A first visit to a new nail tech is always a little nerve-racking. On both sides, actually. Here is how to get ready for your first nail appointment so we are both happy with the result. Every time, I want to do good work for someone I am meeting for the first time and whose nails I know nothing about yet. So a few things from your side help enormously. Your first nail appointment: the short version To prepare for your first nail appointment you need three things: do not peel off the old product, do not do your own manicure the night before, and arrive with no oil on your hands. What not...

“Just a normal manicure, please.” There are in fact three different techniques behind that word: classic, e-file manicure and combination. I hear this every week. And every time I ask what “normal” means — because everyone means something different. There are three lines on the price list and they look nearly the same. In practice they are three different ways of working with the skin around the nail. And they suit different people. E-file manicure, classic and combi: the short version An e-file manicure is done with a bit and no cutting tool. Classic is cut with nippers, combination uses...

I get asked this almost every week. So let us work through how long gel polish lasts and what actually affects it. “Alina, mine came off after five days. Is it a bad gel polish?” Almost never the polish. And almost never just one reason. How long gel polish lasts in normal conditions Normally gel polish lasts three to four weeks. If yours goes in five days, the brand is rarely the reason — below I break down what really decides it. Coating doesn’t fail all at once It always starts lifting in a specific place. And each place tells you something different. Lifting at the cuticle — that’s a...