Nail lamp recommendations

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Ellsbells83

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Hi
Just wanting peoples nail lamp recommendations? For gel mainly. Not a cheap one but reasonable ?
thank you
 
Oh ok I’m confused then as there are lots of different lamps out there which are necessarily by a brand ? Thanks for the advice though.
 
What website are you looking on? I can try and help
Also which gel brand are you using?
Are you a qualified professional? X
 
you don't have to stick with the same brand for all your products (including a lamp). The reason one brand would want you to only buy a 'compatible' lamp etc. is to maximise their own profits. Simple as that.

Unfortunately, this is incorrect. Please have a read through the thread I linked above.
 
Hi,
I would certainly recommend a LED lamp (not UV) - you will not need to change the bulbs at all, they should last you basically a lifetime. You might need to pay more for that reason but it's totally worth it.
And, contrary to popular belief, you don't have to stick with the same brand for all your products (including a lamp). The reason one brand would want you to only buy a 'compatible' lamp etc. is to maximise their own profits. Simple as that. Any problems with gel are usually due to the gel's own quality and the application technique. If you use quality materials and prepare the nails correctly then any lamp will be fine (well, obviously, not some cheap unknown cr*p off ebay). Search for LED lamps online and read the reviews, you'll find a lamp for your budget.

You don’t appear to be a qualified nail professional, according to your profile details, so please read through the link attached by @Kyralouise above, which is self explanatory 😉
 
What website are you looking on? I can try and help
Also which gel brand are you using?
Are you a qualified professional? X
Hi
Yes I’m a nail technician. I use bluesky mainly but use the gel bottle inc also! I have a bluesky lamp already but wasn’t sure if there was another lamp that people recommended? I had heard that you should use the same brand but I don’t understand why it’s a problem to use different ones?! Surely they all do the same thing! Anyway thanks for your advise.
 
Hi,
I would certainly recommend a LED lamp (not UV) - you will not need to change the bulbs at all, they should last you basically a lifetime. You might need to pay more for that reason but it's totally worth it.
And, contrary to popular belief, you don't have to stick with the same brand for all your products (including a lamp). The reason one brand would want you to only buy a 'compatible' lamp etc. is to maximise their own profits. Simple as that. Any problems with gel are usually due to the gel's own quality and the application technique. If you use quality materials and prepare the nails correctly then any lamp will be fine (well, obviously, not some cheap unknown cr*p off ebay). Search for LED lamps online and read the reviews, you'll find a lamp for your budget.
Yes totally agree. I had heard you have to use same brand but surely they all do the same thing! Anyway thanks for your advise.
 
Hi
Yes I’m a nail technician. I use bluesky mainly but use the gel bottle inc also! I have a bluesky lamp already but wasn’t sure if there was another lamp that people recommended? I had heard that you should use the same brand but I don’t understand why it’s a problem to use different ones?! Surely they all do the same thing! Anyway thanks for your advise.

Have you read the pinned post about lamps and why they need to be matched? From your comments I suspect not, it would really be worth your time to read it.
 
Have you read the pinned post about lamps and why they need to be matched? From your comments I suspect not, it would really be worth your time to read it.
Hi yes I have read it. An interesting read however someone has commented on the post about how she contacted a few companies and they advised her that any 48w lamp would be ok on the brand she contacted so if this was going to cause any concern or issue then surely they wouldn’t be able to sell these products?
 
Hi yes I have read it. An interesting read however someone has commented on the post about how she contacted a few companies and they advised her that any 48w lamp would be ok on the brand she contacted so if this was going to cause any concern or issue then surely they wouldn’t be able to sell these products?

It's probably worth doing lots more research and reading before making any decisions. This is a serious business, making the wrong decisions puts you, your business and more importantly your clients at risk. Cheap, poorly manufactured products sold by places like eBay, Amazon, etc don't care about your reputation, your health, etc. They just want a sale so they'll say anything to make it happen. There is no legislation or legal come back on these companies, the buck stops with you.
 
Hi
Yes I’m a nail technician. I use bluesky mainly but use the gel bottle inc also! I have a bluesky lamp already but wasn’t sure if there was another lamp that people recommended? I had heard that you should use the same brand but I don’t understand why it’s a problem to use different ones?! Surely they all do the same thing! Anyway thanks for your advise.

hi again, ideally you would stick to one brand. I was a bluesky lover until I did some research and spent time here and on another group. And the gel bottle? Well that’s a whole other can of worms. I won’t get into it on here, but definitely have a look into TGB, we absolutely do not recommended the use of their products.

It’s already covered in the link above, but essentially... we as nail techs cannot tell if a product has cured to a safe level. Although it may look and feel cured, only chemists are able to test this for sure. So bluesky will have designed their lamp (alongside chemists) to ensure that their gels cure properly. So unless they state otherwise, you can’t be sure if their gels will cure with a different lamp. Uncured product is now seen as the leading cause of nail allergies. They are painful and irreversible and honestly I would be mortified if I had caused an allergy for my client.
Aside from the allergy situation, you won’t be insured if you aren’t following the correct method and products as advised by the brand.

So we can’t really sit here and recommend a certain lamp. We recommend the lamp that your brand recommends. If you wanted brand recommendations, I’m happy to list some for you, or have a read through the other threads.

Good luck x
 
Hi yes I have read it. An interesting read however someone has commented on the post about how she contacted a few companies and they advised her that any 48w lamp would be ok on the brand she contacted so if this was going to cause any concern or issue then surely they wouldn’t be able to sell these products?

Sadly that’s a rather naive and incorrect assumption.

Legally, their liability is only to you, the Nail Tech who purchased the lamp, and they’re only liable to ensure that their electrical equipment switches on, lights up and doesn’t electrocute you.

If they state that their lamp cures X brand of gel then it must cure that brand.

However, overseas manufacturers can legally continue to sell millions of lamps that don’t cure any specific gel adequately, simply because they do not claim to cure any specific brand.
 
Hi
Just wanting peoples nail lamp recommendations? For gel mainly. Not a cheap one but reasonable ?
thank you
Hi their..within reason, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the cheaper lamps. My one cost me $30 and it's been working great for 4yrs. Absolutely no need to spend hundreds. Otherwise your paying for the logo not the job it does. I do hope you found a nice lamp whichever one that was🙂
 
Hi their..within reason, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the cheaper lamps. My one cost me $30 and it's been working great for 4yrs. Absolutely no need to spend hundreds. Otherwise your paying for the logo not the job it does. I do hope you found a nice lamp whichever one that was🙂

You haven’t read the pinned post either, have you? o_O
Fully cured isn’t the same as it feeling hard to the touch.

The OP is in the U.K. and if she causes a client to develop an allergy to nail products through using products incorrectly, she will be held responsible and liable to be personally sued. Allergies to nail enhancements are for life and the same ingredients are also found in medical products such as bone cement. Therefore you’re not only risking being sued but also potentially limiting your clients future medical options.

Maybe your laws prevent you being held liable over in Oz, so perhaps that explains your cavalier attitude to your client’s health?
 
Hi their..within reason, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the cheaper lamps. My one cost me $30 and it's been working great for 4yrs. Absolutely no need to spend hundreds. Otherwise your paying for the logo not the job it does. I do hope you found a nice lamp whichever one that was🙂

What are your qualifications exactly? Are you a polymer chemist with their own laboratory that has proven your assumptions? Or are you simply passing on industry hearsay from people who actually have no idea of gel chemistry and correct polymerisation.

I am an engineer, married to a chemist and employ several chemists to develop gel and gel polish products. We have done the tests and we know, without doubt, that different lamps have varying degrees of brightness - the variation is huge and has little bearing on the power consumption in Watts.

In addition, the amount of photo initiator chemicals in gels and gel polishes varies widely - there is no standard amount. So this is like a wide variation of yeast when baking, in an oven where the temperature can't be controlled!

It is also impossible for anyone without a laboratory to make these tests. The reason why so many brands try to persuade customers otherwise, is because they neither have a chemist or a lab, and simply buy ready made standard products from factories that are filled in their jars.

The lamp manufacturers and the gel factories all want you to believe this myth. It makes bigger profits for them and encourages nail techs to buy their products - without any consideration of your health, that you will likely develop allergies or that you can lose a career you love.

Frankly, I wish there was a UV lamp standard that all gels and gel polishes had to be compatible with. UV lamps are my least favourite product to sell. Low profits, the risk of warranty returns, need to buy large quantities to have them made to our specification, they take a huge space in our warehouse and it takes too long to recover the investment.
 
Thankyou for replying, nice to meet you. Your absolutely right in that no I didn't read the initial pinned post so no I don't know the full story I acknowledge that. I was simply commenting on the lamp bit.

Your background sounds very interesting indeed.
 
Thankyou for replying, nice to meet you. Your absolutely right in that no I didn't read the initial pinned post so no I don't know the full story I acknowledge that. I was simply commenting on the lamp bit.

Your background sounds very interesting indeed.

You are very welcome ethicalclaws and I am grateful that you accepted the advice.

Several times a week I have Nail Techs and even students in nail schools, email me for advice because they developed allergies. This makes me so sad, because even if they are able to use a hypoallergenic product (and there is no 100% guarantee, especially if they changed brands several times and have a lot of allergies to different ingredients), there are potentially serious consequences for their dental care or if they need bone surgery, as both use some of the same ingredients. A friend in Australia, actually a trained pharmacist who owns a beauty supply company, reported to me that one of his contacts had to have some of her teeth removed. This is obviously rare, most with multiple allergies simply have to find a new career.
 
@BobSweden, do you know if there's any recommendation for those who are "stuck" with lamps that are not brand lamps, that is they weren't tested in a lab and approved for specific gels? I mean if there's anything they can do to reduce (if eliminating is not possible) the risk of under-curing other than buying a completely new set of certified gels and an tested lamp?

I'm no expert myself here, and one "obvious" mitigation that might work is giving gel more time to cure (like for example, 80 seconds instead of 60). Do you know if that works at all?
 

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