You apply a beautiful let of nail enhancements and when your client comes back in 2 weeks you see lifting! What went wrong?
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| from http://www.nailsmag.com |
Assessing the Nail
First, lets assess the nail - where is the lifting occurring? Is it at the cuticle? Is it at the point where the tip meets the natural nail? Is it along the sidewalls? Is there a lot of lifting or just a little bit? Is it on all fingers or just one or two?
By assessing the issues, we can narrow down the cause. For instance, if the nail is lifting at the cuticle, the issue is not with the tip application. If the lifting is at the sidewalls, but the cuticle is not lifted, I would take a look at my preparation of the sidewall area and confirm that my product is not flooding the area. If every single nail is lifted half way from the cuticle up the nail plate, then I know it is a bigger issue than just accidentally bad prep on one nail. Its possible the extension is too long for the natural nail but it could be a systemic issue with the client or my mix ratio or a number of other things. If only one client has issues and no one else does, then I know its something to do with her (body chemistry, picking, medications, allergy to the product) and most likely not my fault.
Causes
There are a number of reasons nails delaminate (the scientific for lifting), though there are just a few "main" causes. The three factors that are the most likely cause of lifting are:
- Improper Prep
- Product touching skin
- Improper mix ratio (for acrylics) or improper curing (for gel nails)
Lets first take a look at these three possible causes:
Improper Prep
Prepping the natural nail is the first and arguably one of the most important steps in applying enhancements. This is because it creates the foundation for what you do on top of it. Incompletely removing oils or non-living tissues on the entire nail plate will cause lifting. Etching the nail with a coarse file can cause lifting by thinning out the nail and creating a weak base for the enhancement which then flexes away from the product with any pressure.Product Touching Skin
If the product touches the skin at any time (even if you quickly wipe it away), it will wick the skin's oils and moisture into the product which can cause or exacerbate lifting. I see many people on Instagram who tout themselves as educators who get product on the skin then use their brush to "clean up" around the nail. Not only is this a major cause of lifting, but can cause dermatitis in the client! It's better to get your application under control than to try and fix the mess afterwards.Mix Ratio/Improper Curing
I have talked extensively about the reasons for proper mix ratio and the chemistry behind it in this post. Basically, acrylic mix ratio is important for many reasons, one of which is that it can cause lifting if it is incorrect. If the mix is too dry, it does not have time to adhere to the nail fully before hardening. When it is too wet, it can cause pocket lifting and is generally weaker than a properly made acrylic bead. Not to mention, the chance of overexposure for the client!With gel nails, you do not have to mix anything so mix ratio is not a factor. however, it is extremely important that the correct UV/LED lamp with clean bulbs and appropriate cure time is being used to cure the gel. gel feels hard within seconds but is NOT fully cured until the full cure time has been acheived. Uncured gel can cause overexposure and dermatitis in clients and lead to a weak nail that does not fully adhere to the natural nail plate.
Other Causes
If you have lifting, checking the above three items should be first on your list. If you find that they are not the issue, there is a wide variety of other factors that could cause or contribute to the problem, including:- Clients who pick at their nails or are extremely hard on their nails
- Extension is too long for the client's natural nail and lifestyle
- Too much primer was used
- The product was applied too thick - thicker is not better and a thick enhancement can be too rigid while the natural nail will flex away from it with any kind of pressure.
- The tip doesn't fit the natural nail
- Tip adhesive breakdown
- Contaminated products
- Fresh monomer wasn't used with every client
- Mixing different manufacturers' products
- Smoking, eating, touching hair, etc. during application (playing with phones always leads to someone touching their nail!)
- Excessive filing of the enhancement - pressing too hard while filing can flex the softer natural nail away from the hard enhancement
- Mixing products between systems or brands
Most of these are self explanatory, but lets talk about tips for a second. Tips can loosen for several reasons, one reason is improper nail plate preparation prior to tip nail application. Another cause is improper fitting of the tip. Always measure the tip based on the width of the side walls, not the width of the natural free edge. The tip should not be able to be rocked side to side, the nail plate is the same width as the free edge, and the sides of the tip are coming out straight from the side groove.
A third (and most common) cause of tips loosening is the adhesive. We have talked about adhesives in this blog before and the fact is that all nail adhesives are water soluble. The thicker the adhesive, the slower they break down but they WILL break down eventually! If you are lucky your client's nails grow fast and the tip will be gone (filed off during fills) before the issue shows itself. If you arenot lucky you will start to see lifting at the point where the tip was adhered to the natural nail.
If you prefer to use tips over sculpting, make sure to pretailor the tip so that the minimal amount of adhesive is on the nail plate to create the strongest tip possible. Or you can use acrylic to apply tips for an even stronger nail.
A third (and most common) cause of tips loosening is the adhesive. We have talked about adhesives in this blog before and the fact is that all nail adhesives are water soluble. The thicker the adhesive, the slower they break down but they WILL break down eventually! If you are lucky your client's nails grow fast and the tip will be gone (filed off during fills) before the issue shows itself. If you arenot lucky you will start to see lifting at the point where the tip was adhered to the natural nail.
If you prefer to use tips over sculpting, make sure to pretailor the tip so that the minimal amount of adhesive is on the nail plate to create the strongest tip possible. Or you can use acrylic to apply tips for an even stronger nail.
Medications - Not a lifting Culprit!
Its been said for years that lifting might be casue by medicfatgions that the client is taking, however Doug Schoon has said that there is no evidence of this being true: "This is not likely to be a problems and here’s why. Doctors often state that the health of the natural nail is often a window into the health of the individual. However, taking medication for a month or two isn’t going to affect adhesion of artificial nails or coatings to the nail plates. Same is true for birth control or other over-the-counter (OTC) medications. There are certain medications that when taken for long periods can affect the way the body functions and may affect nail growth. However, this is would be uncommon for medications in general. An example of medications that do affect nail plate growth are chemotherapy drugs. They can adversely affect the growth, but won’t change the way pre-existing natural nails adhere to the nail coating. In other words, they can’t affect the chemical structure of the nail plate once it has already grown from the nail matrix ... Also, if a person is taking a lot of medications and their nails are in poor condition, it is more likely that the condition of the nail plate is due to poor health of the body, and not the medications. For instance, those taking heart medication may also have blood pressure and circulation problems and these health issues are far more likely to adversely affect the condition of new nail growth, than would the medications themselves."
References/Resources
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