Ok, I’m aware the whole situation surrounding The Gel Bottle and Premier Gel is highly controversial right now, but just in case anyone reading this thread isn’t aware, I think it should at least be mentioned so techs can then do their own research and make their decision based on the information they find.
I used to use TGB, but stopped using their products about a year ago. I already had reservations about the company’s morals, but what really put me off was seeing many reports and photos of the most horrific onycholysis that nail techs were experiencing on themselves and their clients and the one thing they all had in common was they were using TGB or Premier Gel. Both brands refused to take any responsibility or offer any support to these nail techs and in fact blamed them, saying they must have not applied or cured the products correctly. In some cases I expect that was true, afterall both brands sell to unqualified users (even though TGB claim to be pro only now). However, it soon became clear that plenty of very experienced nail techs and even their own educators and ambassadors were experiencing these issues! Still the brands refused to do anything so Jim McConnell, President of McConnell Labs offered to test the actual products these nail techs had used if they sent him the bottles (including any other brands that techs had had issues with). Samuel Sweet interviewed him last week and asked him about his findings and he confirmed that he had found a lot of serious inconsistencies in the SDS sheets, from missing ingredients to totally different percentages of highly allergenic ingredients. One ingredient in particular that seemed to be present in far higher quantities than stated was IBOA (Isobornyl Acrylate), which can cause onycholysis. He stated that there are factories in China (and Poland too) that are producing these products using very cheap ingredients or much higher quantities than they are claiming on the SDS they provide to the ‘brands’ that then private label them. His recommendation is to stick with products that are manufactured in the EU or US, preferably brands that have their own chemist.
There’s a lot more information about all this obviously, but it gives anyone who wasn’t already aware of the problems a bit of a heads up and gives you the opportunity to follow it up and read more about it.
7th Heaven has mentioned 2 Facebook groups that have more information. Marian Newman also posted the S2 video on her Facebook group (Madge’s Chat Show). I think everyone would agree that she is a very trustworthy source.
This is a serious situation and nobody truly knows what’s going on exactly, but I understand Jim’s findings have been passed on so hopefully the truth will come out soon.