Ikon.IQ and INK help

[Laylee84]

Hello!

I’ve just started out and have a few questions that I haven’t been able to find answers to on here yet. (My request to join INK’s Facebook group is still pending after a week and I’ve contacted Ikon.IQ on their Instagram and website about the first question and haven’t heard back yet either.)

Ikon.IQ: I bought the offer package of 13 Prima gels with the free lamp. In the description it said they throw in the air dry bonder and something else (can’t remember what) too but when the package came they weren’t included and when I went to check the description again it no longer said they throw in the extra products. I didn’t order them thinking they were included and am now worried there’ll be issues if I need to use the Prima gels this week without the bonder. (If I order them now they won’t arrive in time for this weeks day in the salon.) Is the airdry bonder essential to help the gels stick? Or will the usual cuticle work, dehydrating and filing of the nail plate (I use a 320 on the natural nail because I was finding a 240 left scratches) then base coat be enough to help the gel adhere?

Any thoughts on Ikon.IQ’s and INK’s Acrygels? I bought Ink’s for now as it’s slightly cheaper and I’d just be using it to train with for a few months until I pass my Polygel course. I haven’t tried it yet though but wonder how it compares to Ikon.IQ’s as I’m considering investing in theirs down the line. Especially if I can’t mix brands and need to choose one.

INK: I received their Baby Boom Flubber free with my order and tried it on myself. It’s lifted around the tip of each nail after 3 days. Could this be down to me not capping it properly? It’s my first time using flubbers as to practice on friends and family for a few months before starting work I was using a basic gel brand (before learning how bad they are). The flubbers are thicker than a generic base coat so I’m guessing I could have applied it too thickly too and it may not have cured properly?

Mixing:
I have lamps for both brands since I ordered the trial packages for each. I love Ikon.IQ gels due to the high pigment, so it covers in one coat and this means it’s amazing for nail art and I don’t need to buy all the extra studio and art gels like I would with INK. (I also love the packaging and it looks stunning on the shelf ). I’ll be investing in the Hypnos range eventually though. But INK do some stunning colours/glitters/effects that Ikon.IQ don’t, and I wonder if I can mix brands since I have both lamps? I’m guessing it’s a definite no, but I’ve read some posters on here who use both brands but for different things so I wondered if anyone had tried it. I know the only way to know is to try it on myself and see how they wear, but as I work as a cleaner and carer aswell as doing nails on the side now I doubt anything will last long on my nails anyway.

Acrylics: some of the barbers and hairdressers at the salon have acrylic on their nails. They say it’s the only thing that stands up to the heavy use of their hands and all the products they use. I’m not going to offer acrylics and wondered if anyone has any clients who are hairdressers or barbers and what their feedback has been on acrygel nails?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Laylee84]

Just an update on this, I heard from Ikon.iQ and they said it’ll be fine without the bonder. I’ll still buy it though but it’ll have to be in a couple of months.

Sorry for all my newbie questions above! I read on another thread that this site is virtually dead now so I’m guessing I won’t get a reply! It’s just a minefield of info out there and I never know who or what to trust, and old threads on this site have really helped me learn so I thought I’d ask here. Even with peeling polish it could be any one of 12 things so I suppose I’ll never know for sure until I’ve gained a lot more experience.

 

[Trinity]

Just an update on this, I heard from Ikon.iQ and they said it’ll be fine without the bonder. I’ll still buy it though but it’ll have to be in a couple of months.

Sorry for all my newbie questions above! I read on another thread that this site is virtually dead now so I’m guessing I won’t get a reply! It’s just a minefield of info out there and I never know who or what to trust, and old threads on this site have really helped me learn so I thought I’d ask here. Even with peeling polish it could be any one of 12 things so I suppose I’ll never know for sure until I’ve gained a lot more experience.

Hi, Bob from Ikon.IQ is a member and regular poster on here so I'm sure he'll be on to respond

 

[Charlie276]

Hello!

I’ve just started out and have a few questions that I haven’t been able to find answers to on here yet. (My request to join INK’s Facebook group is still pending after a week and I’ve contacted Ikon.IQ on their Instagram and website about the first question and haven’t heard back yet either.)

Ikon.IQ: I bought the offer package of 13 Prima gels with the free lamp. In the description it said they throw in the air dry bonder and something else (can’t remember what) too but when the package came they weren’t included and when I went to check the description again it no longer said they throw in the extra products. I didn’t order them thinking they were included and am now worried there’ll be issues if I need to use the Prima gels this week without the bonder. (If I order them now they won’t arrive in time for this weeks day in the salon.) Is the airdry bonder essential to help the gels stick? Or will the usual cuticle work, dehydrating and filing of the nail plate (I use a 320 on the natural nail because I was finding a 240 left scratches) then base coat be enough to help the gel adhere?

Any thoughts on Ikon.IQ’s and INK’s Acrygels? I bought Ink’s for now as it’s slightly cheaper and I’d just be using it to train with for a few months until I pass my Polygel course. I haven’t tried it yet though but wonder how it compares to Ikon.IQ’s as I’m considering investing in theirs down the line. Especially if I can’t mix brands and need to choose one.

INK: I received their Baby Boom Flubber free with my order and tried it on myself. It’s lifted around the tip of each nail after 3 days. Could this be down to me not capping it properly? It’s my first time using flubbers as to practice on friends and family for a few months before starting work I was using a basic gel brand (before learning how bad they are). The flubbers are thicker than a generic base coat so I’m guessing I could have applied it too thickly too and it may not have cured properly?

Mixing:
I have lamps for both brands since I ordered the trial packages for each. I love Ikon.IQ gels due to the high pigment, so it covers in one coat and this means it’s amazing for nail art and I don’t need to buy all the extra studio and art gels like I would with INK. (I also love the packaging and it looks stunning on the shelf ). I’ll be investing in the Hypnos range eventually though. But INK do some stunning colours/glitters/effects that Ikon.IQ don’t, and I wonder if I can mix brands since I have both lamps? I’m guessing it’s a definite no, but I’ve read some posters on here who use both brands but for different things so I wondered if anyone had tried it. I know the only way to know is to try it on myself and see how they wear, but as I work as a cleaner and carer aswell as doing nails on the side now I doubt anything will last long on my nails anyway.

Acrylics: some of the barbers and hairdressers at the salon have acrylic on their nails. They say it’s the only thing that stands up to the heavy use of their hands and all the products they use. I’m not going to offer acrylics and wondered if anyone has any clients who are hairdressers or barbers and what their feedback has been on acrygel nails?

Thanks for any advice!

Can’t comment on the offer that you didn’t receive, what did Ikoniq say? I would hope they would send you one out of it was missed from the parcel?. If you get stuck I have the bonders, I’ve used them maybe once, I’m selling some of my ikoniq stuff as I don’t do nails anymore.

I have used both ink and ikoniq.
They are both good brands. Ink flubber I’ve never had an issue with. Are you throughly dehydrating the nail plate? Did you file the free edge and cap it? You can use a liner brush to help cap the free edge if that’s easier or push the gel from behind so it lips over the free edge. So you need to turn the brush round and push product towards the free edge. Like you do to get gel towards the cuticle area but in reverse. Hope that makes sense. Also your file may be to fine grit to etch enough for the gel to adhere, the texture is what helps the gel bond, you don’t want to damage the nail plate but it should look matte with no shiny areas after you’ve wiped the dust. Also make sure you are fully wiping dust from everywhere including the free edge and under.

With regards to mixing brands, you shouldn’t mix full stop, different chemical make ups do not always work together and you would invalidate your insurance. A lot of people do but that doesn’t mean they are right to do so. The only way you can mix is you could use a builder gel from 1 brand, as long as it is fully cured and filed with no tacky layer you can use any gel polish over it. So you could use flubber, wipe the tacky layer, file/buff over it and use ikoniq gel polish and top coat.

You could mix your own glitters using loose glitter, colour gels and base coat or top coat. My honest opinion is I prefer ink’s bases and top coats, ikoniq’s colour gels are great, they are very pigmented but im not as keen on the base and I really don’t like the top coat. Personally for me ink London lasts much longer.

I don’t hear much about inks acrygel but have heard a lot of great reviews about ikoniqs version. Never used so can’t speak for that but if you’ve trained in gel including builder gel then there are so many different gel options to suit all different nails and industries. Hard gel is non porous, it does not break down with acetone and chemicals so is a better options for cleaners, hairdressers etc. I would suggest looking through light elegance gels or YouTube videos comparing them, they explain how different gels are better for different things and some are harder and some are more flexible etc. The only thing to bare in mind is that hard gel can not be soaked off (same as acrygel) so you would need to be confident filing down to a thin base or alternatively you can put a soakable base coat down first.

Have you tried ink sobiab? I think that stuff is amazing, I now use Jimmy gel (on myself) from light elegance which I also find to be great.

 

[Laylee84]

Hi @Charlie276 thank you so much for all this info! It was so informative.

Ikoniq didn’t say anything just that it’ll be fine without the bonder if I do proper nail prep. I’m starting to wonder if I got confused with one of the INK packages instead

Yes I’ll definitely be interested in buying some of your products if they’re still within their shelf life?

Thanks so much for the advice. I’ll try again on myself today and try different methods of capping (I’m just using the brush from the bottle and sweeping it across the free edge at the moment) and i’ll be extra careful of removing dust. You could be right that my 320 is too high a grit to etch the nail plate enough. I’ve seen INK use a 180 in their tutorials but I think I’m too heavy handed for that. I’ll try on myself again with a 240 lightly and see what happens. I tried only wearing Ikon.iQ Base & Shine on myself (just by itself) and had the same issue with lifting at the free edge on some nails. When I was practicing for assessments and on friends and family with the cheap gel brand I never had any problems with peeling, lifting or chipping so I know it’ll just be me getting used to using different products.

Yeah invalidating the insurance is a good point! But I agree and I’m not a fan of Ikon.IQ’s top coat either. Their Shine Like a Diamond was out of stock when I placed my order so I can’t comment on that yet, but their Base & Shine isn’t great (more of a satin finish and doesn’t form a thick enough layer to make a smooth surface, for example if doing leopard print the nail feels lumpy after applying it, instead of becoming smooth like with my practice brand). What didn’t you like about Ikon.IQ’s top? I have INK’s Rock Plus and was going to try that instead today. I’d definitely only consider mixing brands if I found I preferred a base or top of one brand and gels of another, rather than mixing gel colours from each brand. But would prefer not to mix full stop.

I have a bottle of Sobiab because I hear great things about it on here, but I haven’t practiced with it yet. I’ve got my builder gel assessment to do but am still looking for models so haven’t managed to get started with practice yet.

I’ll check the vids today and do more research. Thank you so much!

 

[Charlie276]

Hi @Charlie276 thank you so much for all this info! It was so informative.

Ikoniq didn’t say anything just that it’ll be fine without the bonder if I do proper nail prep. I’m starting to wonder if I got confused with one of the INK packages instead

Yes I’ll definitely be interested in buying some of your products if they’re still within their shelf life?

Thanks so much for the advice. I’ll try again on myself today and try different methods of capping (I’m just using the brush from the bottle and sweeping it across the free edge at the moment) and i’ll be extra careful of removing dust. You could be right that my 320 is too high a grit to etch the nail plate enough. I’ve seen INK use a 180 in their tutorials but I think I’m too heavy handed for that. I’ll try on myself again with a 240 lightly and see what happens. I tried only wearing Ikon.iQ Base & Shine on myself (just by itself) and had the same issue with lifting at the free edge on some nails. When I was practicing for assessments and on friends and family with the cheap gel brand I never had any problems with peeling, lifting or chipping so I know it’ll just be me getting used to using different products.

Yeah invalidating the insurance is a good point! But I agree and I’m not a fan of Ikon.IQ’s top coat either. Their Shine Like a Diamond was out of stock when I placed my order so I can’t comment on that yet, but their Base & Shine isn’t great (more of a satin finish and doesn’t form a thick enough layer to make a smooth surface, for example if doing leopard print the nail feels lumpy after applying it, instead of becoming smooth like with my practice brand). What didn’t you like about Ikon.IQ’s top? I have INK’s Rock Plus and was going to try that instead today. I’d definitely only consider mixing brands if I found I preferred a base or top of one brand and gels of another, rather than mixing gel colours from each brand. But would prefer not to mix full stop.

I have a bottle of Sobiab because I hear great things about it on here, but I haven’t practiced with it yet. I’ve got my builder gel assessment to do but am still looking for models so haven’t managed to get started with practice yet.

I’ll check the vids today and do more research. Thank you so much!

Personally my experience is ikoniq base doesn’t last as long for me as flubber. If your nails are quite bendy you can try adding a little more base down the centre to create a small apex to give it a little structure. I don’t know how thin you are applying either product. You may need a thinner or thicker coat.

I bought them March 2021, I have x2, x7 and x12 which is the uv bonder.

Yes I would think your grit is to high, I would use a 180 and just be very light, don’t add pressure. The reason you didn’t have a problem with cheap Chinese manufactured gel is because they contain so many ingredients that are like glue, the adhere brilliantly, last brilliantly and are usually amazingly pigmented but you run a very real risk of causing yourself or others allergies which are devastating and can cause issues with medical and dental treatments. You’ve picked really good brands with ink and ikoniq, I would also say light elegance is a great choice, cnd also but sadly with these safer brands there is a little compromise as they don’t contain the same amount of chemicals which adhere like cement so you need to make sure prep is really good. The best way I think is to always leave a little base on - then you only prep the nail once, file off the colour next time leaving a thin base and all you have to prep is the growth. So you never touch the same part of the nail more than once - does that make sense. If you remove everything each time and have to re prep the whole nail that’s where it can get thinner.

So I have the shine like a diamond top coat and it works fab on my toe nails but on my finger nails it seems to scratch very easily. I don’t have that issue with any other top coat. I’ve used ink no wipe, rock and rock light and some other brands. You need to ensure you use the same brand colour and top coat, basically you can’t apply anything on top of anything unless it’s wiped and buffed.

Sobiab is really good.

I really recommend the nail hub gel series on YouTube for additional education, the lady who runs it also is running some free online classes (not certified) but she is so knowledgeable, also light elegance videos are great but not loads of them.

 

[Alison Pilkington-Child]

Hi Charlie. I've been using Ikoniq for years and I'm not planning to change as I've sampled other brands and not found anything to compete in terms of ease of application and staying power with a decent finish that won't dull down etc.

Anything you want to know feel free to message me on Facebook @careandflair

 

[Alison Pilkington-Child]

Oh forgot to mention... Polygel. Ikoniq is easier to file and shape than INK, I've not tried any others.

 

[Laylee84]

Hi @Charlie276 yeah rubber bases are amazing. Even Ikon.iq’s Base & Build is better/longer lasting than the Base & Shine so I’m going to use that as my standard base coat for the moment with my Ikoniq gels. Have you tried Ikon.iq’s rubber bases? I was going to buy a couple with my next order. And yes I remember watching a Prima video that said you can leave the base on, so once I get a coloured rubber base that will be much easier for me to do as I don’t feel confident being able to tell the difference between the base and natural nail with a clear base.

And yeah! Beetles was actually talked about on my course and one of the techs there used it and people were saying how great it is. As it’s not cruelty-free I wasn’t going to buy it but I was desperate for something to practice with that was highly rated and cheap! It also said it was 9-free so I thought that was a good thing. But now realise there’s tons of hema in it.

Oh thanks so much for the info on the top coat! I wonder if they know about this issue and are working on fixing it?

And yeah I looked into LE at the start of my nail journey but as it’s American I thought it’d be harder to find in the U.K. I’ve seen sites selling it but didn’t seem to have a big range. I like being able to buy direct from the brand.

Thank you I’ll check out her classes oh and I’ll leave the Ikon.iQ products just as they’ve been open nearly 2yrs so will be close to the end of their shelf life now and I haven’t got enough clients at the moment to be able to use them up in time.

 

[Charlie276]

Hi @Charlie276 yeah rubber bases are amazing. Even Ikon.iq’s Base & Build is better/longer lasting than the Base & Shine so I’m going to use that as my standard base coat for the moment with my Ikoniq gels. Have you tried Ikon.iq’s rubber bases? I was going to buy a couple with my next order. And yes I remember watching a Prima video that said you can leave the base on, so once I get a coloured rubber base that will be much easier for me to do as I don’t feel confident being able to tell the difference between the base and natural nail with a clear base.

And yeah! Beetles was actually talked about on my course and one of the techs there used it and people were saying how great it is. As it’s not cruelty-free I wasn’t going to buy it but I was desperate for something to practice with that was highly rated and cheap! It also said it was 9-free so I thought that was a good thing. But now realise there’s tons of hema in it.

Oh thanks so much for the info on the top coat! I wonder if they know about this issue and are working on fixing it?

And yeah I looked into LE at the start of my nail journey but as it’s American I thought it’d be harder to find in the U.K. I’ve seen sites selling it but didn’t seem to have a big range. I like being able to buy direct from the brand.

Thank you I’ll check out her classes oh and I’ll leave the Ikon.iQ products just as they’ve been open nearly 2yrs so will be close to the end of their shelf life now and I haven’t got enough clients at the moment to be able to use them up in time.

I haven’t used ikoniqs base and shine or rubber bases, when I purchased the ikoniq they didn’t have the new jazzy range, just the black bottles. Yes I understand the fear of where does the gel end and the natural nail start!

I started on myself using bluesky before I qualified when I didn’t know anything about nail product safety, I’m so thankful I didn’t cause myself a reaction as I didn’t use it that often and then invested in ink when qualified. This site really is what educated me on product safety and luckily a timely Instagram comment that was asking about the gel bottle drama, once I looked into that I did lots and lots of reading. On my course no one mentioned the chemicals in nail products and I was even told I could use a sun uv lamp to cure any gel.

I’ve not heard anyone else mention the top coat issue not that I know anyone else who uses Ikoniq but I have used various topcoats and never have the issue, only with theirs and using the correct lamp. It’s not really bad or anything but I definitely notice it especially over bright/dark colours.

You can get light elegance from sweet squared in the uk. They usually have most of their range in stock.

No problem, it was only if you needed them now as I know ikoniq can take a while as they ship from abroad.

Good luck on your journey.

 

[BobSweden]

Hi Laylee,
Just saw your posts )).

>I bought the offer package of 13 Prima gels with the free lamp. In the description it said they throw in the air dry bonder and something else (can’t remember what) too but when the package came they weren’t included and when I went to check the description again it no longer said they throw in the extra products.

My colleagues have confirmed that the !3 PRIMA offer did include free X7 and X10 when it was first published, but that error was then removed. Because of this, I have arranged for you to receive these.

While the PRIMA and NOVA gel polishes do have a "use before 24 months" statement on the label, as these are pure gel polishes and not hybrids that contain solvents that can evaporate, you will be able to continue using them for much longer that this.

I am a bit confused about the comments regarding PRIMA Shine Like A Diamond. Our tests showed that even after 4 weeks, the finish was like new, which is also confirmed by reviews received from customers.

The NOVA Rubber Bases are now one of our most popular products. By all means, ask in our Facebook group for reviews ))

 

[Laylee84]

I haven’t used ikoniqs base and shine or rubber bases, when I purchased the ikoniq they didn’t have the new jazzy range, just the black bottles. Yes I understand the fear of where does the gel end and the natural nail start!

I started on myself using bluesky before I qualified when I didn’t know anything about nail product safety, I’m so thankful I didn’t cause myself a reaction as I didn’t use it that often and then invested in ink when qualified. This site really is what educated me on product safety and luckily a timely Instagram comment that was asking about the gel bottle drama, once I looked into that I did lots and lots of reading. On my course no one mentioned the chemicals in nail products and I was even told I could use a sun uv lamp to cure any gel.

I’ve not heard anyone else mention the top coat issue not that I know anyone else who uses Ikoniq but I have used various topcoats and never have the issue, only with theirs and using the correct lamp. It’s not really bad or anything but I definitely notice it especially over bright/dark colours.

You can get light elegance from sweet squared in the uk. They usually have most of their range in stock.

No problem, it was only if you needed them now as I know ikoniq can take a while as they ship from abroad.

Good luck on your journey.

Yes me too! I’ve found this site so useful for info and in deciding which brands to go for. I wasn’t on social media until very recently, (to follow nail artists that inspire me and then to set up a business page) so I wasn’t aware of The Gel Bottle issues. I had planned on investing in them until I found out through this site about all the reactions to it. I was a bit gutted as loads of the nail artists I follow on Instagram use TGB and their nail art is stunning! I love that I’ll be able to carve my own path with Ikon.iQ products though and hopefully blow all the TGB artists out of the water one day

But yes it’s mental how little we’re told on the course. The brands they recommended on mine have all been slated on here too for causing reactions etc.

I joined Sweet Squared today.

Thanks very much!

 

[Laylee84]

Hi Laylee,
Just saw your posts )).

>I bought the offer package of 13 Prima gels with the free lamp. In the description it said they throw in the air dry bonder and something else (can’t remember what) too but when the package came they weren’t included and when I went to check the description again it no longer said they throw in the extra products.

My colleagues have confirmed that the !3 PRIMA offer did include free X7 and X10 when it was first published, but that error was then removed. Because of this, I have arranged for you to receive these.

While the PRIMA and NOVA gel polishes do have a "use before 24 months" statement on the label, as these are pure gel polishes and not hybrids that contain solvents that can evaporate, you will be able to continue using them for much longer that this.

I am a bit confused about the comments regarding PRIMA Shine Like A Diamond. Our tests showed that even after 4 weeks, the finish was like new, which is also confirmed by reviews received from customers.

The NOVA Rubber Bases are now one of our most popular products. By all means, ask in our Facebook group for reviews ))

Re the X7/X10 freebies. Thank you Bob! I did think I was going mad for a minute much appreciated for getting those sent out, looking forward to trying them!

I’ll buy the Shine Like A Diamond top and some of the rubber bases with my next order too.

I need to be active in the Facebook group. I’ve only just rejoined Facebook and am still not in the habit of using it much but I hear the Ikon.iQ and INK groups are brilliant, so I’ll definitely start taking part in them more

@Charlie276 @BobSweden @Alison Pilkington-Child thanks so much for all your help and advice!

 

[jlsdds]

these are pure gel polishes and not hybrids that contain solvents that can evaporate, you will be able to continue using them for much longer that this.

Another reason to NEVER close a bottle without cleaning the threads thoroughly.