10 Things You Should NEVER Do While Getting your Nails Done

Almost everyone I know loves to get their nails done at one time or another but do you know there are things you should never do while sitting in your appointment chair? What would happen if your nail technician choose not to fix your nails after you accidentally did one of these things? Speaking as a nail technician who cannot stand doing her own nails I guarantee I have done all of these and the results of not fixing them would defintely drive me crazy!! For the sake of keeping things on a slighly more humorous side I'm going to focus my blog on the nail tech who refuses to fix the following challenges LOL.

1. NEVER TOUCH YOUR NAIL PLATE AFTER YOUR NAIL TECH HAS CLEANSED THEM

Nail Prep is key to long lasting nail services. Proper nail prep ensures your nail is clean of all debris and oil so the product adheres. It's imperative that you do not touch the nail surface. Why? Any oils you may have on your fingertips can be transferred onto your clean prepared nail plate which can cause lifting.

Let's be real here we ALL do this and most of the time we don't even realize we are doing it. Our nail tech has cleansed our nails with alcohol and she tells us not to touch them. Ok we think not a problem. You are sitting there and you get that itch so you reach up to scratch your forehead with your clean nail then see there's a bit of foundation on the tip of our finger so you use our thumb to wipe it off and your nail. Your tech looks at you with that annoyed look, cleanses your nails again and says again now don't touch them. You look at her thinking I didn't touch my nails and then realize oh ya I guess I did.

2. NEVER REACH FOR YOUR PHONE

If you need to show your nail technician an inspiration photo send it in advance. This gives your nail technician time to prepare for your service and you won't be scrolling through countless photos during your service.

Like a really good client you choose to set your phone on the table just in case you gel a phone call. You're watching your nail tech work and look over at your phone only to notice it's COVERED in dust and other debris. You think to yourself how did that happen she was just filling my nails. You pull your hand away and wipe off your phone with the side of your hand, arm or sleeve. You're so relieved that your phone is now clean you don't notice that the dust you removed it has floated through the air and landed on your nails. You place your hand in the lamp. When you take it out you notice there are tiny flecks of dust cured into the gel. Your nail tech has a couple of choices to make here she can file the product to remove the dust particles or she can leave it there and hope the next layers fully covers the dust so it disappears which is very unlikely. Fingers crossed she chooses to remove the dust because if she doesn't that dust will drive your crazy once you leave because you won't be able to stop playing with it until your next appointment.

3. NEVER GO IN YOUR PURSE

Reaching in your purse is a big no no when getting your nails done. It causes all kinds of debris to stick to your nails during the nail service. It's very difficult to sit there for so long and not be allowed to touch things.

To illustrate this faux pas we will compare your nails to making a sandwich. You've got a nice clean plate with 2 slices of bread of it. You carefully butter the bread put down your knife and reach in your purse because your phone is ringing. You answer your phone, put it on the table and grab a slice of lunch meat to put on your sandwich. You're suddenly grossed out because you notice that the lunch meat is now covered in what ever was in your purse.....dust, Kleenex lint or a lint covered tic tac!! Now your sandwich is ruined. What if you reached in your purse towards the end of your appointment and there's another client waiting and your nail tech can't fix your nail because she'll make everyone late!!! You have no choice but to walk out of your nail appointment with a lint covered tic tac stuck to your nail!!! As gross as that may be you consider it a challenge because you're going to spend the next 2-3 weeks trying to pick that thing off without ruining your nails.

4. NEVER REACH FOR A KLEENEX

There are so many reasons why this is a huge mistake when getting your nails done. Let's not forget to mention if you are sick please stay home nobody wants to work on a client with a runny stuffy nose.

Kleenex dust is worse than glitter it grows like sand on a beach and ends every where. Once it gets on your nails it seems to defy the laws of gravity and float in the air until the next layer of gel is applied. Some how it will find its way onto each layer of gel. You will be forced to walk around with snot covered gritty feeling nails. Never reach the the dreaded Kleenex!

5. NEVER ADJUST YOUR FACE MASK

What lands on your mask also lands on your nails. Rather than constantly adjusting your mask throughout your nail appointment wear a mask that fits properly. Your nails will thank you.

Masks are the landing zone for everything from dust from nail fillings to fuzz from your shirt or the towels on the table. Every time you touch your face mask you are transferring whatever is on your mask onto your nails. It's vicious cycle and one that drives every nail tech crazy because they are constantly working to remove unwanted particles from your nails. Have you ever left your appointment with a fleck of something cured into the product on your nails and you can't stop rubbing your thumb over it because that little fleck drives you crazy? If the culprit wasn't your phone, purse or Kleenex it was likely the mask!

6. NEVER INSPECT YOUR NAILS PRIOR TO PUTTING THEM IN THE LIGHT

The light cures the gel but until your hand reaches the inside of the light the gel is constantly sliding around your nail. Admiring your nail tech's work before putting your hand in the lamp can cause the gel to shift to one side and her art work to shift so try to admire her work after it comes out of the curing process.

Have you ever been told by another nail tech to push your fingers down in the lamp while it's curing to stop the burning? This is one those things that drives me the craziest as a nail tech. Once you pull your hands out of the light and you notice your skin was pushed up into your side walls and it now cured to the nail. The only way to fix it is to file the side walls and hope your nail tech got every bit of stuck gel off the skin or there will definitely be some lifting. That was some seriously bad advice.

7. NEVER PICK AT YOUR NAILS IF YOU SEE SOMETHING ON THEM

The cronic nail picker can work against the cause. You must resist the urge to pull your finger up and remove what ever it is you see on your nail.

Have you ever come to your appointment with a crack in your nail? Your nail tech tells you there's no need to cut the nail and extend it as she can just apply product and fix the crack. You watch her work holding your breath because you can see the crack is uneven and it appears as though something is sticking up. You patiently wait until she lets go of your finger then you pull off the uneven part only to realize you broke some of the gel she applied and broke your nail more. You glance up at your nail tech who is starring at you because now she has to extend that nail....OOPSY!

8. NEVER TOUCH YOUR NAILS WHEN THEY COME OUT OF THE LIGHT

Gel cures from the bottom up leaving a layer of uncured gel on the top. If you touch it you will notice it it's sticky.

Have you ever wondered why your nail tech told you not to touch your nails after they come out of the light? Doesn't the light cure the gel? It's dry right? It's like a wet paint sign, we know we shouldn't touch it but we have to check and see if it's still wet and then we leave our finger print in the paint! It's the exact same thing!!!! You must touch the gel to see if it's sticky and notice you left your finger print. UH OH it's black so it shows. Your nail tech can cleanse your nail and remove the finger or leave it and apply a top coat. You can always tell people it's part of the design you chose LOL.

9. NEVER LOOK AWAY WHEN PUTTING YOUR HAND IN THE LIGHT

Ooops I hit the side of the light! Now you have an indent in your gel and there's gel all over the outside of the light (which was just cleaned by the way) and its smudged all over your finger.

Your nail tech looks at you annoyed trying to decide if she should clean your smudge off your nail and surrounding skin or leave it there. If she's really creative she can work into a nice design that is sure to be an original piece of work. The trouble is you'll have to smudge your other hand exactly the same way or you nails won't match.

10. NEVER FIGHT AGAINST YOUR NAIL TECH - AKA - RELAX THE HAND

OH NO you have a client who refuses to relax her fingers or insists on watching you work. As a client I am guilty of this and have also experienced the worst of this as a nail tech. Stiff hands is actually quite painful for the nail tech as it triggers carpal tunnel and tendonitis in the nail tech's hands, wrists and arms. I am constantly wanting to watch what my nail tech is doing but if I can see her creations she cannot. She is also fighting with me to see what she needs to do. Do your best to keep your hands limp and movable. Sit back relax if you really struggle to relax your hand and your salon has a tv see what's on. Chances are the tv is there to help the client relax their hands!

I hope you enjoyed this blog as I really tried to add a little humour to it. Remember next time you visit your nail tech to keep these 10 things in mind. Your nails will thank you!