L&P or Gel??? (and a Q about CND!)

[bellabeautie]

Hi everyone,

Being relatively new to Acrylic and Gel, I was wondering.....

How many of you offer both services? And for those of you that do.... If a client wants a new set done, and asks "Oh, I dont know what to have, would you recommend Acrylic or Gel?" What would your reply be? Do either system have pros and cons? Is Acrylic better for some clients and Gel other clients? Funnily, this is one thing that hasnt come up in questions at college, and after thinking about this this morning, I thought I would get your opinions before I go into college next week and ask. I offer both, and I quite enjoy doing both...I find Gel easier to apply (only because I havent got the complete hang of my beads, but I am getting there!lol) but I think L&P is lovely too! It would just be nice to have some knowledge of which service does what!

And the other thing I wanted to ask (instead of posting a new thread!) for those of you that use CND, what is the difference between Retention +, Radical and Moxie? I am confused as to when you would use each one. We are only using Retention + at college, although we did get a small bottle of Radical, Moxie and Primer, we havent been shown how to use or when we would use them instead of Retention +.

Hmmmm, sorry for the long rambling post!

 

[ValencianNails]

Hi everyone,

Being relatively new to Acrylic and Gel, I was wondering.....

How many of you offer both services?
I offer all 3 systems, L+P, gel and fibreglass.

And for those of you that do.... If a client wants a new set done, and asks "Oh, I dont know what to have, would you recommend Acrylic or Gel?" What would your reply be?
That all depends on their lifestyle, job, what kind of enhancement they're looking for etc
If they're looking for glitter fades then I will always use L+P, if they want French then I use either, depending on what they do for a living, if it were on a hairdresser for example then I would use Gel due to it being non-porous.

Do either system have pros and cons?
I use Creative for both my L+P and gel, I don't think there is much difference strength wise between the two, the only obvious difference is that you can smell the monomer and not the gel, but that shouldn't be a problem with correct ventilation and working smart with the liquid and your wiping etc. The dust is finer when filing gels than it is with L+P.

Is Acrylic better for some clients and Gel other clients?
I don't think it's a case of one being 'better for the client', more a case of which they get on best with. Some clients get on better with one or the other, and other clients can wear them both.
I have some clients who can only wear one and not the other.

Funnily, this is one thing that hasnt come up in questions at college, and after thinking about this this morning, I thought I would get your opinions before I go into college next week and ask. I offer both, and I quite enjoy doing both...I find Gel easier to apply (only because I havent got the complete hang of my beads, but I am getting there!lol) but I think L&P is lovely too! It would just be nice to have some knowledge of which service does what!

And the other thing I wanted to ask (instead of posting a new thread!) for those of you that use CND, what is the difference between Retention +, Radical and Moxie?
Retention+ is great for clients who experience lifting.
Radical is used for clients who tend to be heavy-handed and suffer from chipping/cracking etc.
Moxie is a fast setting liquid, ideal to use in the winter and/or when competing.

I am confused as to when you would use each one. We are only using Retention + at college, although we did get a small bottle of Radical, Moxie and Primer, we havent been shown how to use or when we would use them instead of Retention +.
R+ and Moxie are primer-optional liquids, ie you don't have to use primer to get great results but you can use it if you have adhesion difficulties with some client's nails. I'm not sure whether Radical is primer-optional.

Hmmmm, sorry for the long rambling post!

I think a lot of it also comes down to which system you feel most comfortable using, if you are more confident with L+P and you use it more often then it's going to be the one you recommend, if you are confident with both then you have a choice.

Hope that helps a bit :hug:

 

[franjess]

I think Valenciannails said it all, I would just add that some clients are allergic to L&P and chemical smells. I have one such client so I use Brisa Gels (hyporallergic) on her and so far she has no problems wearing them.

 

[mely-bely]

Fantastic responses! I offer only l&p as I am extremely allergic to gel. Having said that, I will glove up and do gel product demos as our clients want to see how it works. Knowing that I rarely do gels, and can still demo the product and do a beautiful nail, just shows our clients how easy our system is to use!

 

[jojosnails]

Just checked, Radical is also primer optional!

 

[Exquisite Touch]

I use all three systems, L & p. Gel and silk/fibreglass
my main one is L&p but most people come in and ask for gel thinking tis not acrylic, until i explain that its the same family.

most annoying thing is when they come and saying they have gel on and it is plainly acrylic done at a NSS

 

[RedAdmiral]

Valenciannails gave a great reply but I will add that I believe to be a Full Service Nail Technician is the only way to really give your clients what they want. And I mean All systems - natural nail overlay system, l&p and gel.
I base my descision on what the client needs - hard nails gel, soft/damaged nail l&p. tho like Valencian I do my glitters in l&p and embedd with gel. I think you do most of what you are better at and what you like. I've just gone through a Brisa phase and now I'm back to l&p. I use all 3 liquids tho mostly moxie in my cold salon.
I love that I am able to give my clients exactly what they need and before discovering radical I nearly pulled my hair out with a particular client - even she cant believe we solved the problem and I think she was ready to leave!