Please explain nail salons to me

[salviapages]

I would love to be someone who always has nice nails but I do not understand how nail salons work

Cuticles: first time I got my nails done she did a soak ans then trimmed my cuticles beautifully, I was so happy with it I went back again. This time I got someone else and she just started scraping them back dry, it hurt and bled, they looked terrible and so did the polish over top. She basically said it's my fault because I don't oil them every day. I thought maybe she's just crap and next time I went to someone else who did the same? How do I get someone to do my cuticles properly?

Once for my birthday my mum got me gel nails which I loved! But I don't really get how they work, do you literally have to go to a salon and pay like £20+ every time to maintain them?

I want to have nice nails but I don't know what to ask for and how much to budget and I'm fed up of wasting money and coming out with disappointing nails! Help!

Here are mine

And i go to to a local , trained, lady who has her own small salon......

@JenniferAllisonPhillipaSue I always used to bite my nails and my hands were terrible. About 10 years ago I had acrylics done as I was going to a wedding. I was so thrilled with how good they looked that I didn’t want to spoil them. That was a great incentive for me to stop biting completely. I now have fairly long nails, give myself a quick manicure every week and always have an emery board handy to avoid the temptation to bite any snags or breaks

I have to be honest, I do judge people who are really into getting their nails done. It seems so incredibly superficial.

It's not getting rid of them completely - it's tidying them up. In the same way that you'd get your hair trimmed. Some people (like me) have long cuticles which can grow unevenly and become ragged and catch, which can be really painful.
Thank you. I had a manicure once and my cuticles were pushed back, but I didn't like to ask why as didn't want to look stupid. Presumably if I don't have long cuticles which are catching and causing pain, I don't need them trimming or pushing back? Not having them trimmed can't cause problems can it?

🙄🙄 it’s perfectly possible to be high-minded and also to like having beautiful nails.

I’ve got plenty of space in my head for important things and frivolous things.

I'd love to get my nails done nicely but I'm always worried about the human trafficking aspect and don't know how to judge which salons are decent and which are exploiting vulnerable people. I used to work with trafficking victims and I know that the nail industry is a major culprit in this, but I also realise that there will be ethical businesses which employ their staff on decent terms. The question is, how do you know which is which.

youtu.be/92fD8Cy2zL0

Anjelah Johnson - nail salon. Very funny!

@AutumnInBustletown

I have to be honest, I do judge people who are really into getting their nails done. It seems so incredibly superficial.

I judge people who judge people for getting a beauty treatment that doesn’t effect them in the slightest, get a life.

@MrsDThomas

Just avoid the ones with a row of chinese girls.

Nice bit of casual racism there.

I have gel polish on my natural nails. I pay £22 and usually go every 4 weeks. There are hundreds of colours to choose from, so you don’t have to have anything lairy or bright if that’s not to your taste. I keep my nails pretty short, so no talons clicking away on my keyboard, and they’ve never chipped or peeled.

I don’t think anyone is going to claim that any type of polish or false nail is really healthy for them. But if you give them a break every now and again, they’ll be fine. I also take Cod Liver Oil supplements and my nails are strong.

@MrsDThomas

Just avoid the ones with a row of chinese girls.

There’s something wrong with you.

You need to choose a salon and person you feel comfortable with. I go to a lady I used to go to school with, she's bloody amazing!

I go every 3 weeks. The process is:

• electric file off top colour and either file or electric file nails down if too long.
• closer work such as hand filing the Builder in a Bottle down to smooth it, and shaping nails
• cuticle work: nipping off dead cuticles and pushing back slightly. Not painful at all. She does it very carefully
• Top up the Builder in a Bottle (it's similar to an acrylic nail but gentler on nails)
• apply gel colour and whatever artwork glitter or details, and top gel coat
• then cuticle oil at the end

Cuticle oil really makes a difference. I treated myself to a luxury manicure last week at a salon near me. The lady was lovely and explained how looking after the cuticles will help the nails to grow, so I bought some of the oil and have been rubbing it on every night. I'm not bothered about gels anymore as I found they ruined my nails and the upkeep was time consuming and expensive, so I'm focusing instead on looking after my natural nails.

@JenniferAllisonPhillipaSue

Those of you with false nails over bitten nails - does it cure you of the habit, or do you still find yourself putting fingers to mouth?

That's a good question. I've often worn false nails - am a cheap skate so buy nails in Boots and glue them on, often get compliments on them and no one seems to spot I did them myself - and I don't attempt to bite them or put them in my mouth. I do bite them off when they start to loosen though Once my nails are revealed again I have tended to bite any regrowth. I've gone cold turkey now and return to just stop the biting. Wearing contact lens makes the longer nails far too much bother for me.

@RedHot22

I hate the look of acrylics. Gel over a natural nail is not so bad but acrylics just look so fake, which they are of course. Same with those ridiculous lashes.

Thanks for that

@AutumnInBustletown

I have to be honest, I do judge people who are really into getting their nails done. It seems so incredibly superficial.

🙄 Really? Can you honestly say you’ve never had your hair cut in a style? You’ve never worn make up or any kind of jewellery? You’ve never bought clothes or shoes based on how much you like them rather than how warm they are? You’ve never decorated your home?

Everything we do, beyond basic survival, is superficial on some level.

@AutumnInBustletown

I have to be honest, I do judge people who are really into getting their nails done. It seems so incredibly superficial.

I judge people who judge people based on what they look like, because they are being incredibly superficial using someone's looks to formulate their opinion of that person.

Tell them what you want and if they can’t provide it go elsewhere.

@MrsDThomas

Just avoid the ones with a row of chinese girls.

Exactly this ! You will also find they use drills to remove the top layer of the nail thus causing damage.

Find a local lady who is busy and wait for an appointment. Ask her what she thinks will suit you the best. So many ladies with horrible and cheap looking squared off acrylics that look dreadful are enough to put anyone off.

If you have decent enough nails then you don't need anything else other than a good manicure and some nice polish. Gels need maintenance and acrylics are damaging.

To be honest i really do judge those who spend their precious and finite time on earth on Mumsnet lecturing others on petty things like this when they could be doing something actually useful and productive with their time.

Thanks for all the replies! I actually have a little at home gel polish set with a UV lamp, the problem is I need my cuticles sorted out otherwise polish looks terrible over top. 1 went to 2 places recommended in a local FB group but they both were awful. I'll try requesting a cuticle soak, I've been booking through treatwell which I don't think lets you request something specific. I'll try to find someone independent who I can ask to just sort my cuticles and add some nice polish

@salviapages

Thanks for all the replies! I actually have a little at home gel polish set with a UV lamp, the problem is I need my cuticles sorted out otherwise polish looks terrible over top. 1 went to 2 places recommended in a local FB group but they both were awful. I'll try requesting a cuticle soak, I've been booking through treatwell which I don't think lets you request something specific. I'll try to find someone independent who I can ask to just sort my cuticles and add some nice polish

Its easy to push cuticles back. Just look on utube!. They don't need soaking !

I have gel overlay extensions.

You pay to have them put on (£25 at my local salon) then every 2-3 weeks you go back for infills (£17) after around 6 infills you have them soaked off then reapplied (£30). If you want gel colour it's £10 extra but lasts better than normal nail varnish.

It's not cheap and takes 45 mins to an hour each time. The salon I use is walk in, so sometimes I queue.

Oh and the staff are trained and paye not trafficked here, one of them lives around the corner