Gel nail polish and which ones to choose from?

[Joanna Scott]

Hi,

I have just completed a nail course in gels, manicures, pedicures etc and would like to become a mobile nail technician as well as working for myself at home. I am practising like anything at the moment and now wishing to purchase some gel colours.

I have my UV lamp and all set to go. When speaking to many women in my nail group, as well as our tutor everyone was recommending the Gelish polish, some shellac, as it doesnt take as long to come off apparently. Then others mentioned CCO and IBD to buy.

I am just practising at the moment, but ideally would like to start as soon as.

What would you recommend in terms of gel polishes? I know some of them are so expensive hence why the others were mentioning the CCO and IBD as well, so just need your expert advise really as I am so new to all this.

I have used CCO and wasnt too impressed as found the quality very watery and doesnt seem to apply itself very well and chips off very easily too. However some have found its amazing.

thank you so much....

 

[Anna Ljungberg]

It really just boils down to your and your potential clients preference. CND Shellac and Gelish has huge marketing and vast consumer support, whereas other brands may not. Other nail techs may rave about a particular brand that you simply don't get along with, and nail techs are looking for various different things in a brand, hence there are so many of them.

I wouldn't invest in anything simply because it's cheaper, as if you break the cost down per service, 1 - the difference isn't that large, and 2 - you should charge accordingly to cover your costs.

I've tried Shellac, Gelish and ibd and I get along really well with all three brands and either would be a good choice, it simply just depends on what you look for.

Did you train in any particular brand?

 

[Pashaboutnails]

I totally agree with Anna. CCO/Bluesky may be viewed as a consumer product and not a trade product as you do not need to show your certificates to by them. This may sound snobby and this is just my own opinion, but I like buying trade products from suppliers where I have to confirm my qualifications. It gives me more confidence in the product.
I would suggest doing a gel polish course as it performs very differently from standard polish, and the prep is slightly different than a varnish manicure ( for example you would perform a foots soak after a CMD shellac service as you don't want a saturated nail plate beforehand).
I have tried Gelish, OPA, CND Shellac, Ink London & have just ordered some GelBottle Company too try. I prefer CND Shellac but that could be because most of my training has been with them and I have confidence in them, and Sweet Squared are great and have good customer service. I am also impressed with InkLondon, good price and also great customer service. It just isn't as well known. I love the colour range in IBD Just Gel but I find the formula thinner, needing more coats and often flash curing to stop it spreading to sidewalks (but that coul be down to my application ).
Also you mention you have a uv lamp. Different products cure differently and you are often advised to use the lamp that goes with the brand.
Some lamps will cure other products. For example the CND uv lamp cures all the other brands I tried, however their newer LED one doesn't.
You could buy a base and a colour in a couple of brands and see how you like them as you may prefer a brush in one and how it applies and not another brand, it is very personal to you.
I hope this helps rather than hinders.

 

[Joanna Scott]

Thank you to you both, I trained at the beauty academy in milton keynes and they used Shellac, CND as well as IPD so all three have looked really nice however one of my friends just practised on me yesterday with CCO and it completely flaked off within hours, more like I could easily peel them off too well here.

So I have done the basic manicure and pedicure course and the luxury one too. Also done gel application for feet and hands too. However, I am actually thinking about doing a NVQ with next step beauty as their results and reviews seem to be really good, I just feel I need more practise and experience too before I start anything if that makes sense.

Maybe its best if I buy some products like you say and see how I get on with them before I buy a whole load!!

I am a tad scared to start straight off still feel I need a lot more practise before I begin.

thank you again

 

[Nailosophy London]

Try cuccio color veneers... AMAZING

 

[aimsgc]

Hello I'm in a similar position to you having only recently qualified... I picked IBD Just Gel Polish to begin with as that's what they stock in my local wholesalers. I bought 3 colours to try & was really pleased with the results on myself/family/friends so decided to stick with it. I've been using it for about 3 months now & love it! You can do various gel polish courses through different providers like Graftons, Salon Services or Capital... No personal experience of this but they will teach you what you need to know about the system for whichever brand you pick. Alternatively you can try different brands to see what you think the products are like to work with & what results you get... A lot of brands do tester kits at a good price where you get smaller sized prep & cleanse, base & top coats & a few colours to try out which is a good idea if you're researching a few brands. Hope that helps. There are so many to choose from it's really difficult to pick!! xx

 

[SiennaKate]

I use CND Shellac and love it, but I have also used Ink London. It's a professional only brand that offers fantastic after support. It does loads of colours. You can get trial kits etc just purchase online. I cannot provide trade prices, but its on the lower end. Have a look.

 

[Molko72]

Have you tried Pure Nails Halo Gel Polish? It's a fantastic product, applies really well and stays on forever! Price is very good so brilliant for starting out as you can buy lots of different colours - I love it!!

 

[Welsh Heart]

Hi,

I have just completed a nail course in gels, manicures, pedicures etc and would like to become a mobile nail technician as well as working for myself at home. I am practising like anything at the moment and now wishing to purchase some gel colours.

I have my UV lamp and all set to go. When speaking to many women in my nail group, as well as our tutor everyone was recommending the Gelish polish, some shellac, as it doesnt take as long to come off apparently. Then others mentioned CCO and IBD to buy.

I am just practising at the moment, but ideally would like to start as soon as.

What would you recommend in terms of gel polishes? I know some of them are so expensive hence why the others were mentioning the CCO and IBD as well, so just need your expert advise really as I am so new to all this.

I have used CCO and wasnt too impressed as found the quality very watery and doesnt seem to apply itself very well and chips off very easily too. However some have found its amazing.

thank you so much....

Preferably I would choose the gel and then purchase the UV/LED lamp recommended for it. I use ibd extreme (hard gel) ibd soak off. I also use their just gel polish. I love, love, love it. I also use Gellux gel polish as some of my clients love it and we need to keep them happy