UV Product Summary

[Pooh8bear]

This is a myth - feel free to get me involved in any of these threads.

Electricity does not slow down or lose its strength over distance in power cords... even having many items on a multiplug board will not reduce the amount each item receives - although it does create more load (amps) and if massively overloaded it can blow the protection fuse - but even right up until this moment each device is getting the amount of power it needs.

Many thanks for clearing that up.:hug:x

 

[biggsy]

This has been very useful for me as I am extremely new to the business and although I was aware that when a product is developed the lamp is developed to match, I have debated over which gel/acrylic system to use alongside my Gelish and I think you may have answered my previous post. I bought the Nail Harmony 18G LED lamp to match my Gelish, so am I right to assume that I should use the Nail Harmony hard gel too as this would have been developed with my current lamp? and if I do decide to go with a diffferent hard gel system, say NSI- then I would have to buy the lamp compatible with that? also with regards to heat spike is this more common with LED than with UV? I have a few clients who get this with my LED lamp...

 

[Envy]

This has been very useful for me as I am extremely new to the business and although I was aware that when a product is developed the lamp is developed to match, I have debated over which gel/acrylic system to use alongside my Gelish and I think you may have answered my previous post. I bought the Nail Harmony 18G LED lamp to match my Gelish, so am I right to assume that I should use the Nail Harmony hard gel too as this would have been developed with my current lamp? and if I do decide to go with a diffferent hard gel system, say NSI- then I would have to buy the lamp compatible with that? also with regards to heat spike is this more common with LED than with UV? I have a few clients who get this with my LED lamp...

Biggsy, I have updated the article with some further information on what heat spike is... I hope this answers your question
~Allen~

 

[biggsy]

oh no thats a bit worrying as a few of my customers do get a heat spike from the LED, is this because the lamp creates more energy? how do I avoid this as I would hate to think I am damaging clients nails:sad:

 

[Envy]

I would contact your supplier - they 'should' be able to tell you how to avoid having this happen....

Heat spike is a combination of: the amount of UV supplied to the nail added to the amount of photo initiators that can activate and release this energy..

 

[biggsy]

thank you for your advice, very much appreciated

 

[B-Beauty]

Great info thanks x

 

[Claire C]

What a brilliant explanation! Thanks!

 

[NAILed it !]

Perfectly put!!!
& most very informative !!!
Many thanks

 

[geeg]

The latest from Doug Schoon

If someone tries to sell you a UV gel that works with any lamp, they are just trying to sell you their UV gel.

Anyone who tries to sell you a UV lamp that works with any gel, is just trying to sell you their UV lamp.

There is no such thing as a universal UV lamp or a UV gel! Nail professionals should only use the UV lamp that was specifically designed by the manufacturer for use with the UV gel of your choice.

The chemistry and composition of the UV gel must be tuned to work with that specific combination of UV lamp and bulb.

All UV lamps are different. Just because they emit UV light doesn't qualify them. Florescent lamps release some UV, but they can't cure these products.

If anyone is having problems with their UV gel nails and they aren't using the UV lamp specifially designed for that UV product... now you know the most likely reason for your problems. Use the correct lamp and these problems can be avoided.

wattage doesn't matter. My hair dryer is 1200 watts and it won't cure any UV gel. It's silly to by a UV lamp because of it's wattage. All wattage tells you is how much power the lamp consumes.

So many things affect the way a UV lamp works. The electronic components, the manufacturer of the bulb, the distance of the bulb to the fingers are just a few. The electronics are probably one of the most important. You can put the same bulb in two different brands of light and get different UV outputs.

Anyone who tells you that you should adjust the cure time to compensate for the bulbs or lamp is NOT giving proper advice. They are guessing about something they can't possilby know and doing so at your expense.

If you don't buy the lamp, don't buy the gel. You're not doing your clients any favors by improperly curing the products. Also, how can you properly evaluate any of these UV gels that you purchased if you don't properly cure them? I have heard many people say product X or Y doesn't work, but how can they make this determination when they are using the wrong lamp or picking their own curing time/technique? This is really easy to figure out, use the lamp that's designed for the product you chose to use in the salon and change the bulbs regularly.

You should all join Dougs FB page .. there are so many fascinating articles there and you can talk with him.

 

[StephR]

Geeg do you have a link to Doug's Facebook page please xx

 

[happyfeet]

Geeg do you have a link to Doug's Facebook page please xx

Hey honey just search doug schoon and he'll be there. X x x

 

[Snugglepuss]

Ok - I have used Shellac and the Brisa Lamp and everything is brilliant - no problems :Look_righ:Look_left But what I would like to know is, if you go under a UV sunbed, what impact does that have on the Shellac and other similar brands? I understand that the further away the bulb, there is a drop in the cure rate/process but in this case would it cause over curing?

As it happens I have been on the sunbed and not suffered any unexpected breakdown in the Shellac and it has lasted like it should BUT (and this may be because I'm a dizzy kipper I don't know :o) it seems more difficult to remove in comparison to my clients - thoughts on this would be appreciated xxx

 

[PixieBeauty]

I asked similar to this on Shellac training, if a client has to have a nail re-done during a Shellac appointment (because of wrinkling whatever) does it overcure the rest of the nails going back into the lamp?

I was told no because once the product has cured, it's done curing. It doesn't continue to cure when exposed to UV outside etc. I was told over-cure is when a product cures too quickly (ie in the wrong lamp) and that causes problems but if cured correctly in the first instance, it's "done"

Hope that's right!

 

[Nic1980]

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

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?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TheTalonSalon]

curiosity.. i use a daylight 36w, for all my products... have heard a few different opinions regarding LED lamps.. any advice regarding those? or any information.. whats the difference? are they able to do the same job? same quality of job? are there LED gel products?(product x & lamp x)? are the LED lamps ranked by wattage? HELP !!!!!!!

 

[geeg]

curiosity.. i use a daylight 36w, for all my products... have heard a few different opinions regarding LED lamps.. any advice regarding those? or any information.. whats the difference? are they able to do the same job? same quality of job? are there LED gel products?(product x & lamp x)? are the LED lamps ranked by wattage? HELP !!!!!!!

All your questions are really answered in this thread.

Led bulbs for gels are UV and some gel products are made that will cure faster with them ... But faster cure does not speed up the job behind the table by any appreciable amount. Useful for those doing nail art and the demo stand at shows, but in the salon? To me it's not worth the extortionate amount of money being charged for the lamp. They will not cure every product, only those made for the system you are using. All electrical equipment uses wattage and Lamps use the wattage they use according to the number of bulbs in the lamp.

 

[Studiosparkle]

Thank you very much for such information. I'm grateful and feeling well informed. X

 

[Noodle]

Time for a bump!

 

[Melissa82]

I asked similar to this on Shellac training, if a client has to have a nail re-done during a Shellac appointment (because of wrinkling whatever) does it overcure the rest of the nails going back into the lamp?

I was told no because once the product has cured, it's done curing. It doesn't continue to cure when exposed to UV outside etc. I was told over-cure is when a product cures too quickly (ie in the wrong lamp) and that causes problems but if cured correctly in the first instance, it's "done"

Hope that's right!

I watched the Doug Schoon presentation on PBA and I think he goes in to this saying that they can get over cured from tanning beds? Here is the link to it.

UV Gel Nails: Latest Findings & Best Practices on Vimeo