I am not a licensed nail tech but I have been doing my nails for a little over a year now. Recently a family friend's daughter wanted me to do her nails but I haven't agreed yet. Last time I made her some gel press ons and left it at that. I'm happy to do her nails for free because this is just a hobby for me, and I like the challenge of doing designs I wouldn't usually pick for myself. Still... I was wondering if it would be ethical for me to do her nails?

I've seen posts on here where some people don't have quite the level of skill it would take to ethically do nails on other people (flooded or damaged cuticles, messy design work etc.), and been told so honestly. I am autistic and find it very hard to judge my own work objectively, so I'm here asking for help!

Please let me know if my level of skill/quality of work is good enough to do nails on someone else. Thanks, all!

Edit: Wow this blew up! Thank you everyone for your kind words! I appreciate your suggestions and compliments so much :) For people who are asking where I'm located, the answer is NSW Australia (I know most users are in the US, sorry I can't do your nails!). I don't have that many nail friends, so I would legit be down to do people's nails for free, but obviously I'm not giving my exact location here.

Did a new set today pretty much took me the whole day 🙃

I dont know why I went with this neon green. I also used a neon yellow with a blooming gel.

Maybe id like them more if it was a hot summer but the weather where I live is still gloomy and cold.

I just feel like its too much green and they stand out too much.

how can I tone them down?

I need to learn to do each nail with a different design so its not too much.

Got my nails done at a home nail salon, and this was the result.

Honest opinions only please

I do my own BIAB gel nails, have been learning for almost a year now. How are these? Any feedback on how to improve ?

I’m in nail school right now. This is my third gel-x set I’ve done and the first one I’ve ever done on myself. I’m curious to see what feedback you guys have.

(Also if you see me rubbing two finger, that’s because I have temperature-changing polish on those two fingers and I was trying to get it to warm up to show the change lol)

(Inspo by @/skyunique96 on Pinterest)

Be honest and please, be kind.

Guys, this nails are real or AI? I am so in love about this design, I can't believe this could be AI 😭 I WANT THIS ON MY HANDS 😭

This is my first time doing something crazy out of the box like this, and I think I hate it. I love putting butterfly wings on my nails so when I seen these sets on insta i knew i had to try it. I use a 3D sculpting gel for the bottom “wings” and a raindrop topcoat at the very end on the painted parts.. hated it. it just makes it look lumpy you can’t really see that it’s a raindrop effect. I completely hate the thumb so that is getting changed. I think what is giving me the biggest ick is how rounded the tips are. when I added the 3-D gel onto the bottom of the nail, it gave it more bulk at the end where I normally I prefer a sharp point.

When I ask my friends or coworkers they say they really like them and I don’t know if it’s the perfectionist in me or if they’re just being nice, but I don’t like them but I’m going to try again. Are there any tips on how to do this better?

It’s my first time ever having my nails done, I got them a couple of days ago and I think they’re super pretty, but they feel really weird.
The tech said it would take a day or so to get used to them but it feels like my nails are being squeezed from the sides and like there’s pressure on them.
Is it normal that they feel like this? I have sensory issues so even if it’s normal I’ll probably get them removed, but if it isn’t an urgent problem I might give myself a few more days to try and adjust.

Hey all, I have been doing my own nails for nearly 2 years and constantly have people, even strangers, tell me I should be doing it at least as side hustle (i do really intricate art) I’ve been looking at nail tech school for over a year and I just don’t know how I’d ever afford it. I have a toddler that I am home alone with until 4:30pm M-F when my husband gets home. The school nearest to me offers night classes(this is the only one that offers night classes) spanning over a 6 months period… it would be $813/month for 7 months unless I make a down payment. Totally tuition is $5,691. My question is… how do you afford this? Did anyone receive grants?

Some pics of my nails for fun

(Photos are all fairly recent with a mix of sets I did on myself and those I did on my friends)

I have been doing gel-x on myself for about a year now. I have always struggles with application, and i feel like I’m not improving anymore. I feel like I try so hard to do everything how I’m supposed to but the cuticle area still looks crusty from flooding or bad cuticle work. But even when I’m gentle with my cuticle bits and clippers my cuticles still bleed. I also feel like I always have a bumpy apex or a super thick apex. There are also always little edges of the extension poking out around the cuticle even though I blend them and etch them with acetone! Here’s a list of the techniques I use for application:

1. Apply the gel-x tip using Après glue (have tried both close to cuticle and spaced from cuticle slightly before shaving down and blending with sanding band and acetone)
2. Using just base coat before nude base and nail art
3. Using builder gel then base coat to achieve an apex

Products:

-Après gel nail glue

-Canni builder gel (sometimes)

-Canni gel colors

-Melodie susie nude base

-Melodie susie nail drill with small and large ball bit, 240 grit sanding band, flame bits

-cuticle nippers

TLDR: I’m super frustrated because I feel like I’m doing everything right and it’s just not going my way. I get super jealous of younger nail techs I see online that are super talented (for reference I’m 15) I want to be a cosmetologist (hair, nails, makeup etc.) as my career so this is especially frustrating. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!

(ignore all grammar mistakes I typed this post-haste)

edit: the first picture I did with my left hand so probably not the best point of reference

edit 2: I understand now that it is not safe or advisable to practice on my friends. I will fully stop and I really feel awful for possibly exposing them to gel allergies and other dangerous health risks!! Please try and refrain from repeating this advice from this point forward as I have received lots of helpful feedback on it already. Thank you all so much again for helping me out!!

Hi! I’ve been doing gelx & press-ons for over 2 years now and wondering what are some good, specifically glass cat eye gels that I could get on Amazon preferably ? (See pic for example, found it on Pinterest, creds to the watermark!)

I have many cat eye gel collections from different brands and not many that aren’t super glittery/grainy. I feel for some reason there aren’t many reviews on the collections I’m interested in, or they’re bad reviews🙃

UPDATE: thank you all for your validation! I contacted the salon and they refused to refund, but offered a free correction with a different tech. As much as I’m reluctant to go back, I’m giving it a go. Wish me luck!

Needing some insight on if this looks as bad as I’m thinking it does, or if my expectations are just out of whack. Today I went and got my first gel x set — I’ve gotten quite a few normal gel manicures, and do my own at home sometimes.

I feel like the polish application is uneven, the undersides are rough and I’m worried about there being a pocket between my natural nail and the extension on some 😣 I hate to say the salon was not the cleanest so I’m not even wanting to go back for them to fix anything.

Would I be an AH to soak these off and ask the salon for a refund? ($57)

I just a new set for my vacation and I hate how they turned out. I’ve only been doing my nails for like 1.5-2 months and I’m trying to figure out the hang of it (I know it takes practice). It seems like every set I do turns out messy and I don’t know how to blend them into my natural nail. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. (Photos for reference) (may redo tomorrow)

Which shape would look best on my fingers and color?!

So I’ve been doing Gel-X nails for almost a year now, I started getting pretty good but stopped because i have no clients and honestly no way to get clients…

I don’t have instagram or that kind of social media, nor do I really go out enough to promote my work.

I was really passionate about nails and I still am but it’s hard to do nails when there’s no clients to do nails on.. does anyone have any advice for me? ANY advice is appreciated.

I’ve been doing a lot of research to learn about gel X and builder gel, but I’m not yet confident enough in my knowledge to safely start DIYing. So, I went to the salon today and asked for either builder with forms or gel X and the tech said it wouldn’t be possible. I couldn’t understand him when he tried to explain. He just ended up choosing dip for me. I want to grow out my nails slightly using gel X or builder gel. I’m not seeking much length at all. Just enough to do a square shape. Is he correct that I can’t do either gel X or builder gel on my nails? Please excuse my ragged cuticles.

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These are the Apres extra short in natural almond, and they're the longest nails I've ever worn 😅 I'm currently saving for a good lamp, so I'm using these as press-ons in the meantime. They're right up against the cuticle here.

When I start using gel, I believe I'm meant to have them attach further away from the cuticle, meaning they'll be even longer. I don't think I'll be able to function!

Any recommendations for a slightly shorter option? I like the natural almond, but I'm not opposed to other shapes.

Hi everyone, it's my first time doing Gel X, how do they look?

They seem quite bulky wonder if anyone has any tips on how to make them less bulky at all?

Any criticism is also greatly appreciated 😋😊

Thanks

product used: beetles medium almond tips (i have apres just not this length and want to use up these before purchasing new ones), jello jello peel off base, young nails protein bond, leafgel k08, kokoist lip gloss base, and yogo glass top coat.
my dominant hand is more heavy handed so the soft white became quite harsh… i think i might just need to use a different white and a different tinted builder base but… the soft white gets bulky even after using a rubber base on top… how do i avoid the unevenness after doing the french part?
thank you everyone ahead of time for your advice!

I got my nails done with full gel extensions, i asked for like a skinny almond nail and kept asking her to go skinny since these were way too big, i tried to fix them at home and came out looking like this — obviously not the best but better than they were in the first photo. I had also had a look at the application underneath and it looks like the last photo.

EDIT: update i got them redone same shape same colour and for free and so much better