After your appointment
Keep your set fresh
01 First 24 hours
The product is still settling, so give it a gentle first day.
Avoid long hot baths, hot tubs, saunas and steam rooms — heat softens the product and can lift the edges.
Keep chlorine and salt water off your nails today.
Gloves on for dishes, cleaning and anything with chemicals.
Try not to knock the tips — heavy typing, opening doors or digging in a bag is where a fresh set chips.
02 Every day
Cuticle oil 2–3 times a day. This is the number one thing that makes a set last. Dry cuticles peel and lift, and a lifted edge is where a set starts to fail.
Hand lotion after every hand wash, then pat the nails dry instead of rubbing them.
Gloves for cleaning, dishes, gardening and any harsh product — household cleaners dull shine and loosen the seal.
Sunscreen on your hands keeps chrome, cat-eye and bright colors from fading.
03 Your nails are not tools
Use the pads of your fingers for typing, opening cans and lids, peeling labels, scratching and prying things open.
Longer sets need a lighter touch — press with the side of the nail rather than the tip.
Boxes, car doors, gym equipment and zippers are the usual breakage culprits.
04 If something lifts, cracks or goes missing
Don't pull it. A lifted nail is a doorway for water and bacteria, and pulling takes layers of your natural nail with it.
Trim the loose part short so it can't snag, keep it dry, and come in for a repair — basic repairs are $5 per nail.
Notice a green spot, a smell, or pain under a nail? Come in right away — that's trapped moisture, not something to wait out.
05 At home, keep it gentle
No buffing or filing the surface — it takes the shine off and thins the product.
No acetone polish remover on a gel or acrylic set.
Clean under the free edge with a soft brush and mild soap, then dry well.
Skip the pumice stone and foot files between visits — that's what your next appointment is for.
06 Toes
Moisturize around the toes daily and oil any dry skin so nothing peels or snags.
Give freshly done toes room — tight shoes press the sides and dent a set that hasn't fully settled.
Dry well after bathing; moisture trapped at a lifted edge is where problems start.
07 Stay ahead of the growth
The seam where your new growth meets the product is the weakest point of the set.
Book your next fill before that gap gets long — the longer you wait, the more likely the set is to lift or break at the base.
Hard on your hands? Tell Keii. The right length and shape for your day-to-day life makes a set last weeks longer.
08 Coming off right
Never peel or pry a set off at home — it strips the top layers off your natural nails, and they take weeks to grow out.
Come in for a soak-off ($15) so your natural nails stay strong and healthy.
Arrive with bare nails for your next appointment — Keii doesn't work over another nail technician's work.
Always
- Oil your cuticles 2–3 times a day
- Lotion your hands after every wash
- Wear gloves for dishes, cleaning and gardening
- Pat nails dry, and dry under the free edge
- Use the pads of your fingers, not the tips
- Sunscreen on your hands to keep color from dulling
Never
- Use nails to open cans, lids, labels or boxes
- Pick, peel or pry at the product
- Buff or file the surface at home
- Soak in hot tubs, saunas or long hot baths on day one
- Put acetone polish remover on a gel or acrylic set
- Peel a set off at home
Something not right?
Send Keii a photo
Lifting, a cracked nail, a color that isn't sitting right — message her instead of picking at it. Fixing it early keeps your natural nails intact.