ASK THE Experts

Our beauty experts answer your questions about every aspect of running a salon or spa business

How do I avoid making any mistakes in my nail prep?

One common mistake is not carrying out a consultation, which is crucial in fully understanding your client’s requirements and also often a legal requirement to ensure the validity of insurance. Key findings should include: an understanding of the client’s occupation, lifestyle and any hobbies, whether they suffer with any allergies and if they take medication. Following a consultation, to correctly prepare the nail plate and surrounding skin for product application, there are a few steps to include to avoid errors:

1. Invest in quality tools

Quality tools will give a superior finish with minimum effort. They will also last longer than cheaper tools if looked after well, therefore offering a much better return on investment.

2. Make sure the nail plate is completely free of any cuticle

People often call the proximal nail fold the cuticle when in fact cuticles are the dead skin fixed to the nail plate and are quite often invisible to the naked eye. The aim is not just to push and gently lift the proximal nail fold, it’s to also remove all the dead skin on the nails to avoid product lifting prematurely.

The key is to use a cuticle pusher that is gentle but also sharp enough. Start with a pushing/scraping motion from halfway down the nail and you’ll note how much more you can remove. Brush the excess off with a nail brush and scrape off anything left around the sidewalls and proximal nail fold using a curette and cuticle nippers.

3. Use the correct nail prep products

Always refer to the product manufacturer’s advice when it comes to properly preparing the nail plate. For example, find out which product they advise to use to clean the nails, or whether a primer or bonder is required. Not all brands are this thorough, so it is wise to make sure you understand your system and follow each suggested step, otherwise this can severely impact how long your enhancement work will last.

4. Use a reputable brand

Do your research before you invest in a brand. Reputable brands should offer training; if they don’t it should be a red flag! Read the literature regarding your options as thoroughly as possible and choose a brand that best suits you and your clients’ needs. Train with your chosen brand so that you can become an authority on their product collection, their functions and how best they are applied and used.

Some techs like to offer a selection of different brand options so that they have more to offer their clients – but make sure you do not mix the brands and that your lamps are suitable for the systems you use. Others, like me, prefer to align with one brand and get to understand it completely. The choice is yours.

Julie-Anne Larivière is a Salon System Gellux expert and the owner of Sketched by J-A Nails.

What are metameres and how can I work on them in my treatment?

Metameres are zones or segments located along the spinal cord through which the grand sympathetic nervous system runs. Each segment is approximately 4-5cm in depth.

These segments run horizontally from right to left along the back, from top to bottom.

The first segment is responsible for the thyroid, followed by the lungs, heart, liver, gall bladder, spleen, pancreas, stomach, kidneys, large intestine and finishing on the small intestine.

" THE INSTABILITY of an internal organ is reflected on the CORRESPONDING ZONE in the FORM OF SKIN and muscle tension or AESTHETIC PROBLEMS "

The instability of an internal organ is reflected on the corresponding zone in the form of skin and muscle tension or aesthetic problems. Typically, treatments in Europe would be conducted via a massage in order to stimulate each of these treatment zones. However, Gelida Medica technologies are able to stimulate this with a sinusoidal wavelength to improve the function of the organ.

The stimulation of these target zones improves the signals being delivered via them, positively impacting the organs that the metamere connects to.

Treatment of the metameres can be administered three times a week. Due to the nature of this procedure, it can be incorporated prior to virtually any other treatment, such as massages or facials.

The feedback from therapists using this prior to other treatments is that their clients feel they are really getting a VIP treatment; it’s helping to improve their organ health while having a pamper.

As a standalone treatment, metamere stimulation can take a minimum of eight minutes, depending on the programme selected. Therefore, it can be easily incorporated into other treatment timings.

Clients who follow the recommended three treatments a week note a wide range of benefits, including an improvement in bladder function. One of our case studies said she felt like she had a lot more energy due to the fact she was no longer waking in the middle of the night following her course of treatments.