08/25/2026
I HAVE A SYSTEM. And it works.
After almost 20 years behind the nail table, I don’t do things a certain way just because that’s how I was taught. I do them because I know what works.
Lifting and breakage are not normal for my clientele. I’m not crossing my fingers hoping their nails make it until their next appointment. 😂
Every set I do follows the same process.
It starts with prep. I’m not aggressively filing the natural nail. I use my e-file with very little pressure and let the file do the work. I’m removing what needs to be removed and creating a clean surface for product.
Then I tip, cut and PRE-SHAPE before I ever lay acrylic.
I have always done this. Why make my hands do a ton of extra filing at the end when I can create the shape before I even start laying product?
When I lay acrylic, I’m already building the nail I want.
I’m paying attention to my cuticle area, my sidewalls, my structure and my product placement the entire time. I’m cleaning as I go. I don’t throw a bunch of acrylic on the nail and plan on filing it into submission later. 😂
By the time I pick up my file, I should be refining what I already built. Not trying to fix it.
And the same thing happens when my client comes back for a fill.
I DO NOT just fill the grow out.
I rebalance the entire nail.
Think about it. The nail has grown for 3, 4, sometimes apparently SIX weeks 😂 which means the structure I originally built has grown forward too. The apex has moved. The stress area has changed.
Putting acrylic in the empty space at the cuticle doesn’t magically put that structure back where it belongs.
So I rebalance it.
I restore the structure, clean everything up, reshape and refine the entire nail.
Basically, my clients are getting what feels like a fresh set every time they sit in my chair.
There isn’t one magic product responsible for my retention. There isn’t one secret prep trick. And the answer definitely isn’t filing the natural nail harder.
It’s the entire process.
Prep. Product control. Structure. Refinement. Rebalancing.
Every step has a purpose and every step affects the next one.
THAT is why I teach the WHY behind nails.
Because when you actually understand why you’re doing something instead of just memorizing steps, everything starts to make sense.
The photo on this post?
SIX WEEKS of growth.
No breaks.
Zero lifting.
My system works.
And this is exactly the kind of education Jamie Ferren Academy was created for. 🖤