Hi
@Fludette @Medels Nails and welcome. As you are new you won’t know that AcidPerm used to be a nail tech and was forced to leave an Industry she loved due to allergies. Concern can be misunderstood sometimes so I hope that’s helpful to know.
Cheap unbranded gel isn’t worth practising with I’m afraid. You need to pick a brand to train with and pay for a one day course after you have your manicure qualification. Brands are very active on social media and there are industry magazines such as Scratch. Find out where the trainers are and what it costs to train, some brands offer one day courses with all materials provided, others require you to invest a certain amount of money. That often helps you decide on the brand.
You need to look at the brands that your nearby competitors use, maybe there’s a gap in the market for a different brand, maybe you want to cling to the coat tails of established salons and say “I use that brand too”. There are pros and cons.
Training accessibility, marketing factors, price, these are the factors you use to decide upon a brand, not how it paints.
Maybe book a manicure with a tech using a brand you’re considering, if it’s a big salon and you get a junior - ask the tech how she likes the product. For instance I’ve heard OPI and Artistic salons say they don’t like the gel brush, I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with the brush but maybe it doesn’t suit the hand of someone inexperienced. With any brand, teaching yourself or “cascade” training (you’re trained in salon by someone trained, who isn’t actually a qualified brand trainer) is a sure way to experience issues. If your local salon has nail techs that don’t love the brand - maybe you want to steer clear OR maybe you want to invest in the training and steal the business that they don’t care enough about to invest in! As I said, pros and cons.
Artistic is easy to remove whilst Cuccio is tough. Bio Sculpture is a dream to paint with (Evo) and remove but it’s twice the price of other brands. All brand trainers are passionate, very knowledgeable and helpful. They’ll give you tips on tools and application.
I’ve trained with Artistic, Cuccio and Bio Sculpture and loved the training each time. Artistic is great, good colours, easy application and wear, good price, and easy to remove, I was seduced by Cuccio because I wanted matching gels and polish at a time when Artistic didn’t have these and Artistic didn’t have any trainers near me for ages which was an issue for me when my salon was expanding. I don’t love Cuccio as much as I did because their colours don’t seem quite right for my clients. I don’t have all the reds and corals and nudes that I want and they are often out of stock of colours that I need for long periods. I do love their mani/pedi products thoigh. Oh my!
I love Bio Sculpture Evo. It’s twice the price of every other brand but the colours, application wear and support are outstanding. It’s very expensive to invest in - but it means that everyone you meet is well trained and invested in the brand and it therefore has an excellent rep.
as for flooding - gravity! Control the hand and the finger, if you tilt your hand to check the application before you cure you’ll flood the cuticles every time.