What are they doing - gel or acrylic?

[misstaylor91]

hi all, I'm not usually in the nail geek forum as I'm a hair extensionist- however I'm struggling to find an answer for a nail related Q and hoping someone on here can help me?
I've been having my nails done at the same nail salon for quite some time, and am always very pleased with them. when i go they always ask 'acrylic or gel' and I always say gel as I had heard that they were better for your nails and more natural looking. In the last few months I've bought my first house and with all the new bills that brings the nails have had to take a back seat for a while! however, having watched them do my nails for years in the same way i've thought that i might give it a go at home as it doesn't seem overly complicated as I'm so familiar. I'm happy to buy any of the equipment that I need as I figure I'll make the money back in savings over time, so not trying to do it as cheap as poss. But here's my difficulty, when I started looking in to "gel nail tip kits" etc the video tutorials and kits contained totally different items to what they've been using on me!
when I visit the salon and say 'gel' they prep my nails, put the white tips on, dip the brush into a lilac coloured liquid then in to a white powder and sort of do one or two dots onto my nail and smooth it down over the nail and onto the tip. they repeat the process until the nail is smooth and you're unable to detect the join of the tip. this appears to me, from what I've looked in to to be acrylic? Although the online video's tend to use white for the tips and clear for the nail whereas they always just use the one clear with me. I find this very confusing as I've been going there for years and they always ask me 'gel or acrylic' each time and I always say gel. I'm now at a total loss of what equipment and items I need to try at home!
I know the obvious answer would be to ring/call in and ask them however no one that works there speaks very good english and I have a feeling that I'd leave even more confused! Also not so sure if they would even want to share how they do it with me seeing as I'd be using the info to avoid having to pay them to do it for me! I pay 35 for a full set of gel tips and I have infills every few weeks or so.
If anyone could shed some light on this for me I would be very grateful- it's definitely not my area of expertise!

thanks in advance nail geeks!

 

[nailednails]

Definitely acrylic...but in all honestly with all the effort it's not worth getting a kit just to do your own, they will lift quickly, will you manage your left hand, it's ok watching YouTube vids but there is more to it than that, if you're wanting specifically gel you will need a uv lamp, and most professional products have restrictions on purchase depending on qualifications...and you do only want to be buying and using professional names from trusted sources (ebay and Amazon aren't counted as trusted sources).
There are a lot of elements and products involved, all add up in terms of expense, and will take you much longer than a qualified professional.

 

[laurakate]

In the nicest possible way, im not sure that anyone on salongeek would wish to dignify your technical questions with an answer because you can't do nails just because youve watched them do yours at salons. Ive watched nurses take blood but I wouldn't have a go at that myself.

If you have your heart set on doing your own nails at home you could still do a college course just for this purpose. When I did my nvq 3 in nails there were a few ladies on our course who wanted to just do their own nails but you really need to learn how to do it yourself rather than ask people how without taking propper tuition. if I asked my hairdresser how I could go and cut my hair at home I think he'd be a bit insulted and fairly enough to be honest.

Do a college course, get reliable and official information and then begin to produce safe and informed sets of nails even if that's just for yourself.

 

[lilacpinknails]

Hi

I started to do my gel nails at home and never had any problem. I'm now a qualified nail tech. The reason the salon is different I because they use a lower grade gel that is banned from some outside the eu in most places. Doing it your self is loads better for your nails and it's actually fun.
YouTube is the best place or do a course at Sally's beauty.

Good luck x

 

[nailednails]

And as you are someone who specialises in hair, would you appreciate someone saying ''it looks easy I can do it'', people spend ALOT of money and time training to do this, there is SO much skill involved and not something just anyone can do successfully. Like I said yours will lift, and you won't be able to buy the professional products needed (which could in turn create its own complications..) you risk damaging your nails, infection, reactions etc etc

 

[nailednails]

Hi

I started to do my gel nails at home and never had any problem. I'm now a qualified nail tech. The reason the salon is different I because they use a lower grade gel that is banned from some outside the eu in most places. Doing it your self is loads better for your nails and it's actually fun.
YouTube is the best place or do a course at Sally's beauty.

Good luck x

....huh?? "DOING IT YOURSELF IS LOADS BETTER FOR YOUR NAILS"....and where so you pull this """fact""" from exactly??? What an utterly ridiculous comment, how professional of you.......

The BEST thing for your nails is to LET A PROFESSIONAL DO IT.........

 

[Rinn]

Hi

I started to do my gel nails at home and never had any problem. I'm now a qualified nail tech. The reason the salon is different I because they use a lower grade gel that is banned from some outside the eu in most places. Doing it your self is loads better for your nails and it's actually fun.
YouTube is the best place or do a course at Sally's beauty.

Good luck x

I'm dying to know how do you know that the ops salon uses a lower grade gel that's banned. Please elaborate.

 

[Maz101]

Firstly loads of places say their doing gel when infact its l&p (liquid and powder acrylic)

With regards to buying, you shouldn't be messing with nail products and chemical unless your fully trained, it might look easy it's not and you could cause allergies to yourself or worse.

If you want to do nails even on just yourself get times training and do it properly.

Plus want to add just because a place says they are doing gel and turns out its l&p this does NOT mean they are using banned substances... That's a ridiculous thing to think or say and unfair as could be any brand of l&p.

 

[deanosnana]

To the OP: it sounds as if they were using Liquid & Powder on your nails. I would highly suggest training in the nail field if you are interested in doing more on your nails than a manicure.

To Lilacpinknails, this is a professional forum where we give professional advice. As a quilified nail tech, I'm sure you can appreciate that. Advising the OP to do them herself because it's 'loads better' for her nails and recommending youtube vids is not very professional.

I think this is a good place to close.

 

[Noodle]

In the meantime, and since the OP is not a Nail Professional, this thread has been moved to Consumer Queries.

To the OP then:

Attempting DIY nails when using professional systems and/or products is never a good experiment. You can end up doing more harm than good, sometimes resulting in permanent damage.

Investing in some training/education would be a better idea. Alternatively, let a professional look after your nails for you.