Soak off gel and infills

[nixnewcastle]

do any of you geeks offer infills for soak off gels?
Im finding a few clients asking for infills but they're taking just as long to do as a new colour. Is this normal? also how much do you charge for infills as to gel application

Oh this is all for natural nail overlay as well

 

[Bagpuss]

I charge the same for a new NNO as i do a infill...all this rubbish about infills costing less than the new set is outdated IMO.....infills require more work and time....so why should we charge less.

So what i did was reduce the cost of my first time set and up my price for infills....making them the same.

I charge £25 (soon to be going up to £28) for first time NNO and for the following infills.

 

[angel fingers]

I charge the same for a new NNO as i do a infill...all this rubbish about infills costing less than the new set is outdated IMO.....infills require more work and time....so why should we charge less.

So what i did was reduce the cost of my first time set and up my price for infills....making them the same.

I charge £25 (soon to be going up to £28) for first time NNO and for the following infills.

angie, do you find that this leads to people wanting a new set every time ?
and do they remove them before they see you or do you add the cost of removal?

i really like your thinking, and i'm intrigued as to what effect its having on demand.

 

[angel fingers]

i infill soak offs about 4 or 5 times before removing and replacing.

i do feel i lose money when infilling , but i then gain it back when doing a new set and it balances the costs out.

i always insist on soaking them off periodically or if there is any lifting so that i can fully assess the health of the natural nail. this is difficult when you are dealing with colours because you cant actually see under the overlay as you can with clear gels/acrylic l/p

 

[Bagpuss]

angie, do you find that this leads to people wanting a new set every time ?
and do they remove them before they see you or do you add the cost of removal?

i really like your thinking, and i'm intrigued as to what effect its having on demand.

Sorry should have said..i use a buff off gel...but the principle is the same...charge the same....and ALL my clients have infills....its infills that earn me my bread and butter....they are my regular income...i do them far more than i do new sets (new sets are only done on new clients) so for me it definitely wouldn't balance out.

 

[nixnewcastle]

I just feel like it's defeating the object of having soak off gels really when they get them infilled evertime instead of soaking them off

 

[Perfected]

I've been thinking about getting into soak offs. Really, with soak offs, it would almost make more sense to not offer refills. But I suppose there would be clients who love, and stick to, one color. But even then, soaking off the old and reapplying a fresh layer might look nicer.

 

[nixnewcastle]

I know, I dont want to be offering infills with them and I dont even have infills down as an option i I only have soak off and new application on there but some clients are insisting on having them infilled and it takes me just as long to do them as a full set grrrr

 

[Debbies Gellies]

I've been thinking about getting into soak offs. Really, with soak offs, it would almost make more sense to not offer refills. But I suppose there would be clients who love, and stick to, one color. But even then, soaking off the old and reapplying a fresh layer might look nicer.

Why would you want to soak off, this means more work; more time per appt. and your client having acetone on her fingertips unnecessarily. (some soak off gels dont like to go straight onto a nail that has just been soaked off as the acetone has not dried out of the nail and can cause lifting later)

Soak off gel is lovely to file down and go over. I doesn't hurt to soak off the odd lifted nail while you buff the others if there is no colour change.

As Susan said soak off periodically to check the natural nails health.

If you are thinking of doing soak offs try wearing them first before paying out for a course.
HTH's

 

[Bagpuss]

when i used a soak off gel i didn't find it filed down well at all.....it didn't create dust if you know what i mean....its was like filing on rubber...and just sort of shredded in places....thats why i prefer a buff off gel, so i can just keep infilling and never have to soak off or completely file off...i just have to thin the areas i need to and replace the smile line.

 

[angel fingers]

Sorry should have said..i use a buff off gel...but the principle is the same...charge the same....and ALL my clients have infills....its infills that earn me my bread and butter....they are my regular income...i do them far more than i do new sets (new sets are only done on new clients) so for me it definitely wouldn't balance out.

ah, i got the wrong en of the stick

 

[Zingara]

I offer a 2 week infill only, or soak off and replace. And I only infill once. My infill is not a rebalance, so I don't debulk and move the apex, I don't move the white down, and I don't change colour. It is purely a quick top buff, dry prep, fill in regrowth area, and smooth over to 'tidy up'. 40 mins tops.

To be fair, I find soak off and replace quicker with Bio than a full rebalance, cos it soaks off so quickly, and I have no problem replacing it straight after a soak off, so whilst I will rebalance on request, it is not on my price list and I charge the same as a new set of NNO's.

Incidentally it averages out in my favour cost wise if cleints do opt for a 2 week infill, they rarely do a full 3 weeks before coming again, so over the months I make slightly more this way.

 

[Zingara]

when i used a soak off gel i didn't find it filed down well at all.....it didn't create dust if you know what i mean....its was like filing on rubber...and just sort of shredded in places....thats why i prefer a buff off gel, so i can just keep infilling and never have to soak off or completely file off...i just have to thin the areas i need to and replace the smile line.

Incidentally Angie, I used to think the same, then I switched to a soft backed sponge file and now have no problems. For me it was harder files that caused that 'rolling rubbery filing feel' (lol techincal term!)

 

[Sassy32]

I was exactly the same so I have changed the price of my Infills to the same as new set. If anyone asks why they are the same price I am honest with them and tell them it takes me the same time if not longer to do the infills as a new set.

 

[nixnewcastle]

What soak off gels (if it's soak off you use) do you use?
I use Akzentz and although I love the colours and how tough they are i find they take ages to soak off and so am looking for something that soaks off quicker

 

[angel fingers]

My favorites are lechats nobility soak off gels.
i also have bio sculpture ones.

 

[nixnewcastle]

do le chat soak off quite easily?

 

[angel fingers]

yes they do.

 

[Sassy32]

I use Calgel....they soak off really easy.

 

[Pink Pink Pink]

I use Calgel too - I find they soak off lovely and I charge the same price for infills as I do new sets.
I explain it takes me 40-45 mins for a new set and 1hr for infills.
(I charge £8 soak off or £5 if it is re-applied so it works out cheaper for client to have infills.)