WHAT ARE GEL NAILS? The short answer: GEL NAILS are an extremely natural-looking enhancement: thin, clear, flexible, non-yellowing, nonporous, resist lifting. Gel nails can be used for natural nail overlays (actually one of the most difficult techniques--but it looks the easiest), tip overlays, and sculpted onto forms for short extensions, and to help encapsulate a damaged free-edge as it grows out. (For definitions of unfamiliar terms, check the "Glossary of Nail Tech Terminology" page.) Silk or fiberglass can be added to gels when needed for repairs or extra strength (don't get ahead of me, I' ll cover when, why and how later in these pages :).
MORE Info about Gel Nails (the long version :)
Introduction to "gel nails"
Gel Nails are the future of the nail industry! Europe is already 90% GELS, the USA will be too within 10 years! Gels are and will be the "hot" service that clients demand. No other service can give clients both a natural nails look and feel combined with the convenience and durability of acrylic nails. Many clients have tired of acrylic nails in this past decade because of the disadvantages that can be associated with them (such as the odors and lifting and nail damage, etc) . These same clients now flock to salons in record numbers for "natural nail" manicures with many spa type add-ons to increase the ticket price. BUT…. Many of these clients have already grown weary of the weekly appointments and rigorous home maintenance requirements of "natural" nails. They want another alternative; they want natural beauty combined with strength and durability. Now you can give clients what they want…… Gel nails ARE the best of both worlds!
Gel nails are not just a service; Gel Nails are a philosophy…….
Immediate gratification and a healthy nail philosophy! Instant length and beauty can be achieved at the first visit by utilizing tips or forms in the gel nail full-set. The ultimate long-term goal with gels is for the client to end up growing out and wearing her (or his!) own long, strong, beautiful, HEALTHY nails under the gel; so that she is no longer to be considered wearing artificial nails, but with the gel becoming essentially just a very strong, bonded base coat to protect her own nails from cracking, splitting, peeling, chipping, etc. She is now wearing a nail enhancement, not "fake" nails, and the enhancement need never be removed, only maintained on a regular schedule! Just as hair color is an enhancement of her natural hair, not "fake" hair, and can be maintained indefinitely. Gel nail enhancements ARE the client's own natural nail…. ONLY BETTER! And gels are totally compatible and complementary to other salon add-on services such as paraffin wax or hand facials, to complete the total hand beauty regimen.
Clients want and are willing to pay for "high end" services
Just as the top department stores have defined a separate niche for themselves from the "mart" stores, so will Gel Nails be distinguished from many other nail care services. I believe Gel Nails will never be a "discount" service offered in a "discount salon" atmosphere. Gel Nails are a long term, lifestyle choice. Gel Nails are meant to be a permanent solution to hand and nail beauty, not a temporary quick-fix. Gel Nail philosophy is not compatible with the type of consumer looking for only a quick fix of short term or temporary nails (i.e. "party nails"). Every market has market segmentation, which is good for the providers and for the consumers. While some salons will always cater to quantity sales (i.e. "party nails" and walk-in type business), the Gel Nail philosophy demands commitment and planning and so will attract a clientele that is compatible with that service level. Just as Nieman Marcus does not "compete" with K-Mart, neither do Gel Nail salons compete with discount salons. Two very different market segments. Two very different service levels and service providers! Two very different prices!
Benefits of Gel Nails:
1) Odorless
2) Natural Feeling
3) Thin
4) Flexible
5) Crystal Clear
6) Light Weight
7) Natural looking
8) No lifting!
Myths about Gel Nails:
1) Myth: Gel nails are soooooo easy to do, they apply just like nail polish! Anyone can do them! (Then why isn't everybody already doing them?) The truth: "Gel nails are easy to learn, but hard to master".
2) Myth: Gel nails are "lumpy" because you can't file them or do finish work. The truth: Gel nails are non-porous and completely cured, there is no reason not to file them to perfection if needed!
All u need to have is:
Supplies:
Normal manicure table set-up (files, buffers, tips, forms, etc)
U-V Light(s):
Styles available
Bulb types
Gels: Many systems and types available
Primer/Bonder/Basecoat gels
Self –leveling gels, Non self-leveling gels
Thin, medium or thick viscosity, Builder Gels
Multi-purpose, One-component, Gloss coat/Sealers
White builder, White free-edge, Colored gels
Most non-soluble in acetone, some exceptions……
Gel Brushes
Gel Cleanser
Gel Wipes (lint free)
Lesson #1)
....GEL NAIL FULL-SET OVER TIPS....
1) Prep nails And APPLY TIPS: remove shine*, dust, oils, etc from nail. Apply tips if desired now, being sure to blend well, then dust again. Apply dehydrator and/or sanitizer and/or pH balancer as needed. (Gel does not stick to "shiny", so gently remove shiny oil surface from natural nail. This does not mean etching or roughing up the nail, only gentle removal of oil and contaminants that interfere with adhesion. A fine grit file or buffer is all that is needed. Removal of pterygium is a different matter, which may require a less gentle touch to eradicate!)
2) Primer: use very thin coat of "primer gel" or "basecoat " that came w/ your kit and cure (FOR TWICE AS LONG AS THE MANUFACTURER TELLS YOU TO ) OR use MAP (methacrylic acid primer) choose brand and strength according to needs, OR use BX (a "non-acid primer" such as OPI Bondex, or others on the market)
Let primer dry! When using "separate" primer (not basecoat primer gel), then only put primer on natural nail, not on the tip...w/ a primer gel, follow that manufacturers instructions as to whether or not to get it on the tip!
3-A) Application over tips:(Free-form application below, but first get the hang of manipulating the gels!) apply 1st coat of gel thinly, over natural nail and entire tip! Being sure to get to edges w/out getting into cuticles or touching skin. CURE. If using LCN lamp then 1 cycle 1.5 mins is enough, any other lamp, cure for minimum of 3 minutes for this first coat of gel!
3-B) Apply second coat, a little thicker than 1st. Pick up "bead of gel" on one side of flat brush (synthetic) and hold brush parallel to nail (HORIZONTAL. Not Vertical, Not up and down, NOT like a pencil), hold it flat over the nail. Put brush w/ gel down short of the cuticle area, and then PUSH toward cuticle slightly (this will prevent big cuticle ridge from forming! Now pull brush (still flat and parallel to nail) back toward you, from cuticle to free edge. Do not let brush actually touch the nail, it FLOATS on the nail on the cushion of gel! Pull out and over (drop off) free edge. Now go back w. flat brush to right side and pull gel around the horse shoe and down the right side, being sure to get gel as close as possible to side wall without touching sidewalls. (Gel will absolutely lift if it touches the skin, it also shrinks as it cures, causing a bit of a paradox---how to get it close enough to give strength to the sidewalls, BUT prevent it from running into the sidewalls and lifting..... Now finish up on the left side as you did the right. Cure for 1.5 to 2 minutes.
3-C) Coat # 3,. Same as #2 except we'll do 4 fingers 1st and then thumb...stay w/ me here...apply gel to 4 fingers again as in step 2, now pick up a "string"(See TAIL technique in lesson 5 below for more specifics) of gel and lay it down the center of the nail, starting about 1/5 up from cuticle to 1/5 short of end of nail. The slower you lay down your string, the more gel you leave behind (and vice versa) so use this knowledge when building the stress area...the gel will continue MOVING after you lay it, so for novices you may want to set up each finger for approx 15 to 20 seconds between gel apps (that is long enough to harden the gel to a ‘jello’ consistency so it won't move on you any more, and we'll cure it later. *INFO ABOUT THE DIFFERANCE BETWEEN HARDENING AND CURING IN SECTIONS BELOW, ALSO EXPLANATION OF THE CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS OF "BURNING" (slow down chemical reactions by going into the light for 4 seconds, and out for 3, until set-up process (‘jello’ stage) is completed, also pressing pads of fingers on firm surface, or squeezing the finger also can help.
So you now have gel on all 4 fingers, and finally the thumb as well, now cure for 1 complete cycle again.
4) Inspect all nails, check for thin spots, etc, that may need more gel (some novices are "GEL SHY" and actually need to do 4-5-6 coats of gel to build up properly---whatever it takes---we want them thin at the free edge and cuticle and reinforced properly at the stress area (just like a traditional liquid/powder acrylic nail) (More in lessons below about adding Fiberglass or silks for strength with the gel). If you have added more gel at this point then cure as needed (at least one 1 1/2 minute cycle)
5) Wipe tacky/sticky (dispersion) layer off nails with gel cleanser (or 99% alcohol) being sure NOT to re-wipe the sticky stuff onto the skin of the next nail. (use separate sections of your wipe for each nail, that’s why I like Martex cocktail napkins or generic paper towels, big enough to do the whole job w/ just 1 (instead of 10!) If too much tacky stuff is coming off then gel did not cure---check your bulbs for dirt (wipe w/alcohol) or they may just be burned out! Note, once alcohol or cleanser has touched a nail you CANNOT apply more gel w/out first rebuffing to take shine off of the gel---gel will not stick to glossy gel, only tacky gel or non-shiny gel!
6) Now do final finish work...contrary to popular belief GEL NAILS can and in most cases SHOULD be finished and not just left as so! They are COMPLETELY cured (unlike their traditional acrylic cousins, so you cannot damage them. They are completely non-porous as well; so bevel the cuticle area and sidewalls, check the curves across the top of the nail and file accordingly as needed, do finishing work just as you would on an acrylic nail (but being gentler, remember gels are "softer" and easier to file than traditional acrylics). Send client to wash and then you are ready to polish as usual, or apply only topcoat for a natural look, or if you must apply a super thin coat of gel, cure, wipe, and now go permanently glossy! (More on permanent gloss coats and perm French Manicures (pink and whites at a future lesson! Also more on the differences between hardening and curing in section THREE of this page....there is just soooooo much information....
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Contributor's Note
more updates coming up....
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