Envy
Well-Known Member
There is so many debates and techs talking about UV products and lamps that I thought it was time do a summary:
Polymerisation (Curing)
Polymerisation is the process of monomers having the energy to chemically alter, grab onto each other and form long, strongly bonded polymer chains. To generate this energy we need to introduce a catalyst, in liquid & powder there is Benzyl peroxide. Which when exposed to monomer in a warm environment starts polymerisation. But as we know it can take 24 hours for all of it to activate and for all the chains to finish forming into a cured product.
Of course this only works if the mix ratio is correct and there is enough catalyst to monomer ratio to allow the polymerisation to work completely, which of course is different brand to brand
These molecules are so small you cannot see this happen and if it only works to 95% you will never be able to see or tell (until the nail suffers service breakdown, or the client one day suddenly develops an irritation or allergy) Yes – the unreacted product presents a health risk, it is an irritant and can /will cause problems one day…
This is why we have different mix ratios between companies to ensure safe and complete polymerisation and why we never mix brands.
In gel we start with oligomers (short, preformed chains of monomer). To generate the energy we also need a catalyst which is a ‘photo initiator’. This is a molecule that gains energy from the UV exposure, breaks up, shares its energy and activates the oligomer to start forming chains.
Each brand has different quantities and types of photo initiator, some react quickly or have large quantities (hence ‘heat spike’ is noticed by the client)
Because of this variation each company has (hopefully) lab tested and measured the output and time required for their gel product to cure with their lamp. This is effectively their ‘mix ratio’
Heat Spike - this is the heat given off during an 'exothermic reaction' - In other words as the molucules get excited and move around some of their energy is released as heat, the faster they activate the more heat is given off. The nail bed has NO temperature nerves so it does not warn of heat - But it does have Pain sensors - so heat spike is not the nail getting hot, it is actually the nail screaming a warning that this delicate tissue it is hurt and burnt... As mentioned above 'hopefully' manufacturers are developing their UV system to avoid this occuring as it can cause real and sometimes permanent damage...
UV Lamps
There is a lot of heated debate over whether you are able to cure brand ‘X’ gel with brand ‘Y’ lamp.
*every single bulb on the market emits a slightly different strength of UV
*every different chamber reflects differently and has a different distance.
Different reflection will obviously affect the amount of UV light that is being focussed onto the gel.
*Distance from bulb to gel is hugely important as UV drops its intensity very rapidly, 1 extra inch of distance may mean only 50% of the UV reaches the gel.
Because of these variables every single lamp means a different rate of exposure to the product, so there is NO WAY you can ever say it has worked ‘properly’ unless you are in the lab and can test OR
If you follow the professional advice of the company that has already done this reserach
When Doug Schoon was formulating BRiSA gel, his initial aim was to make a gel that could work with any lamp – but they soon realised that to produce a gel that cured thoroughly and fully without heat spike that there was nothing currently available that could ensure it would work safely. So much testing went in and they developed the CND UV lamp to perfectly match the lower levels of the newly formulated BRiSA.
Doug has a great article that you should ALL read and understand:
http://www.schoonscientific.com/downloads/tech-articles/article-7-Secrets-to-Curing.pdf
UV Lamps vs LED Lamps
There seems to be a lot of confusion over what these are and what makes them different ...
Firstly both are just a type of light bulb. So lets look at light bulb (lamp) technologies
1) hot cathode lamps. This is traditional Edison light bulbs and halogens - anything with a wire (filament) that generates the light
2) CCFL - cold cathode fluorescent lamp - this covers neon bulbs and any lamp that uses an electrical charge to cause a gas combination to produce a fluorescent light
3) LED - light emitting diode - this is the new emerging energy efficient alternative. Instead of a gas or filament a small diode is charged and in turn produces photons of visible light.
Traditionally UV lamps have CCFL lamps that have been allowed to produce both visible and invisible (UV) light. This can be well controlled and is well understood due to how long they have been in production. This means there is better understanding of matched lamps and products to ensure even and complete cure. Their only downside is the uv output degrades within a few hundred hours.
LED lamps can also be made to produce Uv light along with visible light. This is however a narrower band of UV so it would need initiators specially designed to ensure complete cure.
The up side is LED lamps can produce more intensity from less power so shorter times are possible generally. But again this would mean reformulating to balance the rate of cure.
LED lamps will last longer than CCFL lamps BUT they will still degrade in time below the required output.
In summary
As a professional – you would not mix brand ‘x’ liquid with brand ‘y’ powder – why? – Because this is unprofessional, unsafe science dabbling and voids any protection or legal cover you may have. The same rule applies 100% to gel and matching lamp.
If you read this and feel it’s a personal dig, perhaps you should consider what you are actually doing to your clients – are you the actual professional they should trust? Or are you experimenting on them whilst they give you money in good faith?
Polymerisation (Curing)
Polymerisation is the process of monomers having the energy to chemically alter, grab onto each other and form long, strongly bonded polymer chains. To generate this energy we need to introduce a catalyst, in liquid & powder there is Benzyl peroxide. Which when exposed to monomer in a warm environment starts polymerisation. But as we know it can take 24 hours for all of it to activate and for all the chains to finish forming into a cured product.
Of course this only works if the mix ratio is correct and there is enough catalyst to monomer ratio to allow the polymerisation to work completely, which of course is different brand to brand
These molecules are so small you cannot see this happen and if it only works to 95% you will never be able to see or tell (until the nail suffers service breakdown, or the client one day suddenly develops an irritation or allergy) Yes – the unreacted product presents a health risk, it is an irritant and can /will cause problems one day…
This is why we have different mix ratios between companies to ensure safe and complete polymerisation and why we never mix brands.
In gel we start with oligomers (short, preformed chains of monomer). To generate the energy we also need a catalyst which is a ‘photo initiator’. This is a molecule that gains energy from the UV exposure, breaks up, shares its energy and activates the oligomer to start forming chains.
Each brand has different quantities and types of photo initiator, some react quickly or have large quantities (hence ‘heat spike’ is noticed by the client)
Because of this variation each company has (hopefully) lab tested and measured the output and time required for their gel product to cure with their lamp. This is effectively their ‘mix ratio’
Heat Spike - this is the heat given off during an 'exothermic reaction' - In other words as the molucules get excited and move around some of their energy is released as heat, the faster they activate the more heat is given off. The nail bed has NO temperature nerves so it does not warn of heat - But it does have Pain sensors - so heat spike is not the nail getting hot, it is actually the nail screaming a warning that this delicate tissue it is hurt and burnt... As mentioned above 'hopefully' manufacturers are developing their UV system to avoid this occuring as it can cause real and sometimes permanent damage...
UV Lamps
There is a lot of heated debate over whether you are able to cure brand ‘X’ gel with brand ‘Y’ lamp.
*every single bulb on the market emits a slightly different strength of UV
*every different chamber reflects differently and has a different distance.
Different reflection will obviously affect the amount of UV light that is being focussed onto the gel.
*Distance from bulb to gel is hugely important as UV drops its intensity very rapidly, 1 extra inch of distance may mean only 50% of the UV reaches the gel.
Because of these variables every single lamp means a different rate of exposure to the product, so there is NO WAY you can ever say it has worked ‘properly’ unless you are in the lab and can test OR
If you follow the professional advice of the company that has already done this reserach
When Doug Schoon was formulating BRiSA gel, his initial aim was to make a gel that could work with any lamp – but they soon realised that to produce a gel that cured thoroughly and fully without heat spike that there was nothing currently available that could ensure it would work safely. So much testing went in and they developed the CND UV lamp to perfectly match the lower levels of the newly formulated BRiSA.
Doug has a great article that you should ALL read and understand:
http://www.schoonscientific.com/downloads/tech-articles/article-7-Secrets-to-Curing.pdf
UV Lamps vs LED Lamps
There seems to be a lot of confusion over what these are and what makes them different ...
Firstly both are just a type of light bulb. So lets look at light bulb (lamp) technologies
1) hot cathode lamps. This is traditional Edison light bulbs and halogens - anything with a wire (filament) that generates the light
2) CCFL - cold cathode fluorescent lamp - this covers neon bulbs and any lamp that uses an electrical charge to cause a gas combination to produce a fluorescent light
3) LED - light emitting diode - this is the new emerging energy efficient alternative. Instead of a gas or filament a small diode is charged and in turn produces photons of visible light.
Traditionally UV lamps have CCFL lamps that have been allowed to produce both visible and invisible (UV) light. This can be well controlled and is well understood due to how long they have been in production. This means there is better understanding of matched lamps and products to ensure even and complete cure. Their only downside is the uv output degrades within a few hundred hours.
LED lamps can also be made to produce Uv light along with visible light. This is however a narrower band of UV so it would need initiators specially designed to ensure complete cure.
The up side is LED lamps can produce more intensity from less power so shorter times are possible generally. But again this would mean reformulating to balance the rate of cure.
LED lamps will last longer than CCFL lamps BUT they will still degrade in time below the required output.
In summary
As a professional – you would not mix brand ‘x’ liquid with brand ‘y’ powder – why? – Because this is unprofessional, unsafe science dabbling and voids any protection or legal cover you may have. The same rule applies 100% to gel and matching lamp.
If you read this and feel it’s a personal dig, perhaps you should consider what you are actually doing to your clients – are you the actual professional they should trust? Or are you experimenting on them whilst they give you money in good faith?
Last edited:
