OPI GelColor problems-already read the stickeys!

[CaraB]

Ive recently trained in OPI Gel Color and really feeling deflated about the product, I used Shellac in the salon where I worked but am now mobile so wanted to train in something new.

Enjoyed the course etc....BUT all my clients I have done the polish has started chipping within a week!! One even said on day 2 the whole of her left hand had chipped!!

Im a bit of a perfectionist so am making sure I am doing the whole procedure correctly but its embarrassing when Ive really hyped the treatment up to my clients when I was going on the training and now I very much doubt any of them will want it done again.

So upsetting as I spent a fortune on the products and top of the range lamp and feel I should have just stayed with Shellac which is near on half the price

Please restore my confidence, cant see where Im going wrong....I even phoned Lena White as a customer to ask where my nearest stockist for OPI Gel was so I could have it done by someone else and see if I could pick up any tips etc and they couldnt find ANY salons remotely close - worrying!

 

[Jigglyb4ll]

I'm not trained in opi yet but didnt want to run. Why don't you ask Lena as a tech rather than a client and ask her advice?
Or alternatively speak to your trainer, I'm sure they will be happy to help x

 

[gillian w]

Various reasons.You may be putting it on too thick.or you may not be capping the edges and sides.Also remember that the colours will gravitate to where you have put the base coat so you need to make sure you have completely covered and capped the nail with thebase.Try doing two nails at a time then freezing each layer until you are up to speed sometimes when you first start you spend too much time phaffing around and the base coat starts to shrink away from the free edge and sides.

 

[CaraB]

thanks for the replies...I have phoned Lena white and went through my procedure with them and they said I'm doing everything right but maybe it's just practice makes perfect. I'm thinking maybe I'm doing it too thick and treating it too much like a normal polish as I'm not trained in nail extensions so am only used to using normal polishes?! also...I have been applying the base coat to the whole of one hand and then curing it and then flash curing the first coat of colour on one to two fingers....but maybe I should try flash curing the base coat on one to two fingers as well??

 

[JuicyLucy]

So upsetting as I spent a fortune on the products and top of the range lamp and feel I should have just stayed with Shellac which is near on half the price

Shellac bottles (7.3ml) are under half the size of OPI GelColor bottles (15ml), so its not twice the price, in fact GelColor is actually cheaper than Shellac.

I have used Gelish and Gelicure with no problems for about two years now. I recently attended OPI training for GelColor because I wanted to add some of their colours. However, I found it more difficult to use than Gelish or Gelicure, I found it streaked and shrank, so I'm not sure now if I will buy it.

As others have said, I am sure its down to practice, practice and more practice. Perhaps you should only test and trial it on yourself until you are confident enough to roll it out to your clients.

 

[Melaniexx]

Ive recently trained in OPI Gel Color and really feeling deflated about the product, I used Shellac in the salon where I worked but am now mobile so wanted to train in something new.

Enjoyed the course etc....BUT all my clients I have done the polish has started chipping within a week!! One even said on day 2 the whole of her left hand had chipped!!

Im a bit of a perfectionist so am making sure I am doing the whole procedure correctly but its embarrassing when Ive really hyped the treatment up to my clients when I was going on the training and now I very much doubt any of them will want it done again.

So upsetting as I spent a fortune on the products and top of the range lamp and feel I should have just stayed with Shellac which is near on half the price

Please restore my confidence, cant see where Im going wrong....I even phoned Lena White as a customer to ask where my nearest stockist for OPI Gel was so I could have it done by someone else and see if I could pick up any tips etc and they couldnt find ANY salons remotely close - worrying!

Hi Cara

im having the exact same problem!!! I done my mums nails and they were chipped within a day. I then tried again last week and when I finished using nas 99 all the colour smudged! I think the main problem is application was too think. So....I tried it on myself, just one nail and it been on since thursday and still looks great. I suggest flash curing everu couple of nails and obviously taking extra care with prep as it seems to be extremelu vital. I am also thinking about training in shellac as it seems to be a great product with all of the geeks

M xx

 

[jennypenny1972]

Hi,

I started using OPI GelColor in August after my training and initially I had all sorts of problems such as chipping and shrinking back from the free edge!

I kept at it though, mainly as I had spent so much money on it and I have very few problems now. Most clients are getting over 10 days wear before the first chip and hopefully that will increase to nearer 14 days the more I do.

I do think I was applying it too thickly to start with which explains the problems. I haven't encountered any problems with streaky colours yet and actually love the vibrancy of them.

Hope this helps.

Jenny x

 

[Mrs Bod]

Hi there, it does sound as though you may be applying a little thickly.

Thin is the key. Some colours, especially the darker ones, will appear streaky but don't be disheartened by this. 3 thin coats is better than 2 thick ones.

Also, capping the free edge for each and every layer is v. important. Flash curing for 10 seconds to freeze in place is also a great idea and worked for me before I got my application time down.

Keep at it and I promise, practice WILL make perfect

Let us know how you get on xx

 

[BobbysBeauty]

Hi,

I use O.P.I, Gelish and Entity 1 Gel. They are all different and you have to know how to work with the consistency of each. I love the consistency of OPI, I love the colours of Gelish and I love the long lasting of Entity 1. OPI have lasted me 6-7 weeks on one of my older clients.

With OPI Gel Color you can't apply the polish thick and have to be careful you don't flood the nail or they will peel straight away! I usually dehydrate & primer the nails. Get people to wash their hands prior to the application, the amount of dirt and grease can be difficult to remove.

Hope you find more faith in them! It's all trying things out OPI gelcolor is amazing! Xxx

 

[cmorcom]

Hi,

I use O.P.I, Gelish and Entity 1 Gel. They are all different and you have to know how to work with the consistency of each. I love the consistency of OPI, I love the colours of Gelish and I love the long lasting of Entity 1. OPI have lasted me 6-7 weeks on one of my older clients.

With OPI Gel Color you can't apply the polish thick and have to be careful you don't flood the nail or they will peel straight away! I usually dehydrate & primer the nails. Get people to wash their hands prior to the application, the amount of dirt and grease can be difficult to remove.

Hope you find more faith in them! It's all trying things out OPI gelcolor is amazing! Xxx

Have you ever used the gelish foundation and tio with the Opi colour? I know a few geeks have with good results . I also called nail harmony today and they said this is fine. Just is very alien to me, mixing that it x

 

[JuicyLucy]

Have you ever used the gelish foundation and tio with the Opi colour? I know a few geeks have with good results . I also called nail harmony today and they said this is fine. Just is very alien to me, mixing that it x

This is interesting. I seem to remember from my OPI training that the basecoat of GelColor is a hybrid??? This is what helps with faster removal. I know that Harmony say that their top and base can be used with any other gel polish. I might give it a try on myself sometime.

 

[Katy:)]

Yes base coat is a hybrid for exactly that, easy removal. X
I was having the same problems as you, a little tip from another geek has helped me so much. At the beginning of the treatment get client to choose her colour and turn it upside down, also the base and top coat. Then when ready to use them give a really hard shake. Also I found getting clients to wash hand in warm water to soften cuticle and not use the gel to remove cuticle so there is no product at all on the nails before base coat. Use nass and primer. Then paint two nails at a time and freeze for 10 secs, especially the base coat. Capping the edges and even under the nail if they are long is really important too.
Hope this all helps, dont loose faith once you get the hang of it you'll be pleased you did. 😉

 

[Bubba82]

What light are you curing them with & for how long?

Also are you taking the shine off the nails with a white buffing block?

Chin up, practice makes perfect x

 

[ChelleConnor]

Hello,

I am so sorry you are having problems and I hope you can sort it out soon.
I experienced exactly the same problem as you.
I started out in OPI GelColour, done the correct training and brought all the colours at Excel (stupidly) I then began offering my service the to clients.
I had many clients however they all received chips or peeling within a week of me applying the gel. This caused me an awful lot of stress as I am a perfectionist too! It also cost me alot as I refunded alot of my clients.
I then started watching youtube videos, reading up on it and soon found out that although some people absolutely rave about this product, many didnt like it and had the same problems with chipping.
I then called Lena White and explained what was hapeening to them , I was told that everything I was doing sounded right and it must be something the client is doing. This put me off as I know every client was chipping so I doubt it was something they were doing.
In the end after losing tonnes of clients I threw in the towel and sold all my OPI GelColor. I switched to Gelish and have never looked back since.
I found OPI to be very thin and runny. It was an expensive mistake learned in my eyes and I still struggle to find clients now as many received a bad impression from when I was using OPI.
I hope you are able to make OPI work for you.
I know many people advise using Scrubfresh from CND to dehydrate the nail as much as possible x

 

[cmorcom]

Hello,

I am so sorry you are having problems and I hope you can sort it out soon.
I experienced exactly the same problem as you.
I started out in OPI GelColour, done the correct training and brought all the colours at Excel (stupidly) I then began offering my service the to clients.
I had many clients however they all received chips or peeling within a week of me applying the gel. This caused me an awful lot of stress as I am a perfectionist too! It also cost me alot as I refunded alot of my clients.
I then started watching youtube videos, reading up on it and soon found out that although some people absolutely rave about this product, many didnt like it and had the same problems with chipping.
I then called Lena White and explained what was hapeening to them , I was told that everything I was doing sounded right and it must be something the client is doing. This put me off as I know every client was chipping so I doubt it was something they were doing.
In the end after losing tonnes of clients I threw in the towel and sold all my OPI GelColor. I switched to Gelish and have never looked back since.
I found OPI to be very thin and runny. It was an expensive mistake learned in my eyes and I still struggle to find clients now as many received a bad impression from when I was using OPI.
I hope you are able to make OPI work for you.
I know many people advise using Scrubfresh from CND to dehydrate the nail as much as possible x

Oh no, don t say that - just bought it!! (( x

 

[gillian w]

Oh no, don t say that - just bought it!! (( x

I've found it brilliant no problems neither does my daughter who probably does about 10 people a week with it.We have both used Calgel and Bio though so were able to Suss out solutions to any problems quite quickly

 

[Bubba82]

I've not had any problems with gelcolor & absolutely love it, if you don't shake it properly it will appear thin & watery & if you don't cure it correctly you'll have probs

 

[cmorcom]

Thanks - just done my first set tonight. Although ( after checking with nail harmony) used gelish foundation and topcoat . Other geeks confirmed this to be ok to xxx love the Opi colour range xx

 

[Bubba82]

I love the colours too what colour did you do?

 

[cmorcom]

I love the colours too what colour did you do?

Windermill or something like that!!!!! It's a dusky green from the holland collection . What's your fav's? X