My old instructor griped about gel polish when it blew up in 2010, and I finally see her side

Adam Chen · 2026-10-02T00:45:06.978119+00:00

I ran into my old nail instructor Rosa at a supply shop in Sacramento a couple weeks ago and she went off about how nobody learns a proper manicure anymore now that gel does all the work. Back when I trained in 2008 we spent six weeks just on cuticle work before we touched any color, and she thinks that foundation is getting lost. I pushed back at first because gel pays my bills and clients love that it lasts three weeks without a chip. But then she asked me what I do when a client has damaged nails and gel is off the table, and honestly I froze for a second. Any of you who came up in that era, do you still teach the dry manicure basics to new hires or does it feel like a waste of time now?

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My old instructor griped about gel polish when it blew up in 2010, and I finally see her side | Cosmetologists - Chatter Central