How long are gel nails supposed to last/stay put ?

cheburashka

cheburashka

ON ROTATIONS !!!!!
O.G.
Mar 25, 2008
1,928
11
#1
I just got gel nails for the first time - I bite my nails and wanted to look professional for my graduate school interviews. The entire process took over 1.5 hrs, but mostly because the person doing my nails kept answering the phone and was really distracted. They charged me 42$ and I left a 6 $ tip. Well, it's only been 5 days and half the nails fell off today ! :cursing:

I haven't really done anything, just have been carrying on with my daily activities. I was under the impression that these will last me at least a couple weeks, not 5 days ! Is this normal or did the person doing them do a bad job ? What should I do ?
 
#2
i get gel nails done every 3-3 1/2 weeks, and it lasts that long. I think you need to find someone else to do your nails...the person who did yours sound unprofessional. My nails NEVER fall off and I cook every meal, clean, type at work, etc. My nails look good until the last day and i only go in b/c of the regrowth. I wish you luck! Keep us posted.... i'm sorry this happened to you!!
 
#3
A full set of nails by a good and experienced technician should only take between 45 - 60 mins to apply (with or without phone calls). Follow up visits for infills (aka refills) can be anywhere between 3 - 6 weeks. Although retired now, I did nails for over 25 years and found that 4 weeks was the average gap between visits for the majority of my clients.
I'd definitely be looking for another nail tech. She seems inexperienced and your hard earned money would be best off going to someone who knows what they're doing (and can provide you with good service).
 
#4
I used to have pink & white gel nails for about 2 years (maybe a little more) and I think I can count the number of nails I lost with just one hand (and not using all my fingers). It would take a really hard hit to the hand to make a nail come off. I would sometimes go a month without going back to get a refill because I was lazy. The only thing that would happen when I did that was that my real nail grew which made my gel nails appear to be longer. But they hardly EVER lifted or came off. And the guy that would do my nails would have me out of there in 30 minutes sometimes.
 
#5
softchickenyou said:
i get gel nails done every 3-3 1/2 weeks, and it lasts that long. I think you need to find someone else to do your nails...the person who did yours sound unprofessional. My nails NEVER fall off and I cook every meal, clean, type at work, etc. My nails look good until the last day and i only go in b/c of the regrowth. I wish you luck! Keep us posted.... i'm sorry this happened to you!!
Click to expand...

Mine last about that long as well, although by week 3 i'm in pretty desperate need of a fill. There is no reason your nails were coming off in five days- but I have had my share of bad nail techs/salons and it's just a matter of finding a good one. I love having my nails, and the convience of only having to deal with them every few weeks. I'm sorry you had a bad experience.
 
#6
I've worn acrylics off and on for years, and I have a friend who wears gels, so I've been around nail salons a bit. You had a bad nail tech who did a bad job. There's NO reason your nails should have fallen off after 5 days - gels, acrylics, whatever. Even the temporary "party nails" last longer than that!

Definitely find a new salon. Perhaps look in the yellow pages or even google or Craigslist to find some salons in your area that do gels.

I also just wanted to throw out there that I know what you mean about biting your nails and wanting gels to look nice. I don't bite my nails, but I have a tendency to pick at them. I've finally been able to stop doing it, but previously wearing acrylics was really the only way I could keep my hands looking good. For some reason I just left my hands alone when I had false nails on!
 
#7
It sounds like she's still learning the ropes, when I was learning how to do nails, I had a few problems with some of the nails falling off too, it's just part of the learning experience.
She'll get it right, but you should go back and let her see the error. Everyone has to learn right. That's what Id want and Im sure that's what anyone in her shoes would want too.
 
#8
My mother is a nail technician & when she was practicing gel on me, it lasted a LONG time without chipping. I'd let her know what happened to yours & ask if a more experienced nail tech at that salon could fix it for you (of course, this is if it's at a discounted cost or if they do it for free).
 
#9
WOW! I've honestly never had one chip or come off! The closest I came was when I had overlays, and they would sometimes separate from the real nail. My nails grow lightening fast, and I could still go a couple weeks minimum.
 
#11
I've done gel nails before, and all of them last really long. I've had them on for 6 weeks the longest and only 1 of my 60 crystals fell off through my normal routines. But none of my gel nails have ever fall off or whatever.
I usually pay around $50 Canadian for them or a bit more if I have more rhinestones & get those clay designs on (flower designs).
 
#13
I worn gels pretty consistently since high school and I never had a problem with them falling or breaking off. In 7+ years of wearing them, I've only ever had one break on me and that was when my finger got rammed into by a sailboat. On me they usually lasted about 4 weeks before they really needed to be filled, however I can't stand a lot of nail growth so I would go and get them refilled and filled down about every two weeks.

I would definitely look for another nail tech. It sounds like your problems were because of her inexperience with applying them.
 
#14
I'm a nail esthetician myself, and usually if they do a good job the nails do not come off till your next visit (aka, when they have grown out and you think it looks ugly). Usually about a month. I have had gel nails done that hadn't come off for over 3 months!
And if you use a lot of glitter on your nails, light shades tend to stay on longer opposed to black/navy glitter!
 
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