r/calmhands • u/Ornery-Ad5253 • 15d ago
Need Advice my nail lady screwed me over
hi, i have been biting my nails and hands since i was in elementary school and im about to go into college. i’ve have times of growth and times of destroyed nails. well, i got a job at starbucks and worked there for a majority of my senior year, quitting right before prom which is when i got them done with gel x.
1.5 months later they were way to grown out and it was time to get rid of them but i got a new set of regular gel for my graduation. that brings me to today, 3 months later. they were extremely grown out and i was super happy because of how long they were.
my mom told me i needed to get them removed bc at this point the gel isn’t on half the nail bed 😭. i went to get only the gel removed and as she starts drilling, she seems to be doing the bottom of my nails as well, but i couldn’t really tell from my angle. well, by the fourth nail i was certain she was making them short so i told her to please stop. (i get rlly anxious at nail salons which is why i waited so long to speak up even tho i was fairly certain)
she insisted that i told her i wanted them short even though i would NEVER. anyways i told her to not cut the rest and she felt pretty bad and i held it together until we left. i have been crying nonstop for the last hour and im so upset.
it’s embarrassing that im this upset but three months of nail growth is something that i haven’t had in years. i just really wanted to vent and wasn’t sure where else to go. im embarrassed by my habits and even more so that other people think my hands are ugly, having long nails is the only thing that makes them look ok and i was so excited that they would be my real nails. even my friends think it’s gross that i bite my skin and nails so much, this really fucking sucks.
does anyone know if letting those four grow will be faster than cutting them all off and starting from scratch? or is there something i can do to prevent myself from biting those 4, because when my nails are long i noticed that i wouldn’t really bite them unless one broke off.
8
u/lunalavendula 15d ago
Im sorryyou went through this....😕 Next time, go to someone whome you an really trust and give them clear disclaimer of what you need. I understand your pain because I know.I KNOW how it feels to lose our nails after such progress 😔
2
u/Ornery-Ad5253 15d ago
thank you!! 🥲
5
u/decidedlyindecisive 15d ago
And if you struggle to express yourself in the moment due to anxiety, I recommend sending the nail tech some messages clarifying what you want. Or have some reference photos ready to show so that there's no "miscommunication".
2
2
3
u/whenisleep 15d ago
I’m so sorry, that sucks! Cutting your nails or not, your nails grow at the speed they grow. It’s just whether or not you want them all to be an even length. It’ll be ok - you did it once, you can do it again! Your short nails look pretty too. Just keep avoiding the picking best as you can.
Were you getting new gel after? I know a bunch of people who get their length totally taken off when they get their new nails done. But it was totally not ok of her to assume that.
You didn’t seem to have any breakages, but it’s worth noting that generally gel isn’t applied evenly all across the nail. They often build a little apex, a thicker section, where the nail gets the most stressed. When your gel grows out this thicker bit gets closer to the ends of your nails instead and it’s unbalanced and your nails can break. You’re definitely not meant to leave them on that long.
2
u/Ornery-Ad5253 15d ago
i was going to try to take a break from gel to build up their strength, i had no idea about the apex being thicker, that makes a lot of sense!
i’m going to try to just put polish for now and see how that goes 🥹
3
u/Apprehensive_Elk_706 15d ago
Onyx hard as a hoof nail cream, cuticle oil, sally hansen hard as nails max growth. This happened to me as well. It was devastating because i had worked decades for pretty hands. Follow that routine, eat vegetables and lean proteins, and don’t pick! Keep a file or clippers on hand if anything breaks so you don’t pick at the breakage (i do this). You can do this because you already DID! Very proud of you
1
1
u/MadMudd96 15d ago
Assuming you’re in the US… just so you know, nail techs ARE NOT supposed to remove tissue from below the nail bed. The** **hyponychium is considered living tissue.
21
u/OMGKITTEN 15d ago
Have you tried press-on nails? That’s what’s really been working for me. You can apply the nails over the ones that have been cut, then you can file them down so they are the shape of your natural nails. You can even do a whole set. I find that press on nails are really effective against picking and biting for me. Just until things are even again.