LED lights vs UV lights? I'm confused!

[mizzy_dizzy]

I keep reading about L.E.D lights that cure U.V gels really very quickly how dose this work?
Am I getting the wrong end of it and ,
I hope its not to technical as I'm a bit thick sometimes , but can anyone (excuse the pun) shed some light on this for me please? :idea::idea::idea:

 

[user 35377]

The LED light only cures gels that are formulated to cure with them. The UV Light cures all gels. Some new gels on the market from Hand & Nail Harmony and Iryna Giblett cure with LED Lights in as little as 10 seconds or with a UV light in the norm of 2 minutes, but other gels that are not formulated this way will not cure with the LED at all.

 

[shedunlop]

The LED light only cures gels that are formulated to cure with them. The UV Light cures all gels. Some new gels on the market from Hand & Nail Harmony and Iryna Giblett cure with LED Lights in as little as 10 seconds or with a UV light in the norm of 2 minutes, but other gels that are not formulated this way will not cure with the LED at all.

What she said!

The Gelish product will cure in 30 seconds instead of 2 minutes with the new LED UV lamp. I would imagine there will be more of these lamps about from other companies fairly shortly. This will certainly save a lot of time, on average 12 minutes per treatment! Squeeze a couple of extras in then!

 

[mizzy_dizzy]

Thanks for your reply's
T.E.N gel has L.E.D lights to right?
But I'm still confused though! Are they normal L.E.D's or something totally new and different ?

 

[shedunlop]

No my darling they are not normal LEDs they are new technology and seem to be being used in lots of different industries for various reasons.

It is a very exciting time at the moment with so many new treatments and products!

 

[Hope]

I know I am by far a speedy worker, but how many of you think that having a 10-30 sec timer would really save you 12 min, I know that there is no way I would have fininshed the other hand in 10-30 secs IYKWIM

 

[TweezerHappy]

I know I am by far a speedy worker, but how many of you think that having a 10-30 sec timer would really save you 12 min, I know that there is no way I would have fininshed the other hand in 10-30 secs IYKWIM

I was thinking that too. Are people really that fast. Well done if they are.

I guess the benefit could be that if ou only have 1 lamp and the client has their arms crossed while you're working on the other hand they could bring it out the lamp and be a bit more confortable. Although, I acually like them to keep their hand in the lamp if I'm not ready for it even when the time is up so that they don't touch anything and get anything in the inhibition layer. IYGWIM.

 

[Hope]

I was thinking that too. Are people really that fast. Well done if they are.

I guess the benefit could be that if ou only have 1 lamp and the client has their arms crossed while you're working on the other hand they could bring it out the lamp and be a bit more confortable. Although, I acually like them to keep their hand in the lamp if I'm not ready for it even when the time is up so that they don't touch anything and get anything in the inhibition layer. IYGWIM.

I so get what you mean, suddenly they want to scratch their arm and get fluff all over the inhibition layer :irked:

 

[shedunlop]

The new lamp we are talking about is for curing Gelish which has the same cure time as Shellac. How long does it take you to paint 5 nails? You have a base that usually takes 1 minute then 2 coats of colour that take 2 minutes each, then your top coat, another 2 minutes. Multiply this by 2 for both hands.

With the new lamp it is 10 seconds for base, 30 seconds each for other coats. I can only speak for myself but it certainly doesn't take me 2 minutes to paint 5 nails! Xx

 

[geeg]

Takes me about 20 minutes max to apply Shellac for a client (about 30 with removal as well) ... I think this is a perfectly more-than-reasonable time for the client to be in the chair ... it really isn't much of an advantage to be much quicker for the shellac treatment and If I were I don''t think my clients would be happy to pay the 25.00 for the treatment ... they'd want to pay about a fiver!! lol

 

[user 25446]

Personally I think the main benefits of LED are:

• that the UVA lights have a lifetime of 50,000 hours. That pretty much means they will never need replacing (add up how much you spend on glass bulbs over 5 years)
• UVA output doesn't fade over time like glass bulbs. So less risk of undercuring and potentially, overexposure
• better environmentally. Traditional glass UV bulbs contain mercury which is nasty stuff to put into a landfill. Just think about the number of techs and the number of bulbs they trow away each year.

LED lamps are hellish expensive though. Ours costs 445 Euro and is made in Germany with 2 year warranty - but cheaper models are no doubt available from China on EBay (I've received some very low price offers from Chines factories, but prefer to buy European or US products wherever we can). But when you calculate the glass bulb cost - the LED lamp will probably pay for itself in 5 years.

For most tech it's best to wait a bit. As more LED lamps are sold the price will surely drop as the manufacturing volumes ramp up. Also, more manufacturers will come out with LED compatible gels.

We decided to offer the LED lamp and new soak off gels that work with it because for some techs, soak off is all they use. As a company, we also need to show that we embrace and support new technology. However, most of our gels only work with traditional UV lamps, so we offer one of those too.

 

[shedunlop]

It's like everything else really, once properly informed you make your own choice. I choose to use one, but that is my choice! I charge what I want to charge for services based on my time and the area where I live. If I lived in London then I would charge more and there are cheaper areas as well but it is me who decides.

If CND bring out one of these lamps, and I am sure they will keep up with technology, then everyone will want one.

As I say it is a matter of personal choice and using the products that go with the lamps themselves.

 

[ceknott]

What she said!

The Gelish product will cure in 30 seconds instead of 2 minutes with the new LED UV lamp. I would imagine there will be more of these lamps about from other companies fairly shortly. This will certainly save a lot of time, on average 12 minutes per treatment! Squeeze a couple of extras in then!

I would like to know for sure if LED lamps will not cure all gels. I have a lot of knowledge of physics and find it weird. LED lamps will soon be available in the UK. When I know the website I will let you know if you are interested. Please let me know. They will probably put them on Ebay at a good price. They are now US$400 and in the UK £299 by Harmony.
Regards

 

[ceknott]

Hi. Are yo absolutely sure LED lamps do not cure ALL kind of gels? Some lamps which will be available soon are LED UV which should cure all gels!!! (as far as I know)

 

[ceknott]

Hi. I bought the lamp and I am soooo happy I can not tell you. It cures MOST gels and I think it cures ALL of them. I understand it is UV as well.

 

[fozzyo]

The best lamp to use is the one that goes with the system you are using. If its Shellac then use the CND lamp, if its Gelish, use the Gelish Lamp, if its GELeration, use the GELeration lamp.

You then know 100% that the lamp will be completely curing the product it is designed for. Just because it emits the right type of light doesn't mean its the exact same light. There are so many factors that come into play in these matters.

Also if you are offering a Shellac service but use a lamp that isn't certified / approved for use with Shellac then you are not offering Shellac. To offer a the named treatment you have to use and follow the products, procedure and standard set out by the manufacturer! To do anything different would be misleading to your clients, and potentially damaging to your reputation.

LED technology and lamps have come on leaps and bounds in the past few years, and they offer an exciting alternative. However that alternative comes at a price ... two to three times the cost of a UV lamp. You need to be very sure your business can justify that cost, and over how many treatments you will recoup it.

Mat

 

[Ruth Mills]

From a "techie" point of view, LED stands for light emitting diode... it's a type of solid-state semiconductor that emits light when an electric current passes through it - normally around a narrow wavelength range (the "white" LED bulbs you can get for household use etc will normally have additional phosphors which will absorb blue light and re-emit it as yellow light, with the end result that the eye perceives the light to be white).

Whereas standard UV bulbs/tubes will normally include a small amount of mercury vapour at very low pressure, which will generate light by gas discharge when electricity is passed through the bulb/tube.

In terms of light output, the differences between LED bulbs and "old fashioned" UV bulbs/tubes will be in the spectrum of light produced (i.e. the range of wavelengths of light), the intensity of the light (number of photons produced in a given period of time) and the directionality of the light produced (whether it is emitted from all directions or concentrated in a particular direction, for example). All these parameters will affect the end result when used for curing nail enhancements - and manufacturers will optimise their recommended UV lamp(s) to give the best results with their products - so it's always best to use the recommended lamp for a given product.

 

[fairycake1]

Do you guys think the LED lamp is also kinder on the hands? I've been using gel on myself for years and years under UV light. I know there is mixed evidence on the effect of UV on the hands, and i've never been exactly worried, but I'm thinking about investing in the LED lamp in any case. Also the quickness factor is very appealing. Waiting for gel to cure under UV is the longest 2 minutes ever!

Thanks

 

[geeg]

Do you guys think the LED lamp is also kinder on the hands? I've been using gel on myself for years and years under UV light. I know there is mixed evidence on the effect of UV on the hands, and i've never been exactly worried, but I'm thinking about investing in the LED lamp in any case. Also the quickness factor is very appealing. Waiting for gel to cure under UV is the longest 2 minutes ever!

Thanks

As I understand it, LED also emits UV light so if you are thinking there is no UV if you are using LED them I think that would be an incorrect assumption.

The two minute wait while you twiddle your thumbs is a thing of the past if you use the CND UV lamp as it cures all 5 fingers at once which saves about 8 minutes on your service right there! No thumb twiddling as you are always busy on the other hand apart from the very last two minutes which I spend clearing up and putting things away ... Very efficient and no time wasted at all ... The five finger cure has made all the difference to waiting around.

 

[Ruth Mills]

As I understand it, LED also emits UV light so if you are thinking there is no UV if you are using LED them I think that would be an incorrect assumption.

The two minute wait while you twiddle your thumbs is a thing of the past if you use the CND UV lamp as it cures all 5 fingers at once which saves about 8 minutes on your service right there! No thumb twiddling as you are always busy on the other hand apart from the very last two minutes which I spend clearing up and putting things away ... Very efficient and no time wasted at all ... The five finger cure has made all the difference to waiting around.

Geeg, I think you're right in that the LED lamps used for curing nails will emit UV light (otherwise they probably wouldn't work, as the curing process normally needs UV light to kick the chemical reaction off); although only a relatively recent innovation, it is now possible to create LEDs that emit UV light.