08/09/2026
What she asked for vs what she got, and what I did to fix it
Today I responded to a nail crisis and I’m sure glad I did. Last night my client reached out, telling me about her friend who was done dirty by the chop shop. She sent me the first photo and flabbers were gasted 😳 so I naturally told her to have this friend message me, I’d come in on my day off for a reshape and repaint. The pics of before and after are all mixed up so I’ll let you figure out which work is mine 😅… To get into it, this is shotty work and it’s not from a beginner. Everyone starts somewhere and by no means, is this a post intended to 💩 on newbies. This post is about carelessness. It may take longer to clean up the gel that flooded the cuticle, to shape the nails so they are straight and not egregiously crooked. I could never let a client leave this messy.. I have had moments of trial and error, I have had retention issues, so I want to be so clear that this judgement doesn’t come from someone who thinks they’re better than anyone else, it’s from someone who CARES. The gel on her skin can cause an allergic reaction, once you are allergic to gel, you will always be allergic to gel. I have flooded cuticles. I have also used a brush, a cotton covered orange wood stick, or a lint free pad, to clean it away. Yes it takes longer but it’s worth it. Clients deserve our attention to detail. In some after photos her cuticles look like there are dark spots, those are areas on her nail that I couldn’t completely get the gel off, due to it being cured to both skin and nail and wanting to keep the integrity of her natural nail. If you’ve been done dirty by a big salon, this is your sign to find a private tech. There’s many talented people in the area. I don’t want to tag them in this, but if any local techs see this, please feel free to drop a link to your page or business in the comments to help people find you🫶🏼 small businesses, supporting small businesses🖤 I will not name drop the salon that did this work, just know it was not a small one or a private tech.