Which gel

[Traceykate]

I have just been looking at another thread and I am now really confused. Freya3112 was asking which gel brand and then I noticed the reply said about a buff off gel or a soak off gel please can you tell me what you mean. I am doing a home course but I do not get much help from my tutor to be honest and I do need it, so thankful you guys are here. I do a lot of Internet browsing at different nail gel brands and on eBay most of the gels come from hong kong, are any of these from there any good as they are not the brands that you talk about on here. Please help xx

 

[Envy]

Hi Tracey,

to help us more, please fill your profile in with some further detail
eg:
who you are training with,
what brand/s you are being taught to use
how long you have been training etc..

the more we know about you, the more we can give information that will be helpful and not confusing..

RE eBay products... well... if it's available to the public you can safely assume it's never going to have the quality that pro only brands do..

 

[Traceykate]

Hi I have updated my profile if there is any more info u need please let me know. Thanks
Another gel I have spotted is The Edge gel system.

 

[Envy]

Hi - Much better on the profile!

Ok - Gels
Soak off gels are a soft system - designed to feel more 'natural', they are more flexible, but also more likely to be damaged by environmental factors (cleaning products etc)
They can easily be removed by soaking with Acetone based removers
Hard Gels (buff off gels)
Are a non porous gel, more like acrylic in finished result, strong for enhancement and length addition. Can not be soaked off - must be filed off.

Product chemistry - Nail enhancements are all based on the same family of chemicals, methacrylates, so in essense the main difference is the way they feel and level of strength the provide.

Brand wise, there are hundreds... many are cheap, and this is how they often last...
High grade (professional brands) are more restrictive on supply, most require proof of qualification. These products use high quality ingredients (and often proprietary technology) and as such, they want this product only in the right hands...

As you are training, some will allow you sample quantities so you can get a feel for different products. CND is the global leader for science, products and has an award winning global training programme CND - Sweet Squared

I hope this helps you a little, my only advise is master one system type from one brand at a time...
Don't become a 'jack of all trades - master of none' by chopping and changing so much while trying to learn that you end up confused

 

[Envy]

PS - you can post in Nail geek forum - it is there for anyone becoming a tech or who is a tech.

 

[Traceykate]

Hi Envy

Thank u so much for that I was told none of this by my tutor feel quite cheated lol. The info is great really, it's gets much clearer knowing all that now.
You will no doubt see much more of me.
Many thanks Hun xx

 

[Envy]

your most welcome chick,

I would suggest looking at other training providers for advanced training.. that was pretty basic stuff to be honest and there is a WHOLE lot more to know

CND - Sweet Squared

The above link is for CND which is considered the world leader in knowledge and training, they offer a huge variety of skill level training (worth every cent) and at any stage.

An amazing reference is Doug Schoons - Nail structure & product chemistry (2nd edition) Buy it!!!

Ps, I'm Male (being called hun sounds odd)

 

[Traceykate]

Hi sweet, is that better lol. I will give them a try , I have sent in two lots of nails that needed to be marked to essential nails and they have both been lost so not impressed there either. The nail trainer that we use is a good idea but because the nail bed is solid plastic with no give I have trouble with air pockets and not much help to try to stop them, I do them on people so much better and a lot quicker.
I will give cnd a good look over and more than likely go through them next time.
Thank you so much for all the help and no doubt be back on here asking more questions, don't ask don't get....
Thank you sweet speak soon xx.

 

[Envy]

Post a photo of the air pockets (and describe what you are doing) in main nail geek forum and you'll get plenty of help. Or pm it to me and I'll help/ upload for ya..