Search results

You're mistaken. The primary factor in visible aging is UV radiation. In Caucasian skin, UV radiation from the sun is responsible for about 80% of visible aging. Darker skin has more natural sun protection from melanin but the sun is still the primary driver of visible aging. Other factors...

*double post, sorry

My instinct would be to completely sandwich problem lifters in hard gel. I see that you're now using a hard gel base but how about capping the gel polish with hard gel as well? Sanitiser isn't going to penetrate the hard gel like it could with a soak-off gel.

Instead of laxtex, which is an allergen, I use nitrile for everything except pure acetone. I don't use acetone often because I prefer to e-file everything for speed but when I do, I use vinyl gloves. Maybe that combo will work better than latex for you as well. I'd still use the barrier cream...

That was the FDA's page I was referencing above. Note that although no official federal regulation prohibits it, the many state regulations do. As I mentioned, 32 states (as of 2012, IDK about anything more recent) prohibit MMA liquid monomer use in salons. 250 million people out of the...

It's not expressly illegal everywhere in the U.S. but the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) classified it as poisonous in the 1970s. Since then, they have been taking action against manufacturers of MMA monomer in the form of seizure, fines, and court proceedings. Legally, possession and use...

Great advice here. I'm not sure if this is the case from your post but you really shouldn't be taking clients unless you're licensed. In NY, you need 250 hours in nail school, you need to take your state boards, and then you can apply for a license. I know that's expensive but I think you've...

The Gel Bottle's MSDS links are broken on their website. I have about 15-20 bottles of their products and I'm thinking about tossing them. I don't get how companies get away with this. Where I work, we're required to have SDS. But even if we weren't I want easy access to reliable analysis...

Nope. I don't keep anything around that I can't charge a premium price for because I price my services to clear $100K/ year. I don't pressure anyone into doing gel polish, though. I'm happy to refer clients to a friend who works with nail lacquer. I also really hate working with it because I'm...

These are articles refer to a 2013 study of the safety of lamps, which I don't think is in question. I'm satisfied that the research has demonstrated that lamps don't emit a significant amount of UV-B. Clearly, the FDA was satisfied too if they used it to inform their safety guidance. I'd love...

There's no need to use Solar Oil. It's CND's branded cuticle oil. It's sweet almond oil, rice bran oil, and jojoba with fragrance (and vitamin e as a preservative). I wouldn't recommend it or your YN Rose Oil for now. You're better off just buying sweet almond oil and jojoba oil mixing them...

I agree with the premise that branded lamps are more likely to represent themselves truthfully but the FDA doesn't really test nail lamps. They don't test cosmetic products before they go to market and they don't do research studies. They may do testing if there's a complaint. And while they're...

Why don't you visit a dermatologist and ask for their opinion, Valerie? You can ask them for a tretinoin (Retin-A) prescription. It's the only drug on the market that can truly reverse aging. If you've been using over-the-counter products, they can't compare to what tretinoin can do. Ask them to...

Read my posts again, I didn't claim that they didn't have another gel line, only that Shellac is a hybrid gel. I'm well aware of their product line because it was one that I tried it switching to Light Elegance. My nail school kit was a CND kit so I've used Retention+, Brisa gel, Creative Play...

You're right. But I don't see people use it as much as Shellac so I wonder if people know that it's out there or how the two products are different. Many don't understand the difference; there are plenty of techs, at least in the U.S., who still don't even work with gel polish at all except top...

I don't think that I'm denigrating any age group by refuting the idea that young people must be too broke for professional services. Look, I approaching this from a tech/ salon marketing perspective. The average Instagram user is between 25 and 34. In my salon, that's my target demographic. If...

I've browsed here for a few years but joined because I have such strong feelings about this. I'm a tech with a thriving business that was built on Instagram. I have a full book of clients who are about my age (mid 20's to mid 30's). The idea that the Instagram demographic is too poor to "afford...