Hi Cait,
I have to say you are an educators dream student. Asking questions, wanting to be informed, but also asking for the reasons as to why we do what we do and how does it work, why should you do it!!! That is what being a good technician is all about, we learn by asking and then testing it out to see for our selfs.
Soaking is a very old way of removing soak-able coatings, like Shellac. It uses more Acetone, it also means that you are not working time efficiently.
When you soak, you have to remove one finger at a time to scrape of remaining product. Which means you have to keep an eye on the soaking bowl, the clients fingers to make sure they are all still in the acetone. Because if the product drys out before you can remove it, it drys up and you have to re-soak to remove remnant product. Doing all this and remove product from the ready finger is a bit like juggling.....It also leaves a sticky mess around the clients fingers......accidental spillage is also possible, as they are trying to juggle one finger at a time out of the bowl. I find it very faffy and cumbersome.
Using the wrap method means, you work on one finger at a time, it doesn't matter what the client does with the other fingers, they are individually wrapped. Being able to focus on one finger at a time. By the time you have placed all ten wraps on the fingers, it is time to start removing the coating from the first finger, you are spending time removing and not sitting and waiting.
We dispose acetone by soaking it up in couch roll or tissue paper, this then has to evaporate before we can place it in the rubbish bag. Now using wraps means that by the time you have removed all the coating from the fingers, the acetone has evaporated from the wraps and it can be thrown out immediately.
These are just some points that made me stop using the bowl and use wraps.
Client comfort is important to me, they don't feel tied to a bowl and can have a cuppa while I work away. It gives them just a little bit more freedom, while I concentrate on the job at hand so to speak.
Their skin has less acetone exposure, as Gigi, already mentioned, the pads only cover the free edge and the nail plate, so the acetone is targeting the coating and not the whole finger up to the first knuckle. Oil application before applying the wraps is a great way to ensure even less drying of the cuticle area.
Almond soothing cream is also very good, I take a little spatula and place some on a hands down pad, then I use a little soft art brush and apply it around the cuticle area, apply my wraps and they don't slip as the cream is a tad more solid, but it does the trick equally well.
A-H-A Cuticle eraser could also be used instead of the other two, this will make cuticle removal after soaking a breeze, as the cuticle remover sloughs away dead skin cells. It's like shampooing their nails.
Give it all a try and see which method you prefer, wraps with oil, soothing cream or cuticle eraser. Or soaking them in a bowl.....
We learn by listening, but we learn even more by doing, because if it doesn't work we have learned two things..... which one works and which one doesn't work as well.
Let me know how you got on, I love to hear how went xxxxx
