Gelish shrinking

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TP Holistic and Beauty

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Apr 17, 2017
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Rayleigh
I'm newly qualified in gel polish and extensions and been getting on great with it and done some lovely sets of nails. However the last two times I have found that the polish has been shrinking back on the nails? I have done the same routine as before although maybe not as thorough prep as the clients nails didn't need so much cuticle work or filing and after the base coat cured for 2 minutes which is laziness on my part because my UV lamp has 2 minute timer on it. The manufacturer recommends only 1 minute for the base coat. Is this the reason?
 
Could be a number of things. the weather maybe or
Could be that the base coat was applied too thickly.

What lamp are you using?
And are you dry brushing the foundation? x
 
Could be a number of things. the weather maybe or
Could be that the base coat was applied too thickly.

What lamp are you using?
And are you dry brushing the foundation? x

I'm using a standard UV lamp. It may have been that I applied base coat too thickly? I've not had any problems previously until these last two treatments which were done in the same place. Both times it was quite hot in there. Could that be it?
 
I don't have a solution to this. But recently I tried a new brand of gel polish that did this on every set. It was called gelluv.

So just thought I would add a comment in case there's a solution lol
 
Why are you using a UV lamp for Gelish?
You should be using the manufacturer recommended Gelish LED lamp for the recommended times otherwise you will never be able to fully guarantee your results.

Also, depends what kind of shrinking you are talking about. If the colour is wrinkling, it was applied too thick and is under cured.
If it is pulling away from the sides, make sure you are properly capping.
 
Try painting your foundation as thin as possible and make sure you are dry brushing after curing.
If it still shrinks I'd guess it could be the heat, so I'd try flash curing.

You can use a UV lamp to cure gelish
 
This happens to me as well, I have the LED lamp and only cure for the exact correct time as per my training. I have tried painting thinner and thicker, in case i was painting too thin to take. I always dry brush after curing for 5 seconds. When I cap the edge, by the time I am finished the next 2 fingers, the first one is already shrinking back from the free edge (I'm slower than a proper tech, but not that slow that this should happen). my gels are 2 years old - could this be it? (I only do family and friends at the moment until I build up my experience) just wondering how long the gels last for as well, thanks
 
This seems a common problem particularly with some of the darker shades. Flash curing the first coat seems to help & by the time you're onto the second it's much easier to apply & without shrinking. Make sure the nail plate is thoroughly prepped & cleansed x
 
Does wiping the nails with acetone before dehydrating affect the nails at all?
 

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