UV gel "powder"?

[BadLuckBarbie]

Hey all, newbie nail tech and newbie poster here. Didn't see any related threads so I decided to start a new one..

A fellow newbie nail tech friend of mine has a client that wants a fill in, but she has product on her nails already that was done in a salon elsewhere.
It looks just like pink & white acrylic but they call it "UV gel powder" and she pays extra for this type of service. I am originally from NY, recently moved to FL and have never ever heard of this service being offered nor did we learn about it in nail tech school.
I asked her about the general procedure in which they apply it and she said they dip a brush in liquid, then into powder & apply it to. Then they finish it off in a UV lamp.
After some research, I did read about the LeChat, Acrygel and Tip N Dip products but it seems that these methods include a gel application and either dipping or sprinkling of powder on top.
I asked the client and she said that is definitely not what they are doing. The technique sounds just like an acrylic application. Plus, if it's UV gel then it can't be a powder because gel is gel and powder is powder, right? :irked:
Is it likely that they are just doing a regular pink & white acrylic application, sealing with a gel or gel polish topcoat, calling it something else and charging extra for it?

 

[Devonnaydf]

Sounds like she went to a NSS salon and asked for gel but they gave her acrylic with a gel top coat and charged her a lot of money for it. I know this because its happened to me, except they weren't expecting me to know the difference. If the brush was dipped in liquid then in powder, it's acrylic! Although gel is a form of acrylic, it cures with uv light as opposed to air.

 

[geeg]

There is a product that many salons use and the NAME of it is 'Powder Gel' ... That's what it says on the label and that is what it is called. The techs using it can charge what they want according to cost, just like the rest of us and not every salon that uses it is NON Standard or Sub Standard or any of the other names they get called because they are run by technicians of South East Asian Origen.

Using 'Powder gel' is not a sinister attempt to hoodwink or dupe the public. We tell our clients the brand we use in our salon and Powder Gel is just another brand on another service price list in other salons.

 

[sugar&spice]

Nouveau and some other brand eco something do a uv cured acrylic where the acrylic will no cure unless under uv she be getting mixed up with this

 

[squidgernetball]

There is a product that many salons use and the NAME of it is 'Powder Gel' ... That's what it says on the label and that is what it is called. The techs using it can charge what they want according to cost, just like the rest of us and not every salon that uses it is NON Standard or Sub Standard or any of the other names they get called because they are run by technicians of South East Asian Origen.

Using 'Powder gel' is not a sinister attempt to hoodwink or dupe the public. We tell our clients the brand we use in our salon and Powder Gel is just another brand on another service price list in other salons.

Can I ask if there is no UV use (or light of any kind) can you assume it's not any sort of gel and then they are being duped? Not my area really, but a client wants gel overlays - I'm introducing her to Brisa lite smoothing - and has had some done at a local salon and they used liquid and powder - no kind of lamp at all, and told her they were gels.

 

[geeg]

Can I ask if there is no UV use (or light of any kind) can you assume it's not any sort of gel and then they are being duped? Not my area really, but a client wants gel overlays - I'm introducing her to Brisa lite smoothing - and has had some done at a local salon and they used liquid and powder - no kind of lamp at all, and told her they were gels.

Powder Gel is not a gel, it is a liquid & Powder but Powder Gel is the name of it ... many salons also add a gel top coat to Powder Gel. It's marketing .. maybe an analogy is the NO SUGAR ADDED thing that you see on labels sometimes .. it doesn't mean there is no sugar in the product, but that is the impression that many have from reading the lable.

 

['chelle]

Hi Badluckbarbie and welcome to the site. Basically, you are correct in your assumption. Regardless of what name or label they decide to give the product, the chemistry is still the same; where a brush is dipped in liquid, then in powder and the products react and cure these are liquid and powder acrylics. When a brush is dipped in a pot of gel, then the gel is used to sculpt the shape before curing under a UV lamp these are gel acrylics.

All nail enhancements are "acrylics". The "gel" or "liquid and powder" references refer to the consistency of the product as it is applied to the nail, therefore it is not possible to have a gel that is applied as a liquid and powder, I hope that makes sense!!

I know, like geeg has said, that some places have a polymer called "gel powder", and there's nothing to stop them doing this, although I disagree that its not intended to hoodwink the general public. They charge more for this service than they do for their standard acrylics, and the contents of that "gel powder" pot are exactly the same as their standard polymers and they know it!! They know that for some reason, gels seem to have this reputation for being superior or better for your nails even though there really is no added benefit to gels so they are cashing in on it. I have no problem with cashing in on a products reputation, but if you're going to do that, at least provide the client with the product you are charging them for!! That's just my view.

Regarding your friend, I would explain the whole gel/l&p thing to her and offer to do her nails, she wont find them any different from what she's had in the past. I dont know what brand you work with but just check that its ok to rebalance a different brand of product, if its not perhaps she will let you soak them off and do her a new set?