Removing gel polish?

[Quest]

Hi all, I have had a new client contact me and ask how I removed gel (basic gelish, shellac) on natural nails?! So I advised I soak gels off..

She advised she had had bad experience in the past having them soaked off and the lady she goes to at the minute uses electric file, which she prefers because when she gets soaked her natural nails go white in places?

I’m not trained to use electric file and won’t offer this service.

I was taught to buff top layer and soak with foils and acetone and never had problems..
In my head I would of thought the electric file would do more harm on a basic gel then getting them soaked off.. or am I wrong in thinking that,.?

Can I ask you guys for your opinions please?
Thank you

 

[NancySyd]

You will find a great deal of disagreement on this point. My perspective is simple - it is called soak-off gel polish for a reason. Filing them off is not within the manufacturers' instructions and would invalidate your insurance. I also think that soaking is still the safest way to remove gel polish. Filing, no matter whether by hand or with an e-file will always remove some amount of the natural nail and over time that results in thinned nails. Buffing or filing the natural nails is to be avoided. CND Shellac even makes this a significant selling point. This is to be differentiated from filing the top coat or removing bulk prior to soaking. Personally, I believe that filing off gel polish is just laziness on the part of nail techs. It is easier and faster than soaking, but it is not in the best interest of the client.

As for the white spots on her nails, sometimes these are caused by the temporary dehydration of the nails from acetone/remover. If this is the case, some solar oil will get rid of it. But very often the white spots are due to damage to the nail from improper removal. It happens when implements are used to scrape gel polish off of the nail instead of letting the acetone/remover work. It often happens when techs wait too long to remove the wrap and the gel polish has softened and then re-hardened. This article is old, but I still think it gives the best analysis of the issue - https://www.nailsmag.com/article/96323/avoid-nail-damage-with-proper-gel-polish-removal.

There have been problems with the proper removal of gel polishes ever since they came on the market. Proper soak off removal requires time, attention, and patience. Nail techs sometimes (often?) get it wrong. But replacing one bad removal technique with another bad removal technique is not the answer.

 

[Quest]

Thank you for getting back to me.. I 100% agree with what you have said.. it states ‘soak off’..
I just had to ask, just peace of mind that I was correct in what I was saying to her.. thank you x

 

[Bel's Gels]

Hi all, I have had a new client contact me and ask how I removed gel (basic gelish, shellac) on natural nails?! So I advised I soak gels off..

She advised she had had bad experience in the past having them soaked off and the lady she goes to at the minute uses electric file, which she prefers because when she gets soaked her natural nails go white in places?

I’m not trained to use electric file and won’t offer this service.

I was taught to buff top layer and soak with foils and acetone and never had problems..
In my head I would of thought the electric file would do more harm on a basic gel then getting them soaked off.. or am I wrong in thinking that,.?

Can I ask you guys for your opinions please?
Thank you

Good for you standing your ground.

Dont let clients tell you what you should do in your salon.

I used to try and help people but have found its a waste of my time. So now I stick to my guns and if someone doesnt like my ways then I politely tell them to go elsewhere.

 

[Alison Pilkington-Child]

I get ladies coming to me with what they think is gel polish on their nails which is actually MMA! I bet this lady's bad experience has something to do with that. Somewhere along the line some poor soul has probably attempted to soak off the dreadful stuff and that would certainly be a nightmare.

It might be worth finding out a bit more about what happened and then offering reassurance that proper soak off gels are not the same.