Reputable suppliers

[RhiainPittam]

Hi there,

I'm just starting out and am looking to expand my kit and try different professional brands. I have the Young Nails acrylic system and was researching gel polishes to try. I ordered a catalogue from salons direct, who state they are professional salon suppliers.

However, they have blue sky for sale in the catalogue. I've read many threads on here saying blue sky is fake and from China. So I'm confused as the whether this is actually a reputable company or not? There is so many products out there and so many fakes, I was wondering where you buy your supplies and for advice on how to avoid cut corners with cheap products.

Thanks xx

 

[rachelizabeth]

Decide what brand you want to use or sample first and then find the reputable supplier for that brand. For example if purchasing CND it’s sweet squared or Ellisons. A lot of other brands you can buy direct

 

[RhiainPittam]

thanks, that's what I'll do. Was hoping to order a few samples from the same place to find the one that works best for me, but I agree, better to pay the additional postage and know what I'm getting

 

[Anna Ljungberg]

For sampling products trade shows are a great place, there you pick up one or too products from a brand to try without needing to pay postage, some brands also have demos during the day or experienced people on the stand to talk to.

 

[RhiainPittam]

Fab thank you, didn't think of trade shows. Will have to research some in my area

 

[BobSweden]

My advice, would be to look at the education a brand provides. Many of the iffy brands provide no education or only basic education. Education that is high quality, includes good manuals, goes from beginner to very advanced in all categories, is hard too fake. It needs someone in the company with that knowledge, and it shows the companies commitment to invest time and effort to do things right.

Avoid companies that sell cats-eye, colour changing or glow in the dark gel polishes. These most probably contain illegal ingredients - which is why companies like CND, NSI, Light Elegance and we (IKON.IQ) who have chemists, don't offer them.

Another give away, is the number of GP colours. I know most of the factories in the USA and EU, and I am not aware of any that offer more than 200 colours.

Finally, ask for their Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for the products you are considering. Until 2013, these were called Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and they contained a lot less information. SDS are the legal form in the EU since 2013. But many Chinese sourced products still use MSDS because they don't understand EU regulations. Some Chinese SDS are simply MSDS with a name change. But if you get a legitimate SDS from a top brand, you can compare and the differences are obvious.

 

[BobSweden]

Price is also an indication. Gel polish from EU/USA factories is significantly more expensive. A brand not only has to make profit, it needs to make a price that allows it to sell to international distributors who also want to make a profit. Or to pay commission to Educators. This approximately increases the factory price four times. This means it is difficult to sell 15ml for less than £10 exc. VAT unless the company is buying from China or only selling direct (no distributors). If a company develops their own product the costs are higher because of R&D.

 

[RhiainPittam]

Wow, thank you for that reply! Gave me so much good information and an idea of what to look out for. I have started to buy direct from the manufacturer of brands that I've researched and know to be of good quality (like yours for example). More information needs to be in the public domain about how harmful these cheep Chinese nail products are. I had no idea until starting training, had used them in the past and now some lay people who still do.

This forum is great for learning even more from experienced people. Thanks guys