Gel/acrylic brand - where to start?

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Chuds

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Hi, first time posting on here as I’ve recently qualified in gel and acrylic nails. When I finished they offered me a starter kit but I declined as I wanted to build my own. As I’m a beginner with it could anyone recommend any good acrylic systems/gel polish brands?

I trained with the Glitterbels brand and worked well with them so has anyone got any feedback on them? Also have looked at Ink London and Candy Coat.

Going to be practising more on friends and family to get more comfortable at first but just looking for a good brand to start investing with.

Thanks!
 
Hi,

I am having the same dilemma for gel, I haven't found one that I can get along with but have just ordered Nsi as recommended by my tutor as its what she uses in her salon so hoping I can get along with.

In terms of Acrylic Glitterbells is fab, I love it and the colours and customer service and tuition is a lot better than I have had else where, they do a starter set which I purchased to try and went on to buy full size as I got on well with it.

Magpie is another I love their colours for gel polish etc!

Hope that helps,

Amy
 
It really is all about personal preference. I have been trained since 2011 and in that time I have tried a few brands. I use Naio Nails Acrylic. I have tried NSI, Halo, CND and many more and Naio is by far my favourite. Hard gel I use Purenails, its so nice to work with easy to create good structure and for Gel polish I use Purenails Halo as well. I do have some Shellac but I am phasing this out. I was an out and out CND girl. Did all my initial training with them but I think it is good to grab a few trial kits and find out what works for you. It is always worth doing a conversion course with the brand you fall in love with as different products do have little tricks and knacks to get the best out of it x Good luck ladies and keep us updated on your progress x
 
I use INK London for acrylic, hard gel and gel polish. It is absolutely fantastic and lasts really well.
 
There are so many systems out there and every brand has their dedicated followers so its very much personal preference and the best way is to order a sample pack so you can try the products to see which one works best for you. We offer samples of the flirties range but other brands might have a similar set up so its worth asking if you have a few brands you would like to try x
 
Lucky!! I live in Canada and am glitterbels all the way. I would of loved to have trained through them, wish I was in UK lol. I absolutely love their products. So easy to work with. Every time I use a different brand I'm like what's going on somethings not right and then I remember I'm using some else lol
 
To narrow it down write a list of what is most important to you, ie: cost, availability, support from educators, training, quality of product etc.

I trained using NSI products at my college (great product to start) however after my initial training I wanted to do product specific training but there were no educators in my state.
I then looked for a product that could provide this. That is then the brand I chose.

It really comes down to what is important to you.
Perhaps buy a few trial kits to begin with.
 
As Bels Gels said, the sensible thing to do is think about your priorities rather than look for recommendations...

What is your price range?
Do you want HEMA free?
Will your business have a particular ethos you wish to promote and will the chosen product reflect that?
What level of support is there for you from a particular brand? (beware the sparkle and glitter, look for deeds, not words)
Can your chosen brand supply everything you need?
Can you access brand training?

Also, look around at other techs near you. What's already on offer... are you duplicating or differentiating from their offering. Think about the pro's and con's of both.

Finally, before making one of the biggest financial commitments for your new business, do some research.
Check country of manufacture (don't assume the identity and location of the business selling a product is the same as the business making it), check out the ingredients, look for skeletons in the cupboard.

As a rule of thumb. Limit your search to brands that are manufactured in countries that have cosmetic safety regulations in place, the USA and EU both have well developed policies for example... China has none at all!

Good luck with your new venture!👍🏼
 
Alison is correct, this is an important decision that can make or break your business and particularly your satisfaction in your work. It can be a long process, but think of the time making this decision as an investment of time, every bit as important as an investment of money. When I was making this decision, I did a big spreadsheet with important attributes on one side (ease of removal, durability, acetone resistance, opaqueness/sheerness, HEMA, hypoallergenic, colorant special effects range, cruelty free/vegan) and ranked each brand that met that qualification. What surprised me was that there were lots of attributes that I hadn't previously considered that turned to to be pretty important and got added to my spreadsheet. Particularly those attributes that are not in the bottle. In addition to those mentioned in posts above - do you already have a good relationship with a vendor/distributor for that brand, how easy and timely is it to access product, quality of education/support, if getting more than one brand, how well do they complement each other, stability of the company, R&D, etc.
 

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