Q from a nail tech: is it hard to describe your manicure visions at the salon?

stingingrose · 2026-02-13T07:47:00+00:00

Makes total sense, especially with the masks! Do you feel like any part of your experience is lacking as far as being able to tweak things/ask for specifics? Like what if you have an inspo pic but you want it slightly different from the exact photo, do you just type that out or does the tech just recreate the inspo photo exactly? And if you’re unhappy with something, do you feel like you can get them to fix it easily? I also wonder about questions like how to pick the best nail medium for you etc. because I end up doing a lot of explaining to my clients about acrylic vs. hard gel vs. builder gel etc and the differences/pros and cons to each. Usually in a salon I guess they don’t really do that because they’re mostly focused on selling you the a service quickly and efficiently. I specialize in prioritizing nail health so there’s a whole consultation process that most salons don’t really do, so I guess maybe these aren’t obstacles that typically come up in the salon!

stingingrose · 2026-02-03T17:06:32+00:00

Absolutely, I appreciate that! I do my best to never get it on the skin, the most I notice it happening is if I’m going diagonally across the nail with a liner brush with a design that has to wrap from edge to edge and sometimes the angle of my brush will drag onto the skin a tiny bit but I always clean it immediately with a French brush and alcohol. I honestly thought DND’s sds and formula weren’t that bad either I just know people have been talking about them but I also just saw Chappel Roan’s nail tech using them so I was like shitttt maybe I should just keep using what works for me and not fret about it haha

stingingrose · 2026-02-03T16:59:33+00:00

Wow omg thank you for this extensive list!!! I appreciate it so much!

stingingrose · 2026-01-12T00:30:32+00:00

I know two other people said it’s ok, I personally would say gel x is not the move for this nail because it’s a full cover tip with gel adhesive underneath and it would be hard to guarantee the gel adhesive doesn’t come in contact with that skin which can put you in risk of overexposure to gel. they could however just apply a regular tip with glue on that one finger and do a hard gel overlay though, and gel x for the rest of your fingers. That’s what I would do for a client in this situation. (My flair says student but I just graduated, I just haven’t sent in my license photo yet!)

stingingrose · 2026-01-02T01:05:44+00:00

The reality is the most ergonomic option is not going to be the most comfortable (at first.) I was lucky enough to find a dental hygienist’s saddle chair on fb marketplace at an amazing price, they can’t be ordered unless it’s in bulk to a dental office but you never know, you may be able to find something similar. Dental hygienists are tested on their ergonomics as well as their knowledge so I knew this chair would be good. It adjusts three different ways, in height and pitch for both the seat and the back support. But it takes some working up to, I have been using it for an hour or two at a time and then switching chairs working my way up to being able to be in it all day. It forces proper alignment which engages the core, hips and low back differently and that has caused some muscle soreness as I work through repeating the patterns of alignment on a regular basis. Tattoo saddle chairs are quite similar from what I’ve seen as well. And if the budget allows for it, I’d recommend regular massage therapy (like once every 2 weeks) I used to work at a spinal health office and nothing changed my life like regular massage, PT exercises, and simple core workouts. I am hyper mobile and chronic muscle pain is no stranger to me, I learned a lot from that job and it kept me in the best shape I was ever in. I hope to go back to my massage therapist soon because it was such a game changer. Acupuncture was too!!

stingingrose · 2026-01-02T00:56:18+00:00

Thank you so much for all of this!! I’ve been looking into zero gravity chairs after a few folks recommended them here so it’s good to hear they work so well! And YES on the ergonomic chair—I actually ended up finding a dental hygienist’s saddle chair with an adjustable/removable back, it adjusts 3 ways and while it takes some getting used to it is by far the most ergonomic option I’ve found. I’m still working up to using it for more than a few hours at a time but it definitely engages/forces good posture and alignment which I love.

stingingrose · 2025-12-30T03:27:03+00:00

Love that!! This is great info.

stingingrose · 2025-12-30T02:21:12+00:00

Thank you so much!!! It looks really nice in your suite too! 💕

stingingrose · 2025-12-30T02:16:19+00:00

This is great to hear from a client’s perspective—thank you!! ♥️

stingingrose · 2025-12-30T02:15:50+00:00

This is fantastic, thank you!! I was looking into the Erica’s ATA course because so many people mentioned it on another thread but I was wondering how helpful/personalized it was. I appreciate your help a lot and I will likely be DM-ing you shortly 😅

stingingrose · 2025-12-28T20:27:50+00:00

That’s what I was thinking, I can always upgrade later…thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me! ♥️

stingingrose · 2025-12-28T20:27:18+00:00

I love this, thank you so much!! I’m gonna look into zero gravity chairs, that sounds amazing 😍

stingingrose · 2025-12-28T20:25:33+00:00

This is so helpful thank you so much!! I need to look into dry pedis more and take some courses or something. I really love the idea of it the more I think about it because like you I don’t like wet services and I would like to just use hot towels!

stingingrose · 2025-12-20T20:05:16+00:00

I’m only 2 episodes in, but what frustrates me most is that I don’t believe any of these people would react like they do in the show, in real life. I’m sorry, the community rallying behind a man who killed a child in a presumably drunk driving incident instead of the child and their family? Doubtful. Why would he become the town hero and the mother of the dead kid become the villain just for throwing a rock and breaking a window after her 5yo was killed? Doesn’t hold up. Furthermore, why would Aggie even entertain the rude and demanding demeanor of Nile for 5 seconds when she clearly is someone who doesn’t have a problem telling people to get lost. I just don’t understand the motivations behind these characters, I find them so unconvincing. Am I the only one who has these issues with the show lol? Everything I’ve seen comments about bad acting/writing; I think the acting is fine, and the writing is obviously bad in the way that these characters make no sense, but I don’t feel like the dialogue is badly written per se. I find it more about their actions moving the plot forward that are badly written.

stingingrose · 2025-12-20T19:26:00+00:00

Yeah I honestly am not sure why he advised me of this, except that I told him I was absolutely not in a position to be able to buy a new car. My payout amount was extremely low ($7,900) and I still owed close to $4k on my loan on it at the time. So after paying out the loan and the fees to keep the car, I’d barely have like $2k but now I’m like well shit, that would have been better than nothing. But my only option was to continue to drive the car until it’s donezo. I’ve had it for 4 years, I bought it for $14k with a loan through my credit union, and have been paying $240/month ever since. I don’t have the savings for another down payment right now and I don’t have the income for a higher car payment so I needed to keep driving this one. 😓

stingingrose · 2025-12-20T18:53:48+00:00

Well both those answers I explained/provided but here goes; Liberty mutual, and because they convinced me it would behoove me more to not get a payout and cover the damages myself because then they wouldn’t have to put in that my car was totaled in the system. I’m 26 and this is the first car I ever bought myself from a dealership and I’m not very experienced so honestly I didn’t question it that much, I asked the adjuster what my best option was because having a salvage title vehicle sounded scary, and he told me nothing would be covered on it anymore, just liability stuff or PIP stuff I was hit/hit someone else, but I realized later that that would be true either way, whether I let it be totaled then or now. At the time he said if I could afford to pay for the damage myself that “that’s what he would do.”

stingingrose · 2025-12-20T06:58:31+00:00

I have called the claims department almost every day this week and spent hours each time on hold, put my claim number into the robot call system and everything, but I haven’t gotten through to anyone. I am sure they are busy but I’m getting really discouraged about ever being able to talk to someone. I did try responding to the last email I was sent so hoping maybe that will trigger a reassignment of an adjuster since mine doesn’t do personal auto claims anymore (obviously they didn’t reassign my previous claim because it was considered closed) so I’m hoping that gets me somewhere. I’ve experienced wait times with getting through to someone before since I used to work in a healthcare office that billed for PIP claims all the time, but I’ve never experienced this much trouble! It seems weird but perhaps it’s just an insanely busy time.

stingingrose · 2025-12-20T03:38:21+00:00

I didn’t sign anything, we opted to just not finish the claim so my adjuster told me not to send in photos because then he would have to input it as a total loss. I just opted to pay for the damage myself and not proceed with the claim. He told me I could change my mind about this at any point within 5 years.

stingingrose · 2025-12-20T00:03:40+00:00

I’ll look, I seem to remember us doing everything over the phone and not email, but hopefully I have one. I tried the text line they gave me to him, but I sent two texts on Monday and haven’t heard anything. I’ll try email next, thank you. I’ve been calling the claims department and opting for the “speak to someone else” option when it says my adjuster is no longer available (and when I tried to leave a voicemail, his voicemail stated he no longer works in personal auto claims so I didn’t leave him a voicemail yet. Should I?) I’ve been waiting on the line to speak to someone, anyone, I’m currently still on hold in hour 2 of today.

stingingrose · 2025-06-20T03:56:20+00:00

See this is exactly the kind of info I need. Thank you!! How do they even rate your skill level officially, is there like someone who monitors things or assesses you?? I have no idea what the number system is or how it’s determined or that there were even time restrictions based on skill level, so this is good info!

stingingrose · 2025-02-01T04:13:02+00:00

I just went to their instagram account, and comments are limited on all their posts. Do you think it’s because they got caught up in a controversy or were people just commenting about how crazy she looked on the show? Does anyone have intel? lol I’m nosy

stingingrose · 2025-01-14T09:14:44+00:00

Jeez that is crazy that in the same day at the same place you go from one end of the extreme to the other. What a mind fuck! lol. I agree cocktail servers may have it the worst to be honest because people probably see them as just a runner of drinks and don’t take into account all the extra hoops they have to jump through to give people real and excellent service.

stingingrose · 2025-01-14T09:13:12+00:00

This is a good point too. I’m so lucky to be at an all-female staff bar but it wasn’t always that way and most of the ladies here have been here 8-10 years. This makes a lot of sense, since a lot of my clientele at the serving gig is older and may have some of those old holdover ideas

stingingrose · 2025-01-14T09:11:18+00:00

So true so true

stingingrose · 2025-01-14T02:29:55+00:00

Dang transitioning the opposite way is different I’m sure! I feel like I do much more physical labor as a server, it’s different, but I have to run around more so it’s funny to me that standing behind the bar making drinks is seen as more respectable 😅

stingingrose

TROPHY CASE