Why do gel polishes and normal polishes 'shrink' at the free edge?

[geeg]

Why do gel polishes and normal polishes 'shrink' at the free edge?

The answer is, they don't once they are cured or dry.

Many of you are posting about shrinkage after days of successful wear and what you are seeing is not shrinkage. What you are seeing is the result of product being worn away by work or rubbing. Polishes of any type do not shrink after they are cured or dry.

It is easy to paint a surface with a nice coating of colour, but it is not easy to get the same coverage or thickness on a sharp edge whether it be the edge of a fingernail or the sharp edge of a door or drawer; your paint is always thinner in that area and it always wears away first on the sharp edge where it is rubbed and it is logical that it will do so.

Chances are, if you are seeing the edge of a nail/nails become exposed, it will be more so on the more dominant hand or where the edge is being rubbed. A small amount of Shrinkage happens as polish is cured or dried and makes the coverage on the sharp edge less thick but this is not noticeable until after a few days or more of wear and tear ... The less a person does, the less the wearing away of colour will be noticed.

I hope this will help you to explain to a client just what is happenning and that it is not a product problem, just the normal way that wear affects a sharp edge that has been painted.

 

[linzi]

It's a bit like carpet, isn't it?

You couldn't put a beautiful deep-pile, livingroom carpet in a high-traffic office setting and expect it to look as perfect as the day it went down after it'd been down a while.

I think managing expectations is a very important, whether it's vinylux, shellac or enhancements and making sure that we make our customers aware that the service is only as good as their commitment to it.

Saying that, I once had a customer (and one of my best friends too) call me practically in tears saying that her shellac was all chipped at the free edge and looked hideous and she wanted it off NOW. I was completely dumbfounded as nothing like that had ever happened before When I went round, she had the teeniest, barely discernible bit of wear - that I had told her about, especially as she types a lot with her college work, etc. But still, she wanted it off. Personally, I think it was because she'd chose purple purple with a glitter fade and wasn't used to having such a prominent colour on her nails but it just goes to show you... it also shows just HOW important it is to see the nails that a client says is practically hanging off :lol:

 

[geeg]

I think managing expectations is a very important, whether it's vinylux, shellac or enhancements and making sure that we make our customers aware that the service is only as good as their commitment to it.

Absolutely right!

What's more, a quick file along the free edge removes any tiny bit of wear; the nails look brand new, and the wear will stop once filed as it is now covered by a thicker layer of colour.

 

[Popular Polish]

I worked out shrinkage is worse if the polish is put on too thick! x

 

[geeg]

I worked out shrinkage is worse if the polish is pothereise thick! x

Shrinkage only happens before curing when the polish is applied too thickly ... otherwise what you see is wear not shrinkage.