Why do gels go hot?!?!?

[nailsbylexi]

Why do Gels burn when you put the under the light?

 

[Kimberley1978]

Burn?? Do you mean "heat spike"? This can occur if the natural nails beds are quite thin or sometimes if the first layer of gel is applied too thickly. What does it feel like? x

 

[Lellipop]

Why do Gels burn when you put the under the light?

This is called Heat spike and happens when the gel reacts with the uv lamp, It can happen more often if the gel is applied to thickly.
Also it helps to get your client to remove the hand from the lamp for a second or 2 if this occurs.

 

[louiser]

I'm more of an L & P person but I was told that its a heat spike caused by them contracting when they cure.
It can be avoided by using a thinner layer at a time. If you have a client or gel that is particually prone to this (I found what ever I did The Edge gels always caused a bad heat spike) you can cure for ten seconds, remove the hands and wait another ten seconds before continuing with the cure, x

 

[Kimberley1978]

Another thing I find if this happens is to lightly tap your fingers whilst curing which usually stops the sensation immediately x

 

[louiser]

Another thing I find if this happens is to lightly tap your fingers whilst curing which usually stops the sensation immediately x

I'm sure I heard this before, I suggested it to a client once though who seemed to miss the 'lightly' bit though and ended up stuck to the inside of the lamp!

 

[ValencianNails]

Exothermic reaction also happens if the client has thinned nail plates (due to over filing) and/or naturally thin nails.

Check that you're not applying too much gel in your application.

Are you using the correct UV lamp for your gel range?
http://www.salongeek.com/general-articles/35947-choosing-uv-lamp-your-gel-system.html

 

[Lou-Lorena]

This is when the chemical reaction starts and the product starts to cure it tightens.
All you have to do is remove finger from uv light and press against table for 2 sec and it will stop.
Hope u can all understand:idea:

 

[Bagpuss]

I think its best to try and prevent it in the first place.

This might be difficult with a new client and getting know her nails...as some people feel it and others don't.

Flash curing can prevent it...(hand in for 5 secs, then out for 5, back for 5, out for 5...just a few times then back for the full cure time).

Build using thin layers rather than 1 thick layer.

 

[adelekeegan1]

I use Brisa and find that whatever I do I get heat spike myself, although very few clients do.
I suspect that in my case my nails are very thin these days (getting ancient you see) and so I have to do 3 x 3 second cures and then do the full 2 mins at least this works for me

 

[angel fingers]

its not to do with shrinking, its to do with heat being a bi product of the chemical reaction that takes place as the gel is cured.

there is some very interesting information on Light Elegance Nail Products in the education section. find the technical brochure and look for page 24.

in fact the whole of the brochure makes interesting reading.[or maybe i'm just tooooo geeky these days:lol:]

 

[Ruth Mills]

Ha ha you beat me to it there mentioning "exothermic reactions" and such like; I was going to say the same myself, being a chemistry geek (spent 4 years studying chemistry at uni for my sins lol)...

Ruth

 

[The Geek]

To summarise:

When gels polymerise (cure) the oligomers give off a very small amount of heat.

The greater the % of reactive photo-initiators, the more heat is produced.
The thicker the application of gel, the more heat is produced.
The thinner the natural nail plate, the less protection the client has against the heat.

The heat is not caused by shrinkage. It is simply a combination of one or more of the above.

Some gels try to minimise the probability of a heat spike by using less photo-initiators or less reactive ones, but ultimately if you gob it on a thin nail, its going to send you through the roof.

The age old tapping the nail is really no more than a diversion technique until most of the heat has dispersed and the photo-initiators are used up.

HTHs

 

[angel fingers]

To summarise:

When gels polymerise (cure) the oligomers give off a very small amount of heat.

The greater the % of reactive photo-initiators, the more heat is produced.
The thicker the application of gel, the more heat is produced.
The thinner the natural nail plate, the less protection the client has against the heat.

The heat is not caused by shrinkage. It is simply a combination of one or more of the above.

Some gels try to minimise the probability of a heat spike by using less photo-initiators or less reactive ones, but ultimately if you gob it on a thin nail, its going to send you through the roof.

The age old tapping the nail is really no more than a diversion technique until most of the heat has dispersed and the photo-initiators are used up.

HTHs

'gob it on' :lol: you crack me up:lol:

 

[Ruth Mills]

'gob it on' :lol: you crack me up:lol:

Highly technical language lol, although uncannily descriptive

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Here's a reply that I've use a few times now ...

Gel can only be cured by activating it with ultra violet light. When you put it under a uv light it activates the photo initiators which is what makes it cure. As they start to react the photo initiators are aggitated and move freely within the gel creating a friction heat or "heat spike". As the gel hardens they are unable to move about freely and so it settles down. Not everyone reacts and it normally passes very quickly. You MUST warn your client before they put their hand in the light that this could happen and if it does that they must remove their hand from the light box immediately.

Things that can cause a more intense heat spike - gel applied too thickly (this is the main one), clients with very porous nails, clients with very thin or badly damaged nails, time of the month. It is also worse in summer than winter as we unable to tolerate heat as much - think about a shower, you love scorching hot showers in the winter, but would not be able to tolerate one in the summer.

You can almost eliminate it by getting to know your gel. LCN would take about 12-15 seconds for a reaction, so i would get a client to take thier hand out after 10 secs so that as the photo initiators started to react they calmed down before the spike had a chance to get a grip. I find Brisa reacts very quickly, within about 3-5 secs, and so I get my clients to put their hand in and out of the lamp as Angie describes above!

Another way is to apply with 2 thinner layers.

 

[Ruth Mills]

I wonder what the formulation of the gel is? The initiator sounds like a chemical that would split into free radicals by the action of the UV light; the free radicals would then catalyse the polymerisation of the gel which would then become solid.

 

[Bagpuss]

I wonder what the formulation of the gel is? The initiator sounds like a chemical that would split into free radicals by the action of the UV light; the free radicals would then catalyse the polymerisation of the gel which would then become solid.

Now your just showing off....:lol::hug:

 

[angel fingers]

I wonder what the formulation of the gel is? The initiator sounds like a chemical that would split into free radicals by the action of the UV light; the free radicals would then catalyse the polymerisation of the gel which would then become solid.

ooooh, you mad scientist :lol:

i love the science bit.
did you look in that technical brochure from light elegance, it tells you all sorts.

 

[nailsbylexi]

Are you using the correct UV lamp for your gel range?

Yes, I am using Brisa Gel CND with a Brisa CND UV Lamp