More On "How U-V Gels Cure" (Cont'd from previous page)

More On "How U-V Gels Cure" (Cont'd from previous page)

Traditional acrylics HARDEN in about 10 minutes, but they do not and cannot CURE for 24 hours or more. Ultra Violet Gel Nails harden in about 15-30 seconds and cure in about 2 minutes! (In theory, see disclaimer below....this is how they are supposed to work, but not ALL do, so buyer beware....and educate yourself.....remember, that in this world, you get what you pay for.....)

Think of liquid/powder acrylics as your new cement driveway...it is HARDENED in a few hours and you can walk on it, but it is not CURED for 3 days, that's why you don't drive on it until it is cured...if you did you would put minute cracks in the foundation and throughout the structure that would not show up right away, but would show up at some point down the road, thereby reducing the "life expectancy" of your new cement driveway!

Have you ever painted a wall in a room and "thought" it was "dry" about a day or so later, so you taped up a poster, and when you went to move it the tape took the paint up with it! That's because while the paint was HARDENED it was not CURED. Now try this on a wall that you know is cured (because you can't even remember when it was painted....)Unless the paint never adhered properly to begin with when it was first applied, ie, greasy fingerprints, contaminants, DIRT, etc...that's why just painting your walls to cover dirt isn't such a good idea long term!!!! Walls should be washed first....hmmmmm, sound similar to nail application....because it is, the ENAMEL (paints, polishes, another hmmmmmm....) industry is related to the PLASTICS(nails!) industry. Or if the paint is extremely old and brittle (another similarity!) Any way, barring the above 2 scenarios you will see that the tape does NOT take the paint off of the CURED wall paint!

There is a big differance between hardening a product and curing a product-----U-V lights allow us to CURE products faster! Whether it be... acrylics, plastics, gels, laminates, resins, urethanes, pollyschmolly's.... whatever fancy schmancy name some manufacturer wants to put on it, or whatever you want to call them!( a rose is a rose is a rose.....). HARDENED PRODUCTS are unstable untill they CURE, you must treat them gingerly until they cure!

ULTRA-VIOLET CURED GELS contain no evaporative solvents and cure completely before the client leaves the salon (well most of them anyway). Therefore, there are no foul smells, no solvent based health/lung concerns, and a nail that is COMPLETELY DONE/CURED before the client even washes up for polish! These are the reasons that I prefer U-V Cured Gel Nails....

But...here's the disclaimer..... keep in mind...NOT ALL GELS AND GEL LAMPS ARE CREATED EQUALLY!...Some of them on the market (gels and/or lamps) DO NOT CURE COMPLETELY, some of these manufacturers do warn you to tell your clients that their nails will keep curing for another 24 hours, and that they (the client) should treat them with care!) So, while the solvent inhalation problem is improved with some brands of gel, the curing properties are really only about the same as traditional acrylics...it is for these resaons that I like some LIGHTS AND GELS BETTER THAN 

 

OTHERS!

Think of this example...it applies equally to the products we buy for salon or for our own personal use and home....and applies to justifying to our clients why they pay the price they do to come to us versus the discount shop down the block.......Would you ever really, trully, expect a GEl (or traditional acrylic for that matter. or the price of a nail service!) that cost 1/2, 1/4, someVerdana, Arial, Helvetica even 1/10th(!)the price of others to perform as well as the more expensive brand....not that price is always an indicator of quality....but when was the last time that you saw 2 houses on the same block (that appeared approx. equal from the outside) and one was $300,000 and the other was $150K, or $75K, or even $30,000....do you REALLY think that happens in the real world???? Do you really think the $30K house was JUST AS GOOD as the $300K house......those 2 houses aren't on the same block, they are not even in the same neighborhood, town or region.....they are NOT EQUAL of course!

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