Nail desks and gel polish advice

[Rabz]

I forgot that i had registered to this site lol

I was training with Essential nails but eventually gave it up as i struggled with the distance learning and a newborn.

I am now training with a local salon who does fully accredited nail tech courses and I am really enjoying it and looking forward to learning everything and starting my own business.

I am currently looking for a fold-able nail desk as i dont have much room at the moment as our spare room is used as a gym.

I was wondering if anyone knew where i can pick up a cheap one just to train with and practice on ?

Also what Gel polishes would people recommend for starters ? to practice with ? I have the gel bottle inc polishes which look AMAZING but are a bit expensive

 

[Alison Pilkington-Child]

I forgot that i had registered to this site lol

I was training with Essential nails but eventually gave it up as i struggled with the distance learning and a newborn.

I am now training with a local salon who does fully accredited nail tech courses and I am really enjoying it and looking forward to learning everything and starting my own business.

I am currently looking for a fold-able nail desk as i dont have much room at the moment as our spare room is used as a gym.

I was wondering if anyone knew where i can pick up a cheap one just to train with and practice on ?

Also what Gel polishes would people recommend for starters ? to practice with ? I have the gel bottle inc polishes which look AMAZING but are a bit expensive

When I was training I found a foldable nail table on eBay for about 60 quid or so. There were cheaper ones with a built in drawer but this one had a built in dust extractor. Not top of the range obviously, but still very handy.

As for cheap gels... For training stick with what you have and be VERY careful not to accidentally get it on skin and to ensure it is double cured. Don't throw your money away on cheap stuff, it's cheap for a reason. Usually overloaded with HEMA, a serious allergen!

Save your money to invest in professional products. For your safety look for a regulated brand that is safe to work with on a daily basis. By that I mean products that are manufactured in a country where there are regulations in place about what can be used as an ingredient and where quantities of potential allergens are limited.

Cheap gels are usually manufactured in China. Be aware, there are no safety regulations in place there at the moment! Stick to brands made in the EU or USA.

Your gel products will be your business mainstay. They will be worth the investment. I spent the longest time ever to make up my mind which would be best for both me and my clients. I had a lot of criteria to be met... The best quality, how it applied, the highest safety, how it lasted, the helpfulness and approachability of the manufacturer/retailer etc. I wanted a brand unavailable to non professionals and looked at what would be value for money rather than the cheapest price. Ikon.iQ Nails ticked every box for me.

Sometimes too, what looks cheap isn't what it seems. The cost per bottle of gel looks dramatically different if you consider yield. A highly pigmented gel will need less coats to cover. You'll get more sets out of it. Cheaper gels will possibly need an extra coat so give a lower yield.

 

[Rabz]

When I was training I found a foldable nail table on eBay for about 60 quid or so. There were cheaper ones with a built in drawer but this one had a built in dust extractor. Not top of the range obviously, but still very handy.

As for cheap gels... For training stick with what you have and be VERY careful not to accidentally get it on skin and to ensure it is double cured. Don't throw your money away on cheap stuff, it's cheap for a reason. Usually overloaded with HEMA, a serious allergen!

Save your money to invest in professional products. For your safety look for a regulated brand that is safe to work with on a daily basis. By that I mean products that are manufactured in a country where there are regulations in place about what can be used as an ingredient and where quantities of potential allergens are limited.

Cheap gels are usually manufactured in China. Be aware, there are no safety regulations in place there at the moment! Stick to brands made in the EU or USA.

Your gel products will be your business mainstay. They will be worth the investment. I spent the longest time ever to make up my mind which would be best for both me and my clients. I had a lot of criteria to be met... The best quality, how it applied, the highest safety, how it lasted, the helpfulness and approachability of the manufacturer/retailer etc. I wanted a brand unavailable to non professionals and looked at what would be value for money rather than the cheapest price. Ikon.iQ Nails ticked every box for me.

Sometimes too, what looks cheap isn't what it seems. The cost per bottle of gel looks dramatically different if you consider yield. A highly pigmented gel will need less coats to cover. You'll get more sets out of it. Cheaper gels will possibly need an extra coat so give a lower yield.

Thank you for your reply
My wording was awful, I didn’t mean cheap as in any old brand. Also I guess you are correct in what your saying regarding the yielding. I will have a look at the ikon brand also. At the moment I have a few gel polishes from the manicure company they seem to be good and I’m really liking the look of the gel bottle inc and premier gels. I do want to invest in good polishes I just meant are there any other brands that don’t cost as much.

I’m probably going to go with one brand and get their lamp to match I know I have to invest quiet a bit of money into it before i do anything and I can’t wait lol shopaholic and purchasing products I’m going to go mad x