A lot of people think it’s better the longer they can go between appointments. After all the longer an application can last the better value for money it is, right?!? Wrong!! While yes it may seem appealing that the longer something can last on your nails, it means the less often you need to visit and pay for your nails to be done. That is very true.
However, a nail technician doesn’t just want you to visit more regularly to get more money. In fact, if you ask me personally, it’s not about the money, it’s entirely about your health. There are so many issues that can arise from wear and tear on the nail, which ultimately can cause you poor nail health and mean you can’t have nice looking nails applied again.
For example, have you ever heard of a pseudomona. This is where the nail medium that’s applied has slight lifting (coming away front he nail), this can be at the free edge of the nail, down the side wall of the nail or at the base where the cuticle is. What a little lifting means is water (from a shower for example) can then penetrate and become trapped between the nail plate and the nail coating leading to a ‘greenie’. If you have a strong pigment gel colour on top of your application, this masks you being able to ‘see’ any of this is happening. We all have bacteria on out skin which causes us no issues and is normal, until they have the perfect breeding ground in a dark moist place, supplied by the space between the nail and a lifted nail application. The bacteria then go about their business and cause the nail to become a yellow green colour due to discharge. So, the longer between appointments saving you money, means the longer the bacteria have to work and for their results to overrun the nail.
At a regular appointment the lifting would be seen and removed, so the bacteria wouldn’t have long enough to reach their maximum affect. Once the nail has started going yellow/green and is picked up by a nail technician it means the application will have to be removed and the nail allowed to grow out. The bacteria don’t function when the moist environment is lost, so oxygen to the nail plate is the only thing that prevents growth and stops the nail from becoming worse. Meaning you have to have a nail which looks odd on show and a nail technician will have less income. Which ultimately is neither a client nor technicians goal.
Structure is also built into the nail application in each visit, where an apex is included to give the nail balance and strength. To help understand this, when you put pressure on your natural nail you see the white band across the nail where the stress area of the nail is. This is the part of the nail absorbing the impact, meaning it is the area that needs the most support. This area is in a slightly different place depending on whether you have short or long nails, and is also very important when having an extension to the natural nail. So, as you can imagine, it is the area that is built with structure to give full support. But as the nail grows so does the structure built into the application, the nail grows out and so does the structure. Meaning that the stress area of the nail no longer has maximum support. This makes the likelihood of damage to the natural nail much greater if any impact occurs. For example, if you trap or catch a nail it may be more likely the medium applied will pull at your nail causing more trauma than if the structure was in the correct place. Again, another great reason to keep on top of regular appointments to keep the structure in place! Especially important if you have had a nail extended as well.
So over all allowing a nail enhancement to grow out for longer than the recommended time can put a lot more pressure on the nature nail. If the structure is compromised then it can cause weakness, which means the product is more prone to lifting and chipping. The longer the time between appointments causing more lifting and chipping can mean a full removal is much better, as removing the lifting gradually to do an infill can actually be harder work and take longer.
Another question asked a lot from this is how long it should be between appointments for you individually. This is almost like asking how long a piece of string is, as there are so many varying factors which can affect how long an enhancement will last for you personally. Such as lifestyle, after care, your day job, genetics – how fast your nails grow etc. How hard you are on your nails day to day has a big impact. For example, some people can have a gel polish applied at the same time to their toes as their fingers, then wonder why they get twice as long out of their toe application as they do their hands. The simple answer is wear and tear!
I often talk about cuticle oil to clients, and can probably be like a broken record at times…..prefect time to mention my blog on the Wonders of Cuticle Oil, it will explain perfectly why I think its amazing stuff. Again, this isn’t because I want to sell more cuticle oil, it’s because its part of working together to look after your nail application and make it last.
If a nail becomes dehydrated it shrinks a little smaller than usual, leading to potential lifting around the edges of the nail. Which both a client and a nail technician want to avoid, as above it can lead to pseudomonas as well as making an infill more tricky. And of course, there’s nothing more infuriating to you as a client to get lifting, not know about it, and then at a pivotal moment it leading to you loosing a nail on one finger, so needing an urgent repair.
There are also things a nail tech can do to adjust the application and adapt it to suit you personally. So, this is where I stress that sometimes it is down to a TEAM effort. Of course, to get this team effort there has to be good communication, so if there is an issue the best thing to do is talk to whoever is doing your nails. See if you can work it out and solve the puzzle together! This may mean that you trial differing products to land on the correct medium to use for you, and the correct application method. If you don’t speak and be open to trials, then you may never know what the best solution for you is!
This also crosses over with the difference between gel application and builder, what the difference is and who suits which best. Structured gel application such as builder gel can be infilled, whereas a gel polish is removed and reapplied. If you want a fresh set of nails applied regularly, then a builder can be a great option as it can be infilled. This means the structure is removed but not right down to the nail plate. A fresh application each time requires the nail plate filing to remove the shine to help with adhesion, if something like builder doesn’t need removing fully then you are not continually having the same part of the nail plate filed. This avoids the nail being over filed, so it is a good solution for someone wanting nails done regularly. The best medium to apply for an individual also depends upon their nail (e.g. Thin, think, soft, brittle, peeling, hard, oily etc) and their lifestyle (how harsh they are on their nails and if they follow after care or not). So again, all of this is a learning curve of working with a nail technician to see what is and isn’t best for you individually.
Removal of products also requires use of chemicals, such as acetone. Continuous removal and replacement of enhancements puts stress on the nail plate. For example, acetone can dry out the natural nails and skin, which can lead to a more brittle natural nails and weaker foundation for the enhancement. After all, you can’t build a house on poor foundations and expect it to last, so the same can be said for nail enhancements! It has usually been the case that so many infills can be done to avoid weakening the natural nail, then it must be fully removed to check on the health of the nail. This is still true, and as said earlier sometimes a removal is easier than an infill of its been too long between appointments. However, there are also other ways to check on the nail health, for example by using a clear colourless base which is filed back to each time an infill in done. This means at every appointment it is possible to see the nail health, so if you have no adhesion issues there is no need to do a removal.
As you can see there are lots of reasons, not all covered here, as to why it is important to get regular nail appointments. It is most definitely not always about trying to get you to pay more by any means. The top priority of any respectable nail technician is your health. If you came to me for example with an issue with your nails, I would not ‘cover’ the issue up if it was not advisable – even though I would receive no payment. I would always prefer to air on the side of caution and advise a GP visit, so many illnesses can be picked up from discrepancies with the nails!
Lets work together as a team, and get you lovely looking nails, which are healthy! 💛
