Jess, thanks for the explaining. What type of bit do you use to file it off and do you charge the same for this type of manicure as you do a fill with gel polish? Angie
________________________________ From: Jess in WA <luvna...@gmail.com> To: NailTech <nailtech@googlegroups.com> Sent: Sun, January 2, 2011 1:23:09 PM Subject: Re: NailTech:: Question and other stuff... Angie I'm glad the process is working for you. I use Akzentz - one of the products left off the list with gel colors. They came out with Gel Color many years ago and has well over 100 colors. Its 100% gel, not a hybrid, its in a pot and takes longer to soak. I started putting the layer of hard gel under the gel polish to SPEED UP the process. Soaking is PITA as we all know. And if you have e-filed off porous gel before its like filing off acrylic - it gets HOT. I was sick of my clients getting heat spikes from e-filing it off and jumping out of the chair scaring me to death. I also had some clients getting stress cracks in the sides of their nails because they were wearing them longer and their nails weren't thick or hard enough to keep them from cracking. I'd end up patching their crack with hard gel and discovered that those nails with the patch did NOT get hot with the efile and I could file it off much faster! So I started adding just ONE extra step. I was already using a base gel - now I use Bonding Gel. My extra step adds the strength and keeps the heat away - one thin layer of Natural (a semi-self leveling, medium viscosity gel). Then I go straight to my color and top gloss (I use classic top gloss unless I'm doing glitter.. its cheaper than soak off top glosses and since I'm not soaking off it isn't necessary). Does this make my gel manicure a "classic clear fill + gel polish"? Yes sortof - the layer of Natural is so thin that there is no arch - which to me is necessary when doing classic gels. I have just a few clients who go 2 weeks (simply because they like to change colors). Most of my clients go 3-4 weeks but they could go 6-8 if they needed to. Their nails don't chip or break. That thin layer of Natural does wonders. When I efile off the color, some of the clear layer comes off too, but most of the nail stays protected by it. No dry nails (from polish hybrids), no white spots, no more cracking, no more heat when e-filing it off. Does it take more time? Not at all - I was having to take MUCH longer to e-file their color off when them jumping out of the chair. Now I can e-file it off like a speed demon and not worry about it getting hot. Honestly, its amazing such a thin layer does the trick to solve all those problems. **The exception; when I do not do the hard gel layer; a first time client or someone not planning to come back and see me. then I do Base'n'gloss and 2 coats of color, and Base'n'Gloss. This allows the gel to soak off quickly at home and lasts up to 2 weeks (basically like shellac by itself). Becky - I'm not sure why your gelish chipped off - did you remove the tacky layer before you applied it? Maybe its because its a hybrid or something... honestly couldn't tell you. I don't remove any tacky layers until the end. I'm using 100% gel with Akzentz and I never get a chip. Hope that helps explain the process. Happy New Year All!! -Jess LuvNailz.com PS Akzentz is current working on an LED cured Gel Polish (in a bottle) that is 100% gel and will soak off as fast as the hybrids out today. They have been paying attenion to the issues cause by the hybrids (the white spots, drying, chipping, product settling and issue with having to shake like crazy) - but they also know there are a lot of techs who want a quick soaking polish so they are working on unique gel polish to help with this. So stay tuned. ;) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NailTech" group. To post to this group, send email to nailt...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to nailtech+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nailtech?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NailTech" group. To post to this group, send email to nailt...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to nailtech+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nailtech?hl=en.
