My French is chipping after 8 hours!

[BlahWah]

This is the first time I've gotten a French manicure, the third time I've gotten a manicure of any kind. The first two stayed for a good week before any signs of chippage, and this one's chipping in less than 1/2 a day! Any suggestions to repairing it, or should I just cover w/ a top coat and leave it alone? I got it as a b-day gift and am using it for my sis' wedding which is next Saturday (July 14th)**. I can accept small chippage after several days, but at this rate I don't know if I'll have much of a French left!

** I'm getting it now b/c I've taken 2 weeks of Starbucks shifts off to help my sis run around, but once I get back I'll have to take it off, and it'd be horrible to remove a manicure after 4 days max!

 

[MiCHiE]

Try to dab some (very little) white polish on the edges and cover it again with top coat. That's the best you can do without getting it re-done. Sorry to tell you, if it's chipping already, it's going to be a PITA to keep on for the next week.

 

[tropical_smiles]

I've been told by the nail lady I've been to is every day before you sleep, go put a clear polish on top of it..and then run it on the edge and underneath. It works like a charm and I can keep it usually for two weeks doing that before I ram in it into something sharp.

Then I came across french manicures in a box. it comes with the natural pink polish and the white and a top coat polish and also these strips that you stick on your nail. So you paint the white on one side and then coat it afterwards and VOILA your own french nails all for less then 8 dollars!!! I love it...all my friends think I am always at a salon because I do them myself and they wonder how much money I blow a week. But really ha ha it's 8 dollars that I bought like a year ago!!! The only thing i need to rebuy is the strips! It was the best investment I've ever made!

 

[hunnybun]

i've never been able to keep a french manicure w/ just paint pristine for an entire week.

a touch up trick that i use is to take a fine grade emery board and very lightly buff the chipped area before i fill it in with white polish. this softens the edges around the chip so the touch up doesn't look as obvious.

then i'd put a longwearing clear coat on once a day and avoid unnecessary exposure to water to prolong the life of the manicure as much as possible. yeah -- i agree w/ the above. total pita!!!

good luck!

 

[jmgjwd]

Maybe if you go back to the nail place the will fix the chip for you, I don't know if or what they would charge you though

try wearing rubber gloves whenever you can, like washing dishes or cleaning, to help it stay on for the next few days. Don't put tons of layers of polish on cause that will make it peel.

whenever I get a french done I make sure to stay as long as I can under the dryer too...

 

[BlahWah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmgjwd Maybe if you go back to the nail place the will fix the chip for you, I don't know if or what they would charge you though try wearing rubber gloves whenever you can, like washing dishes or cleaning, to help it stay on for the next few days. Don't put tons of layers of polish on cause that will make it peel. whenever I get a french done I make sure to stay as long as I can under the dryer too...

They didn't have a dryer!!!!

I thought of going back to them but they're a bit far from me and with all the running around for the wedding I can't justify going back for a chip. I'll do what I can to help it stay but if it doesn't, I'll just paint it over myself then. Grr, seems like such a waste of a b-day gift!

 

[chameleonmary]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ♥MiCHiE♥ Try to dab some (very little) white polish on the edges and cover it again with top coat. That's the best you can do without getting it re-done. Sorry to tell you, if it's chipping already, it's going to be a PITA to keep on for the next week.

i do this and i find i can drag my manicure out an extra weekend or so... and the minute you get your french polish done, apply 2 coats of topcoat, and a coat every day, or other day at least for the first week!

 

[bebs]

mine have never lasted more then a week on my finger nails, if it chipped within the first day go back in and ask them to re do it for you, most places will re do it without a problem or blinking an eye.

(most of the time they tell you the french tips last about 3 days before chipping)

 

[thelilprincess]

yeah, my manicures usually don't last too long (i don't wear gloves when i do dishes, so that's expected) but french manicures last even less. if i need it done for a special occasion, i have it done 1-2 days before the event.

if it chips the same day, i go back and have the chipped one fix. i don't use a dryer - usually have one hand in front of a mini-fan while the gal works on the other hand. the only time i've used that UV light is when i get acrylics done (i hate acrylics, but have to use them like a total of 4-5 times in my life)

my pedicures (whether french or not) always last longer.

my favorite part of a mani/pedi is when they clean the cuticles (and yes, when they cut the cuticles - so bad, i know. but i try to just push them back, but i like the look of them cut) i learned how to give myself a french maincure. done the one with the stickers strips - and i hate it. the lines are never smooth. and my fingers are fat - so those strips curve too much and makes a weird shape.

the french it all in the brush you use to clean the polish off to make that white strip - they're cheap if you can find it. i bought some from Sally's for $5-10 and they all sucked. my friend's mom is a manucurist and got me one for $8 and it's the best! my french white and beige are from OPI - i bought it off clearance at ULTA. and i'm so fast at it now - seriously can get both feet done in 15 minutes.

anyhow, i still like going to ger mani/pedis every now and then - but i prefer to save my money for other indulgences like my Dermalogica moisturizer, makeup, clothes, etc. hahaha. but like i said, i like it when they clean up my nails - i can't seem to make it look good myself.

 

[Beauty Mark]

It sounds like you had a bad manicure, unless you were particularly abusive towards your nails.

I'd personally go back to the salon to show them.

 

[MiCHiE]

Bad mani., thick polish, bad products will cause chipping. It is especially important to remove the shine from the nail for longer-lasting results, also. Many techs do this with a block buffer (which I hate) or the gray side of a 3-way buffer. Many of the ladies who get a French from me brag about their polish lasting at least one week, no extra top coats added. I think it's all in the products and technique.

 

[BlahWah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bebs if it chipped within the first day go back in and ask them to re do it for you, most places will re do it without a problem or blinking an eye.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beauty Mark It sounds like you had a bad manicure, unless you were particularly abusive towards your nails. I'd personally go back to the salon to show them.

I'd go back but they're too far away to justify the fix, unfortunately. After my 4th chip (3 different nails) I almost brought myself to go, but argh, it's not worth it to go back and forth so much. I was going to show them when we got our pedicure this Friday, but I'm joining my sis now with a mani-pedi-facial bundle which another salon is giving us (where I had my first manicure, a good one at that!), so I'll just get my nails redone in the bundle. Sad to see this one go to waste, tho! If it weren't for the bundle I'd fix it up myself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ♥MiCHiE♥ Bad mani., thick polish, bad products will cause chipping. It is especially important to remove the shine from the nail for longer-lasting results, also. Many techs do this with a block buffer (which I hate) or the gray side of a 3-way buffer. Many of the ladies who get a French from me brag about their polish lasting at least one week, no extra top coats added. I think it's all in the products and technique.

Well, she used Essie products, so I thought the products used would be fairly decent, but maybe Essie's French/white polishes aren't that great? Buff she did, top coats I'm adding.. I think it's b/c she didn't cover the tips, which I had on my first mani, which lasted at least a week before chipping. Is that usually done?

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelilprincess anyhow, i still like going to ger mani/pedis every now and then - but i prefer to save my money for other indulgences like my Dermalogica moisturizer, makeup, clothes, etc. hahaha. but like i said, i like it when they clean up my nails - i can't seem to make it look good myself.

Yeah, as nice as they are, I think I'm just going to learn myself. I'd rather save the $$ for more MAC!

 

[Beauty Mark]

Essie is good, but if the product is old, not taken care of (left in the heat, left partially uncapped, etc.), it doesn't matter what you use. It goes bad

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlahWah ** I'm getting it now b/c I've taken 2 weeks of Starbucks shifts off to help my sis run around, but once I get back I'll have to take it off, and it'd be horrible to remove a manicure after 4 days max!

They don't let you have your nails done at Starbucks?

I can't imagine any place not wanting to have a woman's nails done. They look so much better. I can understand not wanting like 1inch long acrylic kitty cat claws. Or not allowing chipped nails. But just having french tips? I'm gonna have to look closer at the girls fingernails around the starbucks that I go to, but I'm pretty sure they can have their nails done.

I know when I worked at WetSeal, we HAD to have our fingers painted, and our toes painted as well if we had open toed shoes. And chipped nail polish was not allowed, so you had to keep it looking nice.

Personally I just get acrylics when I get my nails done. I like clicking my nails together and i type a lot, so regular nail polish just chips WAY to easily. Acrylics look nice the whole time.

 

[MiCHiE]

I'm guessing it's because their handling food, preparing drinks and whatnot. Not allowing enhancements and even polish is common. When that polish chips, it may be in your next latte.

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ♥MiCHiE♥ I'm guessing it's because their handling food, preparing drinks and whatnot. Not allowing enhancements and even polish is common. When that polish chips, it may be in your next latte.

Yah i guess. But regular nails can chip/break as well. Not to mention you could always wear gloves. I'd be a lot more worried about someone handling money at the cash regester and preparing my food, then the rare chance their polish would chip into my food/drink.

I guess the last thing I've ever worried about was if the person making my drink's nails were to chip while making it. How would you ever know anyways? I mean, i guess if an entire acrylic nail were to fall in your lattee you might know LOL. But you have to try pretty hard to break off the plastic nail once it's glued to your finger, and I can't see someone picking at their nails while poring your drink LOL!

 

[MiCHiE]

Well, that's why all that is not allowed. People DO pick at enhancements and peel off their own polish. Natural nails are supposed to be kept short, also.

 

[Raerae]

I wasn't disagreeing with you =p

 

[thelilprincess]

i know iif you work at most hospitals (all that i've been to) that nails have to be kept short (1/4 inch is the longest they allow in their dress code) and absolutely no acrylics b/c they they can harbor bacteria.

i dunno about polish though.

 

[BlahWah]

^ Well, looks like the q has been answered - thanks Michie! It's industry standard (at least in Canada, definitely for Starbucks globally) not to wear any polish at work. They can fire you over it b/c they can be sued b/c of it... or at least someone can attempt to sue, and that's troubling enough. I was told that when I applied for Lettieri as well.

That said... I admit I apply a new topcoat before every shift b/c my nails split from the sanitizer we use, and moisturizing after every hand wash/bus/clean up gets hassling, if not impossible. Gloves are possible, but gets in the way when handling pitchers, cups, cash... you get the idea. It's a gruelling job on the hands. =T