No enhancment product will strengthen the natural nail plate other than by coating it. Also, there is no system that actually damages the natural nail plate, all enhancment systems are acrylic and all are organic

Most gel lines would fulfill your needs.

Hi

From experience I don't think you learn all you need to know in 1 session with Bio Sculpture. It's great for natural nail overlays, but very faffy for extensions. If you are going to take so much care at creating extensions you get a bit sick of soaking them off each month. Also it is VERYexpensive.I have used NSI Balance but can sometimes see a shadow when they have been infilled. Not sure if this is me or the product changing colour. Have heard nothing but great things about BRISA Gel, so hope this is the answer to my prayers. (Now just have to perfect my gel smile lines) LOL. Not much but I hope it helps.

Marjorie
(Cookie)

Hiya

I use biosculpture and its great for natural overlays, french, colours. It is pricey but you get a good product. Its really a very easy system so dont worry about it, if you can use gel already you will catch on quick, it is really a conversion course so you do need a knowledge of gel. You get a video and a training manuel to refer to, and then you have a few weeks to practice before your exam, your area trainer is always happy to help on the phone aswell. Personally i dont use biosculpture much for extensions. Carnt help with the capping gel as i use my girlfriend buffer.

I trained with LCN can't complain about ther products and service but hav decided to look into the Akzents gel range. They hav a brighter white than LCN which is why I felt the need to investigate other products. If you look on the site polished .ca you can see many tutorial and many examples of wot the Akzents gel is capable of. Also the ladies at nailsplusbeauty.com (call them) are so helpful and give u 100% support and answer all your little questions in sooo much depth.

I would recommend both products!

I have been using Calbrook's Calgel Gel system. I did my training about three months ago now and am still not happy with the results I am getting.

Firstly I find that the product is ace if your just doing a one colour overlay or sculptered extension, however the minute you do an overlay on natural nail with french finish, the gel seperates at the free edge, even if you ensure product is placed over and around the edge to prevent shrinkage.

When you do a sculptured extention it is very thick at free edge, so you file down, but then have to apply french, which again goes too thick, and you need two coats to get anywhere near an even finish and still have to file down again. I have been doing these enhancements on a lot of my clients but they are taking me about 2 and a half hours to do to get them looking half decent. I am begining to loose faith in my ability here. Also Calgel claim to strengthen the natural nail, however on removal my own nails are in bits, they are waffer thin and bendy and are even curling up a touch on the free edge! HELP

Gina

Quick note here www.nailiteinc,com or www.idonails.com both carry an extra hard gel which is great for overlays...euro gel for a builder gel and reflex gel as a soft soak off gel...the prices are reasonable for newbies also love their gel additives...make and mix your own gels...the base gel is ok...wasnt happy with the calcium capping gel or new fiber gel...but the service has always been great the hologram gel also is wonderful..later maybe try out light elegance or azentz both offer good products...I wish I could comment on the new brisa gel but havent tried it yet ....good luck...

Can't help you in terms of experience as I have only just finished my training with Calgel and have several months before my assessment. However I had two nails done at Olympia, a tip plus overlay and a sculpture. They were both beautiful, lovely shape and lasted three weeks with no maintenance. Only removed them for the course! I have since done a natural french overlay on myself with no real problems. I have had several sets of acrylic (including creative) which all lifted as I appear to have very oily nails.
Anyway, my message is do not get despondent, I'm sure with some technical support from Calgel, help here at the geek site and loads more practise will get you there!

I am currently a devoted fan of Professionails UV Gel from Pronails based in Watford. I have used other makes in the past but this is by far the best I have tried. They have different systems for different services. Their coloured gels go on thin and offer good coverage. The Protech All In gel is my favoured system.

I recommend that you cure one nail at a time when doing french white UV gel. All gels tend to shrink back on themselves, so try curing one nail on one hand while applying gel to another nail on the other hand and keep swapping hands in and out of the UV lamp. It sounds complicated but I do this all the time. Once the whites are finished and you are doing the finishing layer the whole hand can be cured at the same time. I use Professionails UV Gels.

I use the Brisa system and found it easy and great to use..............
Brisa has a Technique a bit different from other gels..........
When I do the white with the sculpting gel or the paint on gel, I apply the White gel and freeze set for 10 seconds and move on to the next finger,when I get to the last finger I cure all 4 fingers for 2 minutes........
The 10 second freeze sets the gel enough, so it doesn't move in either shape or form........... So instead of doing one finger and set for 2 minutes, which would take to long for me, never been a patient bunny, I do four fingers in about 8 minutes.........

The white gel either sculpting or the painted one, when you get used to it works with you, just tickle and trickle it into place rather then pushing or painting it............ hard to explain without visuals, sort of guide it from the top, because if you try to paint or push it you get merengue and that takes ages to sort out................
The smile lines are easy if you make allowances for this gels working technique..
Always make sure that the nail prior to the Gel coating is the length and shape the clients wants........... because you need to cap the free edge, this makes allowance for any shrinkage from the free edge, and if you file after the gel coating, you cut the capping and it can peel or chip.......

On removeal the natural nail should be in the same condition as it was prior to any product application.......
over buffing to remove the shine is usualy a common error.................
Using a 240 grit in direction of nail growth, ones over the natural nail removes shine, go over it twice and it removes nailplate
HTH

Dear Sara,
I have been using ibd gel sytems for about 14 years (it used to be called Salon Essentials). I have tried and tested every gel system I could get my hands on over the years and this is the absolute best.
I have ran and profited my own nail salon for 12 years and ALL my clients wear Gel, so I think that is great proof that it's a great product. It's simple and fuss free. Also don't always go 100% with the companys instructions. I always say pick up as much info as you can off web sitse and other nail techs, your own experiences, mix it all together and make your own style. Do what works for you best. Remember too, every client is different and has different needs as well. You may not apply one infill the same as the next.
Good luck,
Remember us nail techs are 'Angels in dusty clothing'.
Aspenella.

Im probably being ignorant I know, but what is ibn gel?

IBD is a company (www.ibdbeauty.com)

I've been wearing Synergie gel by Youngs, I've had the product on for six months and have been thoroughly impressed by the product. I haven't had any lifting, breakages or problems, and |I even had a bad fall where i landed very hard, fractured my elbow in two places, and hit the tips of my nails and fingers very hard on the floor, grazing the skin off my finger ends - ouch - yes it did hurt alot -. My first thought was believe it or not oh no i've broken my nails !!!!!!, no they survived - i'm not sure what would have happened if I'd been wearing silk or acrylic though. You can also get a sealer top coat - uv activated which is fab prevents lifting and gives a lovely permanent shine. I've been told that the training is excellent at Youngs.

I've not used this gel myself, but my nail tech swears by it. Only one problem though and it may be the same for most gels - it can sometimes move a little when setting under the lamp.