I think you are being deliberately obtuse, or thick, certainly unappreciative and uninformed.
I personally asked Doug to respond to this thread. He is a very old friend of mine, and I thought it would help you all. He was not TOLD by anyone to respond. He gave us his time.
He has just completed a 60 mile walk, not a week ago, that raised over 9 million ( yes you read it right, over nine million USD) for breast cancer. He loves our industry and has supported the women in our industry for years by raising many many millions ... PLUS it is his Thanksgiving holiday weekend which is an important family time for we Americans and STILL he took the time to get in touch.
@ nails2nails .. Ungrateful, unappreciative and ungracious of you.
To the others who have intelligence and learned from Doug's information in the past, you did a great job in this thread of informing the ignorant which spared Doug from having to rewrite his book and posting it here again for those who don't want to 'get it' and who probably never will. To those whom 'the cap fits' BUY HIS BOOK AND LEARN PEOPLE.
@doug. ... Thank you as always for giving us your time and your always easy to understand explanations. I appreciate you taking the time and enjoy the rest of your weekend. love from me G
Well said!! if people still refuse to believe and think this is all a marketing ploy, perhaps they can learn from my experience...yes...you will probably hate me for being predominantly a DIY'er and I was referred to briefly at the beginning of this post.
I am someone who has a passion for nails and has done all my life, I work full time in another profession and my hobby and passion for nails is something that causes me to spend at least an hour a day browsing this and other nail related web sites.
I do my nails and about about 4 friends only so I am not claiming to be in the same 'league' as the awe inspiring 'pro's' on here.
However, my passion led me to do manicure course with Harmony UK and my passion flourished.
I am telling you this just for background..
I used a standard 36watt lamp for Shellac and one of those 'crescent shaped' LED lamps for Gelish for several months.
I was proud and delighted with the results and thought all was well, like many of you I thought the insistence on manufacturers to use their specific lamp was marketing and corporate greed.
About two months back I developed a dreadful allergy, fingers itched , swelled, erythema, and eventually the skin blistered and broke down.
This was painful, upsetting and took weeks to heal.
After this happened I began to read extensively and came across Doug's articles.
I am no scientist and can't remember the exact terminology, but my basic understanding was there is a difference in wavelengths between lamp bulbs (Doug please correct me if I am wrong).
And yes of course CND are going to endorse the use of their lamp, why would they risk it and say it's ok to use any lamp. Without them forking out to scientifically test safety of every lamp on the market with Shellac it would be downright irresponsible to say it's ok.
The bottom line is I learnt the hard way , I thought I knew better (as do many others on here it seems).
You CANNOT see with the naked eye if Shellac (or any soak off gel) is overcured or undercured, therefore why take the chance?
I now have a Harmony Gelish Lamp for my Gelish and a CND lamp for my Shellac.
Both are wonderful lamps, The CND lamp is not that expensive I don't think and I really don't see why someone who makes a career out of nails begrudges buying a quality product.
If you still are unconvinced and want more info why don't you just read the research?????
and if you are sceptical about companies paying researchers to test and publish their findings...well ..wake up! research does not come cheap and takes a long time, who else is going to fund it if not the companies themselves. Like it or not this is how it works. It happens in pharmaceuticals and most industries.
There......I've been brave enough to post and give you my nasty experience due to my foolishness..