I have used the entire Polish Pro line since it's launch and I have found that I do not need to buff the natural nail in prep for most of my clients.
If you do your prep thoroughly and correctly, use the right tools and products it is easily achievable to have services last upwards of 2 weeks
BUT
please bear in mind that PP (like most gel polish brands) is only marketed as a 14 day manicure and I would suggest, if you are new to this business and are still ironing out any prep problems, I would suggest still buffing the nails first until you can get your prep to be 100%.
Even when I do buff the nail, I never found the need to etch the nail ever, is all that is needed is a very light buff with the Endurance buffer and then of course thorough and correct prep work.
Your prep work should involve:
Vanish, Cleanse, Nail Pure, a curette and a Plush Brush.
Don't be shy about using your wipes correctly, too many techs use one wipe for each hand of fingers, I always use one wipe per 2 fingers, I use one side to wipe nail then fold in half to get clean side of wipe and re-load with a small amount of product and wipe next nail with clean side of wipe then throw out that wipe and get a new one and repeat.
If you think about it logically, if you use the one wipe and that same side on all 5 nails (and some techs use it on all 10) is all you are doing is spreading the product (you are trying to clean off) onto the next nail and so on.
trust me
try using your wipes this way and I promise you, you will find a difference.
If you do not own a curette, I highly suggest you purchase one. I truly believe the only way to achieve a thorough clean if with a curette and Vanish (or whatever brand of cuticle remover your brand is).
I also suggest you do not mix brands, if you are using NSI PP, then you should be using all NSI prep products as all these products were formulated and tested to work together to give optimum performance.
So the bottom line is, you do not need to etch the nail at all for PP, just a very light buff and thorough prep is needed, if you can get your prep right, your PP services will last.
In regards to the base coats, I have now totally changed over to the new Base Coat Plus for all my clients with non problematic nails and for the ones who have peeling, chipping etc, I always use Endure.
The Base Coat Plus is fantastic but it must be applied in a thin layer or soak time takes longer.
I do have clients that last upwards of 4 weeks when I use Base Coat Plus but I do not encourage this length of time between services and I have now started to book these clients in for the (max) 3 week mark. As for the other clients who I use Base Coat Plus on, I can't recall the last client who returned with any problems, their nails are always intact and it's the growth that the clients dislike and usually they are wanting a color change by the 2 week mark.
Get your prep down pat and I'm sure you will love the PP range as much as me and many other happy techs
