Could this be MMA?

[Juliet-P]

I have a friend who had ema acrylic "pink & white" nails. She went to a new salon with me she had never been to before for a backfill. They charge $50 for full set and $30 for backfill so it's not considered cheapie salon I suppose? But it is one of those salons that are run by chinese people and you see tons of those salons popping up eveywhere.

We both think she might have gotten MMA nails there because her nails are EXTREMELY hard/rigid and VERY VERY thick and also how much drilling she had done. I have acrylic nails on myself and mine are not nearly as THICK and hard as hers.

When the tech was doing the white tips it was EXTREMELY thick and dried quite fast the second he put it on the nail. Then when they put the acrylic on it was super thick. He drilled the acrylic (actual acrylic on top of the entire nail) for a very long time which I thought was a bizarre amount and when they were doing it she said her nails felt like they were on fire and burning because he was drilling so much (she NEVER had this problem before). We both think it's odd how much he was drilling the actual acrylic on top of the nail... even stranger was that after all that drilling her nails came out SUPER thick like chicklets!

Does this sound like it could be MMA?

I took pictures of her nails but on the picture you can't really see how thick her nails really are... all of her nails came out SUPER thick.

http://jpwear.com/nails3.jpg

Are MMA nails generally always thicker than EMA?

 

[claireamy]

There is a strong possibility that these nails may be created using MMA but just an early word of warning please don't generalise all Chinese techs as using MMA. There are some extremely professional, exceptionally talented Asian techs around, don't make sweeping generalisations about a group of people as there will be many white US, UK, Aussie etc techs also using MMA!

 

[Juliet-P]

My goodness, I was not generalizing nor was I saying all chinese salons use MMA. I was merely trying to describe the type of salon it was. It is a fact that most (99%) of nail salons around here ae run by chinese.

My main question was are MMA nails usually THICKER than EMA. Thank You.

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

The thickness of a nail is not an indiction that MMA was being used. The only way to really be sure if MMA Monmer is being used is either A. checking out the MSDS for the used monomer or B. having the monomer analized. To many people are assuming that MMA is being used by Technicians that use an E-file. E-files debulk a nail very fast and this way the technician debulks and shapes the nail rather than spending a little bit more time and producing a good nail with just the use of a brush ad a handfile.
The burning sensation is the heat build up of the E-file staying in one place to long. That indicates that E-file training has either not been done or the technician has developed a slap dash technique for sake of speed and not for the sake of the clients comfort.
The use of facemasks do ot indicate MMA either, they are used to protect the Technician from the dust that is thrown up into the breathing zone.

So could this be MMA, yep, but it could also be a cheap generic EMA. MMA smell like cats-pee when it is being filed and it doesn't soak of as easily as EMA, it's like trying to melt plexiglass.

Looking at the picture it looks like a uneven e-file finish with no real expertise, that in its self is reason enough not to go back.

 

[Juliet-P]

Thanks for answering my question.

So it seems I was under the wrong impression that MMA nails are usually thicker than EMA. Her nails seem to also be harder and/or more rigid than any acrylic I've ever seen but maybe that's only because they are so incredibly thick. I've just NEVER seen any acrylic that thick before... in the photo you can't see how thick they really are.

 

[marioned]

They also seem to have some black contamination in the edge

 

[Juliet-P]

Oh, no that was just dirt... seems there was some dust/dirt or whatnot that got stuck/mixed into the acrylic. But in the photo it does look like something else than what it really is

 

[Eni]

Where did she get them done if you don't mind asking. I think you are in South Florida no? you can email me offline if you want nsutthoffatgmaildotcom.

I lived in West Boca for over 10 years, so don't let the current NZ location fool you

 

[marioned]

Oh, no that was just dirt... seems there was some dust/dirt or whatnot that got stuck/mixed into the acrylic. But in the photo it does look like something else than what it really is

That's what I mean, what is dirt doing mixed in there?

 

[akaza]

That's what I mean, what is dirt doing mixed in there?

It could also be abit of the grit off a file..thats what it looks like to me

 

[Juliet-P]

In real life you can literally hardly even see those spots and are not noticeable at all unlike in the picture. For some reason the camera just really highlighted it... I guess certain things just show up and get magnified in pictures.