NancySyd
Well-Known Member
I'm not a nail tech yet Im going to study in the new year an I want to specialise in gels. When I used to go to the salon to get my nails done they had multiple brands I assume those brands must've had similar ingredients or curing requirements because they used one lamp for everything. I watcehd a youtube video on this aswell talking about how hybrid lamps can cure a variety of gels. They also cost a lot more than regular home lamps. I'm shopping around at the moment trying to find the perfect products for when I do become qualified and it saddens me that I have to commit to one because there's so much out there.
You don't have to commit to one brand. In fact, most quality salons offer two or three brands and work to match the right brand to the right client. But it is a good idea to limit yourself to just a few so you can develop real expertise in them.
Many salons do use the same lamp to cure all products, and there probably is considerable overlap in how effective lamps are across numerous brands. After all, the nm range of photo initiators is slim, as is the range of the lamps. But range is only one of many elements that go into crafting a lamp for a particular brand. The problem is that there is no easily accessible way of confirming a proper cure. Unless you use the proper lamp, you are only guessing and since gel hardens at 55% and a proper cure is closer to 95%, there is a huge margin for error. In addition to undercuring, mismatches between lamp and gel can also cause heat spikes, discoloration, lifting, bubbles. And remember, not using the right lamp invalidates your insurance coverage because doing so is contrary to the manufacturer's instructions.
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