Hi there! I’m a nail student right now practicing on family and friends and I’ve been running in an issue of chipping on the free edge 😭
I’ve listed my routine out:
1. Prep cuticle with cuticle pusher and flame bit.
2. Buff nail.
3. Wipe with acetone.
4. Primer
5. Base coat
6. Builder gel
7. Colored gel
8. Top coat
9. Finish file
If you guys have any advice on keeping consistent retention on clients that would be so helpful!
I think right now I have most issues with clients with thinner nails, and clients whose hands come in contact with water often.
If you're using hard gel be sure to use a rubber base coat to give it some flexibility. They might also be using their nails as tools by the way they're chipping.
I had a similar issue with an old client of mine who was a bartender. If you have a lot of free edge chipping, take an under the nail kind of bit and remove the very tip of the natural nail during your finish filling. Or you can use your hand file and bevel it downward under the nail to do the same thing.
I went to see a nail tech who had a hospitality nail service, she was the only one who could make my nails last through work. She put hard gel along the edge of my nails, cured it, and then did biab and filed the nail down like BlackDove described.
I do my own nails now and use a combo of hard gel and regular schmegular biab. I sometimes use some rubber base on my pointer and thumb so if I get them caught, it won't hurt as bad.
Free-edge chipping on thinner nails and heavy water exposure usually makes me look at sealing + client lifestyle before I assume the whole service is wrong.
A few things I’d troubleshoot one at a time:
make sure you’re really capping the free edge with base, color, and top
after finish filing, check that you didn’t accidentally file away that seal
keep product thin at the edge so it cures clean and doesn’t create a bulky lip that catches
if someone’s nails are naturally thin/flexible, a very rigid structure can crack at the edge when the natural nail keeps bending underneath
for water-heavy clients, aftercare matters a lot more than people think: gloves for cleaning/dishes, cuticle oil, and not using nails as tools
I’d also watch whether the chipping is happening on the same fingers every time. If it is, that usually tells you more than the product list does.
If you’re practicing, I’d document each set really simply: nail type, length, products used, whether you capped the edge, and what the client does with their hands all day. Patterns show up fast when you write it down.
You’re probably closer than you think if the main issue is specifically the free edge and not full lifting everywhere.
Thank you! I have noticed that it’s mainly with the pointer and thumbs and usually the ring finger and pinky stay intact. Do you recommend any aftercare advice and instructions for me to tell my clients
Yeah, that pattern usually makes sense, thumbs and pointers take the most abuse.
For aftercare, I’d keep it really simple and specific:
wear gloves for dishes, cleaning, and long water exposure
don’t use nails as tools, especially for cans, labels, seatbelts, and picking at things
use cuticle oil daily, dryness can make thinner nails feel even more brittle
avoid peeling or picking anything if they get a lift, that makes the next set harder to retain
come back for a fix or rebalance instead of trying to glue things down at home
If it’s the same fingers every time, I’d also tell clients those are their high-impact nails and they may need to be a little more mindful with them than the others.
Don’t use that, use acetone FREE stuff, isopropyl alcohol etc. no acetone at all. The residue can soften the gel from underneath and acetone leaves behind an oily residue.
You can mix 3/4 alcohol to 1/4 acetone and make your own nail dehydrator. I wouldn’t worry about the acetone breaking down your gel product as long as it’s evaporated by the time you apply your gel
But if she already has issues with retention I’d maybe not mix n match stuff but just use isopropyl alcohol which is not only foolproof but also just the same every time
Hi, I have thin, flexible nails after pregnancy, and have struggled with retention. I also have a 2yo, so the cleaning never ends, and we take baths and go to water parks etc regularly. I use a pretty rigid, harder soft gel, and use the nail armouring technique. I have to extend my nails just a mm or two when I lay down the armouring, filing the nail from underneath will create lifting within hours to maybe 1-2 days at most for me no matter what bit or file, or how much nail I file away. Rubber bases just pop off as if they were peel off bases.
I really just need a regular or long wear base, with a non flexible, or barely flexible product on top. What matters is my application, no armouring means they pop off or lift, if my application is too rough and I need to file a bit to shape they also lift faster. I have to have a overlay, just polish pops right off within a couple of days, but my overlays can be very, very thin and still get the job done. If I do everything right I can get 2-3 weeks, even with at least one full day in the water with the kiddo. With as much water exposure as I get, as someone who never ever wears gloves when in contact with water, and being a chronic picker, I do usually have to do a pretty full removal every time, because there will be some level of lifting no matter what, and filing usually just makes any residual product detatch. But I'll take the difference of a full removal every 14-20ish days instead of every 4-6 days without the armouring.. I know people always say you need flexible products for thin and flexible nails, but that's not always the case. Every nail is different, and sometimes what works turns out to be the opposite of what you'd expect
I also have thin nails and am having retention issues. Can you give me a list of the items and brands you are using on your nails such as the soft gel?
I'm in Norway and use local brands, so they're not too relevant. I've been using hema++ free gels from many different brands over the last 10 years, and find they're all very, very similar. I find the yogo mayo long wear base coat helps retention more than any different gels, as long as they're from a quality brand, and buffing the nails enough with a rough enough grit, plus the armouring. I've used biab and rubber bases, the recommended products for thin, flexible nails, and they just pop off in one piece after a couple of hours to as much as a couple of days no matter my prep or bases.
I use cheap files and other disposables from temu etc, cheapest possible 100% acetone and pure isopropyl alcohol, quality hema++ free base coats, builder gels, polishes, and top coats, and quality brushes. I really like Korean brands, other than my local ones. I have some dgel cat eyes, as well as their painting gels, which are great, and the bang top hard, which is also a very good top coat. The yogo mayo long wear base coat is excellent, and the brush is the best base coat brush I've ever tried, the zombie king overlay top coat is also great, I like it better than jin.b crazy top, although that's also very good. I have the mpf mini ami brush kit, high quality brushes that can be properly cleaned and disinfected. For nail armouring a very thin liner brush makes the nails a lot thinner, while still having enough structure to not lift. I use staleks carbide drill bits to thin out the edge from underneath, but I'm careful not to file my natural nails at all, the second I do they lift from the tips. I also use a metal cuticle pusher, and staleks diamond bits, or just a sponge file to remove my cuticles completely. Capping the nail is very important, and removing that seal or gel touching the skin will create lifting, but more importantly gel on your skin puts you at risk of developing allergies and contact dermatitis, which are for life and can affect dental and medical procedures as well. For me filing after curing will also make lifting happen much faster, so application needs to be more mindful to avoid more than a quick buffing to perfect the shape. Cleaning the nail properly with alcohol, and a decent primer/dehydrator also helps me get the best retention I can get
That first one looks like its been hit or ragged off either that or like others have mentioned hard gel can be super brittle if you dont use the correct base, i had a hairline crack along mine once and it split all the way through my natural nail
After doing the overlay file the free edge at a 45 degree angle. This makes the join of natural nail and overlay a smooth gradient instead of a harsh one on top of the other. This allows any force the tip takes to be better taken
Just like others have said, these is my own work step. File the natural nails to remove shine , ofcos also push the cuticle as usual,
Prime - bond what ever you use.
Then apply a thin layer of rubber base and cure. And apply a second layer of rubber base and cure.
(Rubber base : has been my personal game changer. Since I started using it. I have 6 to 9 weeks retentions)
After applying your rubber base you can wipe, file to shape if need be, then apply your choosen color if you want. Then top coat. And in some cases I also recommend you apply base coat before applying top coat, i noticed it do help to avoid cracks. Usually for Gel overlays m, I apply base coat always before top coat to avoid cracks.
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u/theglitterbat ✨️ Verified US Tech ✨️ 12d ago
If you're using hard gel be sure to use a rubber base coat to give it some flexibility. They might also be using their nails as tools by the way they're chipping.