Gel Manicure Problems: Lack of Communication Creates Unhappy Guests

Gel manicure problems again! This Wednesday’s beauty question is from a reader whose biggest complaint was the lack of communication at her nail salon during a recent visit for a silk wrap fill-in, which turned, into a gel manicure nightmare.

Happy Hump Day beauty lovers and welcome to another column where Ask the Pro answers your beauty questions. I hope you are enjoying pre-Fourth of July festivities in preparation for Independence Day. But if you are in New York amongst thunderstorms, then perhaps you are trolling the Internet and have stumbled onto today’s advice that answers a common nail salon complaint, a lack of communication.

A reader recently had a confusing experience in a New Jersey nail salon near her home. She wrote in with gel manicure questions, however, the more I asked of her, the more I began to find out that her issue was a lack of communication on both the nail technician and the client.

Dear Deirdre,

I stopped getting gel fill-ins, but yesterday a nail place did one on me minus the UV light. They used hot glue and gel that had a bad burning sensation. I am wondering if that is bad? The light used at the end to dry the nails could have been UV or LED but lasted only a few minutes. It wasn’t used to cure the nails. What is the burning sensation of this glue or gel? Is any of what I mentioned unsafe? I didn’t ask for a gel manicure.

It isn’t that my nails weren’t done to look nice or that I am in pain now. The technician put glue that was hot on my nails and gel too but no UV machine. Is that process correct: glue, powder and gel? The glue was hot as well as the file.

I don’t have tips. This was to do a fill in on existing wraps of which my real nail was underneath. I had told the nail tech that I didn’t want a gel fill- in. My own nail is long underneath. What burned was the hot glue put directly onto the wrap over my nail and nail buffer tool was hot also. Is it unhealthy to have hot glue put onto nail? I have read that filing on top of wrap wears down the nail. However, silk wraps cover the nail. What is a healthier process? Salons by me are all (left blank) and speak very little English and appear to be about the money. She didn’t understand me that I didn’t want a gel manicure or fill-in.

I called there today asking them if they do nails without hot glue, which burns, and not with gel. The question wasn’t understood and they asked me if they stayed good. Of course they look fine, with a nice design and shine but the process shouldn’t burn, even with filing tool. The place is good for pedicures only and it is very hard to find a decent nail place in Bayonne, NJ where I live, even though they are on every corner.

Do you think they never did gel before and made do with incorrect products? I didn’t ask for a gel manicure anyway as I suspected the UV light machines to be bad before the news stated it. Is the light machine they used after the nails are done to dry them, a UV light machine? Do you recommend silk wraps? I have long nails under wraps as I have been getting them five years now and if removed, would break my natural nail. Which process is the least unhealthy?

Thanks,

Dorothy

After a few emails back and forth, we concluded that communication at the salon was lacking, but it took some probing along with the help from two other nail technicians to get to the bottom of Dorothy’s gel/not gel manicure/silk fill-in experience.

If it was a gel manicure they shouldn’t use glue, unless they attached tips with glue first and then filled in with gel. Sometimes the gel will give a heated sensation when the lamp hits it. If they buffed too much before hand the nail beds could also have been sensitive to whatever light they used.

We weren’t sure why a hot glue and a gel were used, thinking possibly they glued on tips, which we later discovered was not what she had done, making the process more baffling, however, all concurred that it should not have been hot or uncomfortable. She may have filed too much or if it was simply a fill-in as the reader stated then she may have had a loose tip somewhere, but again, the glue should not have hurt her hands. It appeared that oo much product was used on her nails and the consensus was to stop going there.

And to answer her other question, yes, filing of the natural nail does wear it down, it is best to take breaks in between if you can and use a nail hardener with a protein. While the nails are wrapped use nail oil everyday to nourish the natural nail.

Unfortunately nail salons that seem like factories are everywhere and the lack of communication has become costly to the customer, both financially when a client cannot articulate what they want and for health reasons as problems like above arise far too often. The UV light was to cure whatever they used and unfortunately, we don’t know what they did. It should not burn, hurt or be hot. The only warmth that should be felt is from the hot towels during a pedi or a mani.

Silk wraps are ok, but still use the same procedure of filing and gluing. And I understand that removing them would cause the nails to break, weaken and be brittle so use cuticle oil every day to nourish the nail bed.

When someone consistently goes to a salon for the same procedure, the client is quite aware of what should be done. If something strikes you as odd and not the norm, it is your right as a consumer to stop the technician and ask what they are doing. Ask to see the manufacturer’s name of the product and if you aren’t comfortable then leave. Manicures shouldn’t burn or be painful. There is a big difference between heated sensation and burning and it is those moments that require the guest to speak up.

To avoid the reader’s gel manicure/silk wrap issue, try to find a salon where language barriers aren’t an issue, no matter what language you speak and be clear in what you want. If you aren’t sure, or are uncomfortable you have every right to leave and or to probe as to what is being done to your nails.

If you have a similar question to today’s gel manicure/silk wrap fill-in problem, please email me at DeirdreAHaggerty@gmail.com.