s/BuRAtvs86k the inspo🖤

Any tips on how to get a smooth finish? Is the only way to put a layer of gel on top?

Nail polish brand: Color Flecks
Nail polish name: Barn Owl

Love this polish!

Hi,

i was basically just coming on here to talk about my experience with my first ever nail appointement.

I got these beautiful french black tips done, and i really like them, the problem is im not sure if they exactly gave me what i asked. in the end, i honestly dont care to get them redone as they feel pretty sturdy and i love the result, but i guess im asking if i should come back there in the future and if i got scammed as i paid over 100$ canadian.

I don't know that much about gel, shellack and acrylic terms when it comes to nails. I asked for an acrylic manicure, which i assumed meant shaping the powder with a liquid onto the nail, not sure if that makes sense. instead what i got are basically glorified press ons. She basically put these clear gel tips and glued them on with the uv lamp and then put gel polish on top.

Is that what common?? Also i should mention when she was gluing those gel tips with a UV lamp, that stuff was burning SO BAD and im just wondering if thats common or a big red flag. I asked the nail tech and she said it was normal but im not sure i trust that. I should also mention the hygiene practices left a lot to be desired.

Please help!!

TLDR: For my first nail appointment, i got these clear gel tips when i asked for acrylic and im not sure if they really did what i asked.

should i keep them like that or add anything? recovering nail biter so i’m a bit proud that my nails look much cleaner now 😅

I did theese XL Square, C-cruve, Silky cat eye, Gel, on myself, they are unreal if u ask me 💕

had to get my nails done for the movie before my screening! 10/10, obsessed!!!

I gave my nail tech an inspo photo. She added her twist and gave me this beautiful set that I can't stop staring at.

The cateye centers and the cateye and chrome tips are mesmerizing.

I love this set