Thinking of switching from CND to Biosculpture - advice needed

['chelle]

I'm changing my brand of gel from Brisa to Biosculpture. I've had problems with Brisa being too hard & brittle for NNO's, hence the change. Up till now my plan has been to keep my CND l&p for sculpts/tip & overlay, and have the Biosculpture for NNO's.

Anyway, the rep has shown me how to sculpt a free edge with Biosculpture, something I was always lead to believe isnt possible with Bio being such a soft gel, but the finished nails are actually very beautiful and so far are proving to be every bit as durable as l&p nails. It's possible that I might consider doing away with l&p altogether and using Biosculpture for all my services, if I've got one product that does all, it seems to make sense.

Does anyone have any experience or advice they can offer on this? I've always been an l&p girl and changing to become a gel girl will be a big step for me which I dont want to take lightly.

 

[angel fingers]

interesting question.

i think you might be able to do it. but i always think its better to have more than 1 option for clients. i guess a lot depends on your clients requirements.
it wouldnt work for me as i do quite a bit of fancy stuff that would not be acheivable with bio alone.

the one thing that springs to mind is the cost of biosculpture. its one of the most costly products on the market. will you change your prices or will you absorb the loss.

another thing is it will end up costing your clients more because of soaking off the gel and having new sets.whereas those already using l/p or brisa hard gel will normally only ever need rebalances.

perhaps you could start by using bio on any new clients and gradually changing over until all your clients are biosculpture clients, if you decide to go that way.

or maybe try to tweak your technique on the brisa application so that you dont have your current problems, a lot of people use it very successfully for nno.

 

[Urban Geek]

I currently use both CND L&P and BioSculpture Gel.

I really do love Biosculpture but I am afraid you cannot beat L&P for clients with real problem nails. Also I think Biosculpture is great for a NNO and although you can extend the nail effectively now with the new Free Edge Gel, you will never be able to produce the fantastic natural looking enhancements that you can with L&P. Perhaps it is my lack of expertise with Biosculture but even looking at all the promotional literature, if the nails are extended, they look rather thick and artificial.

I think you should work with both for the time being and if you find that you have no need at all for L&P yes by all means concentrate on Biosculpture but I guess you will still find those clients demanding L&P as well as those clients needing L&P. Also as has been highlighted, Biosculpture is extremely pricey and you cannot maintain problem nails (well I cant) as well as you can with L&P.

It is not a disadvantage to be able to offer more than one system in any case.

 

[Bagpuss]

Hiya

What i found with Bio was that i couldn't rebalance it....its like filing on rubber. So soaking off and redoing every 2nd visit seemed like a chore and my clients didn't like it.

I much prefer buff off gels.

I think that you would be best to keep doing your L&P as Bio might not be for everyone...especially those who want longer nails.

 

[Nataliya]

I never used Biosculpture gel, but I would not give up CND Brisa)

 

[nailzoo]

Hiya

What i found with Bio was that i couldn't rebalance it....its like filing on rubber.

Here here, if I ever had to say a product I disliked the most !!!!!

It's like getting down on the floor in the gym and rounding off the corners on a gym mat with a nail file.

The hype that surrounds this product astounds me. It looks good for about a week, it's like thick nail polish, whenever I have one of "those" clients, I think "cool", this client is so gullible I can sell them anything.

Unfortunately, I prefer to be honest, convert them and they never look back.

I love it when they say they can peel it off........ I offer them that challenge ........

sure it peels off (adheres to some of the nail) and shreds the nailplate in the process, ripping off sheets of the nail surface.

I've never seen such bull**** advertising in my whole career.

I'd almost prefer to use MMA, at least I can get that crap off when I need to.

 

[Missy G]

Im Bio trained ,but ditched it as there was more call for l & p,so this is only what I use now.

I think too it is better to be trained in more than one system , Bio is not suitable for everyone remember though, but then again Ive never tried the new freeedge gel which from what Ive read on here is better.

I wouldnt ditch the Brisa you may still get call for it, the only other reason I ditched my Bio gear was I wasnt happy with Bio customer service and the fact they have a minimum order fee which IMA can be a pain in the butt!! and feel CNDs customer service comes out well on top.

 

[angel fingers]

there are techs that do have a full time client list offering just bio though.
i just think its important not to think it can replace all other products for every client.

 

[Urban Geek]

Here here, if I ever had to say a product I disliked the most !!!!!

It's like getting down on the floor in the gym and rounding off the corners on a gym mat with a nail file.

The hype that surrounds this product astounds me. It looks good for about a week, it's like thick nail polish, whenever I have one of "those" clients, I think "cool", this client is so gullible I can sell them anything.

Unfortunately, I prefer to be honest, convert them and they never look back.

I love it when they say they can peel it off........ I offer them that challenge ........

sure it peels off (adheres to some of the nail) and shreds the nailplate in the process, ripping off sheets of the nail surface.

I've never seen such bull**** advertising in my whole career.

I'd almost prefer to use MMA, at least I can get that crap off when I need to.

I don't think it is hype at all. Biosculptgure IS a fantastic product, just like CND L&P is. I love it for NNOs, my clients love it too and it looks good for 3-4 weeks. I have clients who get along better with L&P and have clients that get along better with Biosculpture.

Perhaps you needed more training in Biosculpture to address the problems you experienced. When I had problems with L&P I took more classes as necessary and the same applies with Biosculpture.

 

[oey]

Well I am a user of Bio, L&P and also buff off gels.

As regard the product goes Bio (or should I say soak off gels) has its place just as much as L&P or buff off gels. I really feel that there are clients for each type of product and it is a matter of having all options to be able to offer the clients.

I think that you can get a very natural looking sculpt with soak off gels - I believe as natural looking (if not more) than L&P.

 

[Zingara]

I don't think it is hype at all. Biosculptgure IS a fantastic product, just like CND L&P is. I love it for NNOs, my clients love it too and it looks good for 3-4 weeks. I have clients who get along better with L&P and have clients that get along better with Biosculpture.

Perhaps you needed more training in Biosculpture to address the problems you experienced. When I had problems with L&P I took more classes as necessary and the same applies with Biosculpture.

Couldn't agree more Christine. Bio Sculpture is a fantastic product....when used on the right clients, and yes by a Bio trained tech. It is a different system than other gels or indeed L&P, and I have seen untrained tchs struggel with it.

90% of my clients are Bio clients and simply wouldn't switch for another system. They are intelligent and discerning...and haven't stayed with Bio Sculpture because of any supposed (and rather old hat, considering Bio changed their marketing tactics years ago) marketing hype, but simply because they love it so much. Its durable, lovely and flexible, certainly strong enough for NNO or sculpts, which I agree with Theresa, that are incredibly natural, due to the free edge gel which allows for the most naturally matched free edge to a natural colour I have seen. It soaks off clean in 5 minutes.....no problem. The L&P clients I have converted far actually prefer it.

That said, I do carry a buff off gel, and L&P....for nail biters, or those that are hard on their nails and require a tougher system, but these are few and far between.

 

['chelle]

Thanks for your advice everyone, that's certainly given me plenty to think about. It's early days still, I havent even completed the Biosculpture training yet but I have to say that I am extremely impressed with what I've seen so far. I'm still wearing two nails that the rep did on me, one is a sculpt using the free edge gel, the other is a coloured NNO and they are both fantastic. Whilst I might still keep hold of the l&p I dont think I'll keep the Brisa gel when I start using Bio because 99% of my gel usage is for toes and NNO, and whilst I've had no complaints about the toes, almost every NNO client has complained that they cracked and broke within a few days. I tried wearing them myself to see how they go and mine did the same, I just think that the buff-off gel is too brittle for NNO, and it'll be an expensive exercise to stock two brands of gel if one can cover all my gel requirements.

Regarding the comments about Bio being naff and for gullible customers I have to say that the whole reason I chose Biosculpture as an alternative brand is because I get regular enquiries from people asking if I use this brand, on the occasions when I've been able to convince these people to give Brisa a go, they've stopped coming because they much prefer the look and durability of the Biosculpture. I think the comments about proper training are particularly valid, the Biosculpture application is completely different to the method I'm used to, and they have a variety of gel types, each one for a different use, and if you used the wrong gel for the wrong type of service you would indeed end up with naff nails.

 

[essentia]

Hi I trained last month in biosculpture and I was really impressed with it. I have never trained in l&p but there were several girls on the course who were looking to convert from l&p. The free edge gel gives light impressive looking nails and applying the silk is great compared to when I learnt silk and fibreglass in the early 90's. Like others have said there may be cases when you need other systems. I am only looking to do bio myself as I think eventually there will be enough clients for it on its own.

 

[nailzoo]

Perhaps when Bio girls put that rubber version on clients, they should educate them not to go to an acrylic (hell even a gel tech), that stuff is impossible to file down .... as it is giving Bio a bad rap altogether.

I understand it is somewhat popular, but cannot understand why ..... it seems to be drilled into them that it is somehow "better" than everything else, when in fact it seems incompatible with just about everything.

I do alot of travellers/tourists and get a few Bio clients .

I'm open to assistance/suggestions from Bio techs as to what I should be doing with these rubber nailed clients.

 

[jac extreme]

As a user of both soak off gels and L&P ( the salon offers both ) I have to say that I rebalance Bio regularly, just use a higher grit abrasive.

I much prefer the look of L&P but there is a lot of call for bio an generally clients love it, but clients who have had L&P tend not to like bio, when i have used it on them as an NNO.

 

[pazzy]

It only goes rubbery when clients are exposing their nails to the chemicals of this world without gloves (yes - def a disadvantage) - with a rebalance - you never have to put the welly into it like L&P - which is why the 2 are sooooo opposite each other.

Soak off - is probably its biggest attraction.


But with a colour - it lasts - another attraction. Less maintenance for the client.

I don't convince my clients to try it either - if a client comes in with short but attractive nails (say a bride) and she wants them longer (sometimes they say - longer but not very long IYKWIM - just over the fingertips) I then do a bio overlay and add length to the short obvious ones - and they are so impressed. For me - I can't see the point of putting on a full set of L&P.

We all wear different clothes, hairstyles, drive different cars - so to me - its a choice - an option - but I don't slag L&P off - I still love it - I just don't particularly like rebalancing it - its hard graft sometimes.

I really like it and know when I'm done the client always thinks 'wow' BUT its only the clients who don't listen - that are simply NOT suited to bio. They will think its crap!!! LOL.

 

[RedAdmiral]

Having used many systems I find you need to have an arsenal of products as a nail tech. I really dont believe a soak off holds up long term as they are easily affected by everyday products - they lose shine when using toner and thats not a harsh chemical.
Each system has benefits and negatives tho l&p is good for most, I cant really think of cases where gel is a must. extending with a soft gel can be fiddly and time consuming - fidly if using silk and time consuminf if it peels from the tip and not forgetting the soak off and re-do each time.
Its nice to overlay and thats what it does best - if you have problems with brisa you'll prob have some bio problems too as it sounds your application and zoning is wrong.
Maybe try and address thses first before the costly switching unless you would like to add to your arsenal and have a soaf off system, buff off and l&p its not as bad as it seems I have clear, french white n pink in soak off. Something for everyone

 

[Zingara]

they lose shine when using toner and thats not a harsh chemical.

I'm sorry, I do have to say here, the toner I use most certainly doesn't remove the shine off Bio, and if it did, I wouldn't be putting it on my face!

 

[RedAdmiral]

it did what can I say not everything that happens to me happens to my clients and vice versa - I find bio did lose its shine easily and we tell our clients to re-apply top coat to keep them looking new!

 

[Urban Geek]

Each system has benefits and negatives tho l&p is good for most, I cant really think of cases where gel is a must.

L&P is sure great for most nail types but I am afraid, in my case, Biosculpture is a must for those NNO clients that do not like L&P and for various reasons prefer a soft gel.

I like to be in the fortunate position of being able to offer my clients exactly what they want.