Nails

[peerie]

Will a nail bar do gel nails for me without doing anything to my cuticles? I think my cuticles are in pretty good condition but I am curiously squeamish about them and find they hurt to push back. Have never even been in a nail bar before and not sure how much they like to do before painting. Also how long does it take?

I go to a place where you can choose between having a manicure (where they would faff about with the cuticles) or just having my nails painted (where they wouldn’t, they’d just stick the colour on for you) so maybe look for somewhere which offers that. But also, you are allowed to speak to the people and tell them what you want them to do/ don’t want them to do. It’s your body and you don’t need to sit there totally mute throughout your appointment! Just tell them not to touch your cuticles. You don’t even have to give a reason.

Length of appointment totally depends on where you go. I book online and it tells me when I book how long the appt is (usually between 30mins-50mins) according to their system. Obviously if you want the bells and whistles manicure that takes slightly longer than just having your nails painted. But it’s usually somewhere between that amount of time with the base coat, colour, top coat etc.

Haha, I'm not really as much of a shrinking violet as that came across but I do like to know what to expect 😊
Thanks for your detailed reply, it takes longer than I thought! I was thinking 15mins or so.

The nail needs to be clear of cuticle to let the gel adhere properly, so I'd be surprised if a reputable place would do this.

hmmm, I think my nails are clear of cuticle but I'm not looking at them in the same way as a technician. Does anyone else find mucking about with cuticles really hurts and can end up infected if careless?

How does powder gel (?) compare to liquid gel?

It would be unusual to have no cuticle unless you've been removing it yourself? I don't love the sensation but it's over quickly and I've never had an infection or pain. If the gel goes over any remaining cuticle, it will lift.

It would probably be best to go into a good salon and explain the situation.

These are my cuticles, do they need to be removed?

I would say so, yes. See the very thin layer of white that grows up onto the base of your nail? That's the bit that needs to go to make sure the gel sticks properly. Note this is different to the proximal nail fold which is living skin and part of your finger (you don't want to fiddle with that)!

You're not referring to my half moons?

Getting them removed is definitely what you want when getting gels- I've never had a problem

No

There's definitely debris that would need removing for gel to adhere properly to the nail and avoid lifting after a couple of days. Can see it more prominently on your index and middle finger in the picture...not the half moon bits.
Are your cuticles dry/hard? Is that what causes the pain when pushing them back?
Massaging cuticle oil into them would help make them softer and easier to push back it really shouldn't hurt getting that done.

I am, clearly, not very familiar with the anatomy of the nail and I have been thinking they want to remove the proximal nail fold 😫