The client nail record card every set should be logged on

Before the file touches the nail

• Record the state of the natural nail plateNote thickness, flexibility, any rings of fire from a previous tech, and whether the free edge is peeling. A one line description now explains a retention result three weeks from now.
• Note the shape of the cuticle and proximal foldWrite down whether the eponychium is tight, overgrown or inflamed. Tight folds are the ones that need careful prep, and that is where cuticle lifting starts.
• Log her hands at work and at homeAsk what she does with her hands all day and how often they are in water or gloves. A nurse, a baker and an accountant will not get the same wear from the same product.
• Capture allergies, sensitivities and medicationsRecord any reaction to acetone, monomer, adhesives or a specific brand, plus anything her doctor has her on that affects nail growth. Date the entry so you know when it was last confirmed.
• Photograph the hands before you beginTwo photos, palm down and side on, filed against the date. When a breakage complaint arrives a month later, the before picture settles the question without argument.

The set as you actually built it

• Write the brand and the exact color codeNames repeat across brands and get discontinued. The code is what lets you reorder or match it in eighteen months. Record any custom mix as the two codes plus the ratio.
• Record base coat, builder and top coat separatelyNote whether you used a rubber base, a hard builder, a soft gel overlay or a tip, and which top coat finished it. These three lines are where most lifting diagnoses are eventually made.
• Note lamp, wattage and cure time per layerDifferent products want different cures, and one under cured layer produces service breakdown that looks like client abuse. Write the lamp you used, because studios often have two.
• Log shape, length and apex placementRecord shape, length in millimeters or by your own scale, and where you set the apex. Repeat clients want the same result, and a broken nail tells you more when you know where the stress point was.
• Flag the fingers that needed special handlingMark any nail you filed thin, repaired, or built over damage. Note it by hand and finger position so the next appointment starts by checking that specific nail.
• Time the appointment phase by phaseRemoval, prep, application, art, finish. Write actual minutes, not your booking block. Over a month this tells you whether your appointment length is set correctly for this client.

What came back at removal

• Count the days the set was wornDate of application to date of removal. This single number is the most useful thing on the card, and it is the one nobody records. It is the basis of a rebooking interval that fits her.
• Describe where it failed and howLifting at the cuticle, chipping at the free edge, cracking across the stress area or shrinking away from the sidewalls are four different faults with four different causes. Name the one you actually see.
• Note whether she picked, bit or priedRecord it factually and without judgment, because it changes the diagnosis completely. A set that was pried off will show tearing of the plate rather than clean product failure.
• Check color performance separately from adhesionNote fading, dulling or staining apart from lifting. A top coat that goes cloudy on a client who uses hand sanitizer all day is a product choice problem, not a prep problem.
• Photograph the set at removalOne picture of both hands before you soak off. Filed next to the before picture, this pair is the retention evidence for that product and prep combination on that client.

The plan for her next set

• Set the rebooking date from her wear daysTake the days she actually wore it, subtract two or three, and book that date at the chair. A client who gets seventeen good days should not be on a twenty eight day reminder.
• Write the one change you will make next timeOne change per set, not three, so you can tell what worked. Thinner base at the cuticle, a longer cure, a shorter length, a different top coat. Name it before she leaves.
• Note what she said she wants nextShade direction, length, art for an event, or a wedding date on the calendar. Recording it turns your next confirmation message into something specific to her.
• Record the product cost of this setA rough figure for gel, tips, files and bits used. Across a month this is what makes your cost per set real instead of a guess when you rebuild your price.