Does anyone know how I can tell whether the bulbs are the problem with my lamp. I bought it off ebay after qualifying last year, still very new to the business. It seems to work sometimes and not others and deffinitely takes longer than 90 seconds to cure when it does cure. It does not carry a brand name and deffinitely comes from outside the UK. Before dashing off out to buy a new one I was hoping someone could advise. I have only used it a few times and it was purchased as new unused.

Any advice on how to tell if it is the bulbs would be appreciated.

Hi and welcome to the site

You say in your profile that you use NSI... if you're using NSI gels then I would forget about trying to fix the UV lamp you have and get the UV lamp that NSI recommend for their UV Gel range.

Hope this article will help a bit... Choosing a UV Lamp for your Gel System

the best scientific way is by using a UV output meter which will confirm the level of output...unfortunatley these cost hundreds of pounds..the other alternative is call in a speciolist company that will come and test it for you (also expensive)
The problem with where you have bought it from is that you dont know how many hours have already been used on the lamp..a general sign of a knackered over used lamp is slight blackening at each end..or as you are finding curing time is excessive

Given that these things are relativley cheap to buy...chuck the old one away and buy a new one..the disruption or delays you are experiancing are just not worth putting up with for the sake of a couple of quid
hoping this helps

I would check is the wattage the lamp is giving you. Check the wattage of the bulbs (probably 9w) - its written on the bulb. If you have 4x 9w bulbs you have a lamp with 36watts which should be enough to cure just about any gel system effectively. However if you only have one or two bulbs and your gel system requires a 36 watt lamp then it is no wonder it is not working on your gel.

Hope this helps.

I would say to count it as a loss

contact the company that supplies ypour gel and ask for their recommendations on what lamp works best with their gel system

oh and welcome to salon geek

Hello all

Thank you so much for your advice and your warm welcome. Sorry to take so long to come back to you all but have not been on line for a couple of days. Tried the lamp again today and following your advice and my lack of patience with it now, I have decided to take the advice and buy myself a new one and take this as a lesson well learned.

It is very disheartening for newcomers to the trade who do not really know what they are doing but good to have you to take advice from. Will check out which lamp NSI recommend.

Once again,thanks a million.

Anna

hi i did the exact same thing, needed a new lamp and the ones of ebay for £20 looked exactly the same as ones over here for £xxx! but a load of rubbish, exactly the same prob, i changed the bulbs and everything but it was hit or miss when you used it so its now in the bin and im gonna just same me pennies and get a new one! sallys have a vat free coming up in march and theyve one 36w for about £xx which should cure most companies.

Hi Sarah, thanks for the infor. In the bin is where mine is going too!!! Actually just logged into Creative Nails website and checked out the price of their UV lamp and they have a 36 watt lamp at £xx.xx plus the VAT at the moment which looks like a good buy and their replacement bulbs are £x.xx. Checked out the Nail Warehouse, which is where I trained, and they have the same thing at £xx.xx with replacement bulbs at £xx. Going to check out with NSI too. Just registered with Sallys so will try them too, but do need one in a hurry really, can't take the risk of this one I have at the mo playing me up again. Have to raid the piggy bank as not really making any money with the nails at the moment. Anna

Check out this article, very helpful information on gels, light units and bulbs. Also ditch the bulbs, you don't know how many hours they have on them.

http://www.lightelegance.com/pdf/technicalbrochure.pdf

Yeah, checked this out this morning but still don't feel any the wiser I am afraid. I am going to ditch the whole thing and get a new one, hey for £20 it is hardly worth the bother but so important now to get one that is good.
Thanks for your help

check the wattage, i brought my lamp from south africa and its stronger wattage the uk is 210 while we is sa are 240, so it will be less strong, dont buy junk off ebay buy from nsi or the cosmetic house you use, i made that mistake too my lamp whic i paid R1000 works the best. pay get quality saves you wasting product with dud nails too.
Also some applications are different some products need thin first layer then othere need thick one.
if you in london i can test you lamp for you see if its the lamp or bulbs need changing.

Hi. don't live in London but am interested to note that you suggest NSI lamp. I use NSI gel but to be honest I have read more about Creative products on this site. Can you explain for this newcomer why more are not using NSI products. I find the balance gel really good, although to be honest I am so new to this game and have more experience with acrylic than gel. I trained with the Nail Warehouse and their own brand of Pure Nails but have since tried Star and NSI and prefer them but what about Creative?

the site is ran by sam sweet who is one of the leading guys for creative. at creative training the students are told about the site so there are a lot who love the products but theres other peeps who use other brands as well.