I clipped the tip off of an acrylic nail and it flew up my nose. I tried to blow my nose but it wouldn’t come out. It was in my nose for about two hours. I had just called to let my husband know I was on my way to the emergency room when I finally blew it out.
DARLENE SAMMONS, Miller-Motte Technical College, Chattanooga, Tenn.
My first mishap was when I first starting to work with celebrities. I was booked for a manicure and I needed to have acrylic. I applied my acrylic with an orangewood stick. Yes, an orangewood stick. I did not have a brush in my kit.
MAISIE DUNBAR, Maisie Dunbar Spa Lounge, Silver Spring, Md.
I put on a full set of pink-and-whites and realized at the end that I forgot the primer. Of course they all popped off the next day.
PAMELA CRUDUP, Paul Albert Salon & Spa, Ashland, Mass.
I was trying to open a tube of glue, but it was stuck. I gripped it between my teeth, and it tore away just under the lid area. Glue spilled into my mouth and onto my lips. It stuck part of my lips together and made it difficult to spit. A small amount of acetone fixed the stuck lips so I was able to rinse out my mouth with lots of water. I had the added indignity of bits of white tissue stuck to various parts of my mouth and lips. I could taste nail glue for ages. The worst part of all this is I had a client sitting across the nail table and she was almost on the floor in hysterics with tears rolling down her face. She did finally come to my assistance.
NANCY ROSEWALL, Girl Talk, Carseldine, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
I was doing nails for the cover of Essence magazine and the room was full of celebs, top stylists, and the top brass from Essence. The legs on my portable table weren’t locked and the table collapsed. My cotton balls were in a glass canister and crashed to the concrete floor making the loudest noise and causing everyone to look in my direction. In trying to clean up the spill, I cut my finger. Fellow manicurist Von Christmas saved the day with a bandage and finger cot to cover my finger. Since then, I always check that the legs are locked on my table when I do a travel appointment!
MARGARET THOMAS, It’s a Secret Salon, Culver City, Calif.
I was giving a client a pedicure and turned my head to reach for some product. When I turned back, I saw red in the water. I panicked and started letting the water out of the tub, worrying that I had cut my client and she was bleeding. When the water drained out we saw two brown pieces in the tub. I picked them up and they were M&Ms; she had dropped two red ones in the tub.
KAREN NEW, Spa Touch, Orlando
Nail techs should never talk with their hands while working on clients. I was using my e-file on a client and I lifted my handpiece while my head was down. The file twisted in the hair that was hanging down and took the file all the way to my scalp! All I could do was reach over and shut off the file. Once we stopped laughing, I had to have her get another bit to remove the one in the handpiece so we could remove the whole thing from my head.
LYNNETTE DIAZ MADDEN, Salon 29, East Greenville, Pa.