Gellux removal nightmare

[Missyslc]

I did a Gellux course with capital hair & beauty a couple of months back. This is the first & only gel system I have used so far.
I have followed all the correct procedure absolutely to the book. But I’m finding the removal is like it’s cemented on it’s taking me forever to remove & im having to buff off a lot in the end which I’m worried is causing damage to the nails.
I had practised a lot on my family & 2x of them now have very weak nails and one of them has now had her nails starting to split . It’s really knocked my confidence please help?
Is it me? Why is it taking so long etc?

 

[Missyslc]

Hi,
I have previously posted about my nightmare trying to remove gellux, but as I have spent soooo much money on building my kit to provide this service I cannot afford just to change over brands & start again.

I have an idea & wondered if anyone has tried this & if it would even work? And would love your thoughts on it.
So if I tried either gelish or shellac base coat then just used my gellux colours & top coat as usual over the top, I thought logically the removal might be easier as I know gelish comes off like a dream & I would obviously be filing the top coat off before removal. And if the base coat lifts easier then it would take the colour with it
Do you think this would work? Has anyone tried it? Xx

 

[Scrubadub]

Are you using the mixed base/top coats gellux or the easy off base coat, the easy off makes life much easier! I use gellux

 

[Trinity]

There are a few post about Gellux being difficult to remove, first thing to check is that you are using the Gel Polish base and top coat not the hard gel products in the range. The hard Gel products can't be soaked, they are file off only.

I've not used it but from everything I've read it needs soaking for quite a while, CND is 8 minutes, Gel2 is 10, most of what I've read for Gellux seems to be closer to 15 minutes. That's quite a long time and potentially the acetone will evaporate in that time so you need to ensure your foils are wrapped super tight, any gaps and it will evaporate even quicker. To check if you are not wrapping properly try soaking off one nail in a dappen dish of acetone - I wouldn't recommend this all the time but to check if it's the product or your technique it will help. Set your timer on your phone and soak one nail, leave it in the dish and watch what happens (don't keep taking it out to check) - see how it reacts after 8 minutes, 10 minutes, etc. You should see it start to swell and fall apart. If that happens after say 12 minutes but you can't soak off in that time, then you need to check your wrapping technique.

Are you definitely filing enough of the top coat off? You need to file until you see the dust of the colour you applied on your abrasive but not further to avoid natural nail damage.

Sometimes removal can be difficult if you apply base coat too thickly too

HTH

 

[Scrubadub]

I use gellux and it is hard to remove, make sure you use the easy off base coat and not put your layers on too thick!

 

[Missyslc]

Are you using the mixed base/top coats gellux or the easy off base coat, the easy off makes life much easier! I use gellux

I am using the top/base coat from gellux as this is what the trainer recommended & said she didn’t think the easy off base coat did any different. I have used the easy off base before & still has the same trouble. But perhaps I will try it again Thankyou

 

[Scrubadub]

I am using the top/base coat from gellux as this is what the trainer recommended & said she didn’t think the easy off base coat did any different. I have used the easy off base before & still has the same trouble. But perhaps I will try it again Thankyou

Give it a go! Make sure you are putting on the layers super thin as well

 

[Missyslc]

There are a few post about Gellux being difficult to remove, first thing to check is that you are using the Gel Polish base and top coat not the hard gel products in the range. The hard Gel products can't be soaked, they are file off only.

I've not used it but from everything I've read it needs soaking for quite a while, CND is 8 minutes, Gel2 is 10, most of what I've read for Gellux seems to be closer to 15 minutes. That's quite a long time and potentially the acetone will evaporate in that time so you need to ensure your foils are wrapped super tight, any gaps and it will evaporate even quicker. To check if you are not wrapping properly try soaking off one nail in a dappen dish of acetone - I wouldn't recommend this all the time but to check if it's the product or your technique it will help. Set your timer on your phone and soak one nail, leave it in the dish and watch what happens (don't keep taking it out to check) - see how it reacts after 8 minutes, 10 minutes, etc. You should see it start to swell and fall apart. If that happens after say 12 minutes but you can't soak off in that time, then you need to check your wrapping technique.

Are you definitely filing enough of the top coat off? You need to file until you see the dust of the colour you applied on your abrasive but not further to avoid natural nail damage.

Sometimes removal can be difficult if you apply base coat too thickly too

HTH

Thankyou for the advice I will try that experiment with soaking one off, as I have considered if my foils are to loose but I do try to wrap them as tight as possible.
I am definitely using the right base/top coat (not hard gel). And I do file off all the shine on the top coat off. Aswell I do try to put a thin layer of base coat on, but can maybe keep a check on this.
Do you have any good tips or techniques for wrapping foils tightly?

 

[Missyslc]

Give it a go! Make sure you are putting on the layers super thin as well

I will Thankyou & yes I do try to keep my layers thin.
Can I ask how long does it take you for removal?
What process do you use?
Do you do anything extra than is taught on the course to speed it up?
Sorry for all the questions but I need to find a solution.

 

[Scrubadub]

I will Thankyou & yes I do try to keep my layers thin.
Can I ask how long does it take you for removal?
What process do you use?
Do you do anything extra than is taught on the course to speed it up?
Sorry for all the questions but I need to find a solution.

It takes about 10-15 on myself and 10 on clients as I can’t do the layers as thing on myself!

File off the top coat, soak a cotton pad with remover, I use nail clips and put them on and wait about 5 mins then start removing and re-wrap if needed.

 

[Trinity]

Do you have any good tips or techniques for wrapping foils tightly?

Its hard to explain in words, check out FingerNailFixer on YouTube for the new CND Luxe way of wrapping, there is also a video from The Creative Beauty Group showing a side twist method. I'll see if I can find some links.

 

[Trinity]

 

[Trinity]

I can't find one for the twist method, I think it may have been on a FB live rather than YouTube

 

[Leggibone]

I have found that Gellux kinda crumbles, rather then flakes - it’s a right nightmare. I know it’s not by the book to mix brands but I have used opi base and top on other brands of colour and found it made it much like the opi to remove, but I wouldn’t do this on clients as you don’t know how it’s going to react.
The easy off base makes it a little easier but not by much compared to the combined base/top unfortunately!