GEL..... is it still the 'Poor Relation'

[MINKUS]

Hi guys:hug:

Im just interested in this now we're in 2009.

In your opinion do you feel that gel still the 'poor relation' in the nail world?

I am a 'sole gel user' i dont use l+p (well rarely) and NEVER even get asked for it.

I love gel because it gives me great clarity, strength, versatility (colours/soak off/ file off/different variations of french. NO ODOUR (yay!:green easy to file or soak off. I can have Porus or NON porus depending on the clients lifestyle.

Do you use gel? if not why not? do you think CHOOSING a gel is a minefield? Dont you get asked for it?

Im a firm believer in the 'Start wearing it and you'll SELL it' theory....it works for me everytime when i get a new colour in:green:

Gel toes are SO popular ...especially as we will be heading towards the warmer weather.

What's your thoughts/feedback.

 

[MINKUS]

drat i wanted to add a poll - which clever person can help?

 

[Shellkelly]

I've been debating between gels and acrylics for ages and I've chosen acrylic but only because none of my friends have gel. I hope I haven't made the wrong choose.

 

[MINKUS]

I've been debating between gels and acrylics for ages and I've chosen acrylic but only because none of my friends have gel. I hope I haven't made the wrong choose.

there's no right or wrong hun :hug: its just what works for you and your clients.

I think the popularity of gel varies from area to area.

If everyones 'only' offering l+p..theres a little niche in the market there for you to offer gel TOO !


Amb xx

 

[shell28]

At the moment i only do gel but have found that i have had lots of enquirys for people wanting l&p so have lost potential clients!! SO Im now learning l&p.

I think that the trouble is that people still think Gel isnt as strong as L&P thats why they dont want it!!

 

[oey]

As you know I am too mainly a 'gel girl' but does offer L&P if that is what the clients insists they want.

Perhaps because I started with a softer gel then my preference is gel so I find that the clients that start with L & P (or tip and dip which is popular in other salons in my area) then they will trust me and try the gel options too, and most will stay with that once they have tried the alternative.

Very few have heard of gel when they first come to me and very few salons in my area offer it, but a few more are putting it onto their treatment menu as time goes on.

 

[Bagpuss]

drat i wanted to add a poll - which clever person can help?

dont know about the clever part but have done my best...is that ok mate x

 

[Sals]

I'm gel only too and there has only been one person who hasn't wanted it, and that was because the only time she had gels she got really bad heat spike. Nothing I could say would change her mind.

Other than that, I've never had a problem "converting" people. :green:

 

[Lellipop]

Gel for me too I can do l&p but tend to do just gel

 

[beautyseeker]

Well as I shall be starting my training in acrylic on Sunday I cant answer that one.

BUT

I shall be learning gell as well as I think its good to be able to offer clients a choice, also I dont want to loose a client because they prefer one system to the other.

:hug:

 

[VHunter]

My option wasn't there, so I didn't vote.
At present, I only do UV Gel and occasionally do Tip-n-dip as the need arises.
I have scheduled my L&P course because I found I was limited artwise with UV Gel. Also, as they say; some clients get on well but not with another. I'd like to be able to offer both to satisfy all.
Inserted a few more comments below in your post. :green:

In your opinion do you feel that gel still the 'poor relation' in the nail world?
No, I do not. It takes 'differences' to make the world go around. The 'poor relation' would be tip-n-dip, in my honest opinion after 15yrs+ of experience with tip-n-dip and nearly 5 with UV Gel.


I love gel because it gives me great clarity, strength, versatility (colours/soak off/ file off/different variations of french. NO ODOUR (yay!:green easy to file or soak off. I can have Porus or NON porus depending on the clients lifestyle.
I also love it for lack of odour (primarily since I work from home), the glossy finish, and it's flexibility, and it's 'clarity'. I am NOT a fan of coloured gels and have found no use for them. Client's don't love them either. I can't justify the expense of coloured gels.
I've tried soakable gels, but clients didn't get on with them as they weren't 'hard' enough since clients were used to the local NSS. So, I have to use a buff-off WHICH DON'T GET ME WRONG... I LOVE my gel of choice and will never switch. HOWEVER... there are days I wish it was soakable.... Another reason for learning l&P, for my clients who like the outrageous and change their art frequently, L&P will be the easier route so they can soak as needed. Then there is the occasional nail that's been bashed so bad, I want to minimize filing when repairing it, and HATE filing it and would rather just soak the mess off and start afresh.
I have a love-hate relationship with my nailfiles, and try to use them as little as possible when it comes to the natural nail. I'm always terrified of the dreaded rings of fire, produced by other techs and confess that there has been the 'odd' occasion when I goofed myself.:o

do you think CHOOSING a gel is a minefield? Dont you get asked for it?
YES it's a minefield because there are so many companies out there claiming this, that and the other and it's not what they are claiming it to be; that's how I wound up with my first brand choice believing that L&P WAS bad for nails and WAS toxic and WAS damaging etc etc.... then there's the gels' with calcium claiming to fortify the natural nails blah blah blah. As in Quebec, education is ABYSMAL... I fell for a lot of the misleading marketing. NOW I'm wiser, but I feel sorry for other nooby techs out there, trying to make a wise choice.
I get asked for it only because the NSS make peeps think that L&P is bad for nails, and the consumers are misinformed. I could ramble further on this note.

Im a firm believer in the 'Start wearing it and you'll SELL it' theory....it works for me everytime when i get a new colour in:green:
YES and the same applies for nail art. People see it on me, on clients and want it, and they're knocking down my doors for it. But it never worked for me with the colour gels because clients didn't like the obvious regrowth where the colour ended and their nail began, and they prefer the funky french's protected under the uv gloss.

Gel toes are SO popular ...especially as we will be heading towards the warmer weather.
YES this I love. As do my clients. They love that they can have a permanent french that can last as long as 2mths before needing touching up. I use a soakable gel for this one, so that they are easily removed later with the foil method.

What's your thoughts/feedback.

Soooo what kind of option can you add to your poll that includes my unique perspective of "does UV Gel, but wants to add/will add/has added L&P to services for variety"?

lol:hug:

 

[fiona wallace]

I believe the best nail technicians are those who are qualified and skilled in both applications and are therefore able to provide the service which best suits the clients' needs

 

[EmJZ]

I use gel only at the moment and am very happy with it. Very easy to work with and I find can do anything the client asks for. Very busy with that and haven't gotten a single request for l&p yet. However, if I started to get asked to do l&p I would definitely look into a course. You need to offer what the clients are looking for. JMO

 

[VHunter]

I believe the best nail technicians are those who are qualified and skilled in both applications and are therefore able to provide the service which best suits the clients' needs

I definately agree with this.

BUT it brings a question to my mind, which a pal asked me last night, while we were discussing my course.

The question is: if you have a newbie client whom you don't know at all.... How do you decide which is best? What is the criteria (setting the art issue aside because for me, if they want crazy art, I'll go with L&P).
If they're just an average joe, wanting P&W's all the time, or very simple funky french's all the time.... What are the questions I should ask, or the conditions that would indicate which route I would take?

This is the question that's been playing in my mind.

Now obviously, if an existing client has issue with one system and you've ruled out all possibilities, sure move on to the next system and maybe that will work better for whatever reason. (kind of like how one soap is fine for one person, but the same soap will make another person itch...)

BUT a newbie, about whom you know nothing..... how do I know what to do?

 

[fiona wallace]

I definately agree with this.

BUT it brings a question to my mind, which a pal asked me last night, while we were discussing my course.

The question is: if you have a newbie client whom you don't know at all.... How do you decide which is best? What is the criteria (setting the art issue aside because for me, if they want crazy art, I'll go with L&P).
If they're just an average joe, wanting P&W's all the time, or very simple funky french's all the time.... What are the questions I should ask, or the conditions that would indicate which route I would take?

This is the question that's been playing in my mind.

Now obviously, if an existing client has issue with one system and you've ruled out all possibilities, sure move on to the next system and maybe that will work better for whatever reason. (kind of like how one soap is fine for one person, but the same soap will make another person itch...)

BUT a newbie, about whom you know nothing..... how do I know what to do?

If client has hard brittle nails, using gel, which is 'soft', will balance this out. If client has soft, bendy nails, using L & P, which is 'hard', will balance this out.

HTH

 

[Sassy Hassy]

I believe the best nail technicians are those who are qualified and skilled in both applications and are therefore able to provide the service which best suits the clients' needs

I have to agree with this! I was a gel only gal for many years, but taking over a clientele from a salon that only did l&p forced me out of my comfort zone and I now do both. I never realied the opportunities I was missing. Some l&p clients I converted to gel as it turned out to be better for them, and some clients who ask for gel but don't get on with it actually fare better with l&p. I feel equally comfortable doing either system now.

 

[fiona wallace]

Can I add that if any of you L & P techs are not yet doing gel, then you are missing out on some serious 'gel toes' business...we take in a substantial amount on this service all year, but particularly from Easter to end September.

And it gets better every year:lol:

 

[ADP]

I hopefully start my course on Monday, but have dabbled on my own nails for a couple of years now doing acrylics.

Just after xmas and because i had been ill, i treated myself to a salon nail day. She did L & P but then after that she put some gel on and cured under the UV lamp, what was it she put on ? It made the extensions glass like and i was really impressed with the look, or was it L & P AND Gel ??

Anyway, I digress, what I wanted to say is that my hairdresser gets her nails gelled, and i love them, she doesn't have tips, she has the coloured gel over her Natural nail, but they always look so perfect...

I'm learning acrylic first, then the maintenance then I'll be signing up for the gel course !

Edited: Just had a look online, she used a 'glaze and go' i think, very impressive Xxx

 

[Bev Rose]

I have over 5 yrs in L&P (last 3 being CND) and 3 months experience in gel (brisa).

As an L&P tech, I advertised myself as such, therefore only getting enquiries for L&P and the odd one off 'Do you do gels?', which I would then ask why they particularly wanted gel as opposed to acrylics - to find the usual ...acrylics are bad for the nails tosh! 9 times out of 10 I would get them booked in for a set of acrytlics, having done a little bit of edcucation on the phone.

Since attending The Event, I now offer Brisa Gel _ i have no certificate to 'prove' education in Brisa so I hope I'm OK in doing this from an insurance point of view??????

These days, I advertise myself as a L&P & Gel tech.
I have had a few enquiries for new gel clients, whom have beeen very happy with Brisa.
I have converted some of my existing clients to Brisa instead of L&P - becasue I now assess each clients nails and their condition and recommend which system would be far better for them, as in soft bendy nails a re better with L&P to add strength & durability. And ridged, brittle dry nails prone to snapping are more suited to Brisa to offer the client the flexibility than their own nails.
This has been interesting this last week, as a new client (a tech herself) booked wanting gels. We hatted on the phone about the different systems.
She came, she had very soft, bemdy nails, with no damage. I recommended L&P. She has gone off with a short, natural look set of L&P, very happy she was too.
Her reasoning was - she had no joy with L&P (applied by another tech) as it came off very quickly - her gels (applied by herself lasted longer).
I suggested she need L&P becasue of the condition of her nails and she was happy to take my sugestion & understood where my training came from (CND).
She is due back next week for her 1st 2 wk appointment, so wewill see if my recommendations are right.


Taking on Gel has made me feel I can offer more to my clients.

 

[sknight]

I use both but prefer L&P simply because I enjoy it more (personally). I have been asked for gels by a few new clients (as apparently that is what they had with their last tech) only to discover that they actually had L&P nails??!! I would like to learn fibreglass too just out of curiosity I think, but then again what don't I want to learn LOL.