Help with Gel

[Lady_of_Pain]

Hello everyone. I am hoping that someone can help me. I want an opinion on the gel that I am using now. You will probably not recognize the name of the gel, it is NailBasics, and I think it is just a gel found in this area of Canada, I think it is made here. I have my opinion of it, but I am just learning (in school right now) and I have not used anything else to compare it to.

Here is my problem:

The way the gel works, when you do a french set, there are two different whites you apply. First - on the form - you apply a VERY THIN layer of the french gel, which is a very transleucent white self levelling gel. The layer should be thin enough to see the black of the form. You freeze that for 10-20 seconds. Then you apply a thin layer of sno, which is a non-self levelling gel that is whiter than the french. If the sno is put on too thick, it will not cure all the way through. My problem is, that the whites are so see-through-ish that you can see the natural nail underneith. If you put a thicker layer of sno on, it will not cure properly. If you put a thicker layer of french on, the nail will be too thick. Also, the way that they teach us in our manual is not the same as the way they are teaching us in class. They told us that they didn't want us to learn the 2 steps with the french and the sno yet because if you put the sno on too thick it will not cure. However, to make the nail look natural with just the french and to not be able to see the natural nail through the sculpted nail, you have to put the layer of french gel on so thick and then you get ugly thick nails - and they were telling us to put a thick layer of this gel on in class. I was not happy, as I believe that our goal is to create a natural looking nail.

I have tried it both ways - with just the french, and with both the french and the snow, and I am finding that either the nais are transleucent, or they are too thick, or will not cure through.

I hope that I have described this in a way that you can understand. Right now I am looking at my nails that I have done on myself, and I can see through the whites the shadowing of my natural nail underneith. Also it seems wrong to teach us to put such a thick layer of gel on one week, and then the next week they will expect us to put very thin layers on. It seems like teaching someone a bad habit and then asking them to correct it. Also I must add that if you put a thicker layer of the gels on they will feel very hot under the light.

Sorry for the long post, let me know what you think - is this a normal function of most gels? Maybe I am just doing something incorrectly, but it seems like I have tried so many different techniques and ways that I just don't know what to do.

Also I am going to the Allied Beauty Association show this weekend, and there will be different companies with their own demos of gels (Creative is going to be there, I am very excited!!!), so I am looking forward to that (also our school is trying to steer us away from the convention....)

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Hi, LoP! Have not heard of the gel you are using, and IMO it sounds very complicated and not giving good results. When you start your technique will always be a bit dodgy until you practice, practice, practice. Just several points for you .....

have you seen a finished French set of these that give the results you want? If yes, then you could persist until you get it right. If no, then change the brand you are using.

Gel often gives off heat when curing, a way round this is either apply 2 thin layers, or take the hand in and out of the light before the heat has time to take effect

It is quite difficult to find a sculpting gel that is truly white and they are often quite transparent as you describe. As most of you know I am an LCN girl at heart, but I have to say that Brisa is the best white gel that I have come across for opaqueness and clarity.

It all sounds very tricky and complicated and long winded and it is obvious that you are not happy with either the product or the peeps training you with it. My advice would be to give up the ghost and find another provider. Go to the show and go on every stand that does gel, get each one to do a demo on a nail so you can see the product and keep them on so you can test the durability. Get a feel for each Company and how they look after you and which ever one you feel most comfortable with and with the product you are happiest with then go with them. HTH!

 

[geeg]

You explained your problems very well and clearly. I can see your dilemmas.

Sarah is a very experienced gel user and gives good advice. There are gels out there though that do not give off much heat and Brisa is one of them. The system has many good points to it and many questions about Brisa are answered in the premium geeks tutorials forum. Read and digest those and you will be well armed when you go to the show!!

Many schools teach with fairly low end generic products ... by this I mean there is nothing special or technologically advanced about them and this gel I have to say sounds like one of them or we would all know about it!!

There are clear forms available for sculpting the white so that a complete cure can be obtained with curing from both sides. Creative have some with the Brisa system and I believe there are others on the market too. Perhaps you might purchase some of these and be able to work on those whites the way you want to.

Tell me why you call yourself lady of pain!!?? Is it to do with the gel you are using or something we can't discuss on the site??? A pm would be good here for answering this or we will go off topic and upset he geek and maybe gain negative reputation points. :cry:

 

[Lady_of_Pain]

The Lady of Pain is really not as big of a deal as it seems.


It is sort of a long story. The Lady of Pain is a Dungeons and Dragons character in the Planescape Campaign setting. She is the ruler of Sigil, which is a crazy city - the crossroads of the planes. heh heh, I am REALLY geeky!!! I could go on for a while about her, but I'm sure it would bore the heck out of everyone!!!

I thought that I would just post it here because lots of people are probably wondering. I probably should have given myself a more suitable name!!!