Questionhi! i did gel nails at home with a kit i bought from ebay. After 4 days 2 of my nails fell off completely. I did not use nail prep solution or dehydrater as they were not in the kit.
Is this the reason they fell off? Can i use primer used for acrylic nails instead of nail prep solution. If yes does the primer need to be cured before i start with the gel?
thanks,
lata
AnswerWell, it's very difficult for me to refrain from mentioning that this is why there is an entire industry dedicated to applying these products professionally. BUT... I realize that doesn't help at all, so let me explain what went wrong:
First and foremost; yes. The prep products are VERY important. So, before you purchase another kit from Ebay, make sure ALL the necessary products are included!
If you can find 99% isopropyl alcohol and a protein-based non-acid primer, those would be the best substitutes for the missing products.
The other major consideration is whether or not you are specifically trained on these products and the methods of application for them. It takes a lot of practice for professionals to master nail products, so you can imagine that if you are not doing these nails on several people a day, it will take longer for you to master the technique.
Don't give up though! See if you can contact the seller on Ebay and get the missing products, or contact the company that manufactures the products and see if you can purchase them seperately. It's always better to have the prep products that match the line you have. If you can't get the ones that go with the kit, then use 99% isopropryl alcohol (nothing less than 99%! A lower purity means that there's too much "filler" in the alcohol that can cause lifting!) and a non-acid primer for acrylics.
I don't know what sort of access you have to products, but it's possible you could find a primer that's designed for gels. That would be even better.
When doing your nails, make sure you start with clean, dry nails and do a traditional manicure: push back your cuticles and gently use a buffer to remove the shine from your natural nails. You don't want to file into the natural nails, just buff them enough that they look dull before you apply the prep products.
With gel it is VERY important that you do NOT get ANY gel against your skin! Anywhere the gel touches your skin, it will lift and peel off very soon. Because the gel won't stick to your skin after it is cured, and the gel sticks to itself very well, so when it starts to lift off your skin, it just takes the whole nail overlay with it.
AND, make sure the lightbulbs in your lamp are clean and new. Bad bulbs keep the gel from curing properly which will lead to disappointing results. And, with UV light bulbs, it doesn't matter that they are still emitting light-- over time, the wavelength of the UV changes and that will affect the gel. Remember, the light you can SEE is not the wavelength that actually cures the gel! So if you are only doing you own nails, you should be able to change your bulbs about once a year. But if you use your lamp every day, you'll need to replace the bulbs every 3 or 4 months. And it's possible that you have a cheaply built lamp-- which means it could be running inefficiently, which means it won't cure the gel as well as it should. Just double the time the gel calls for, and that should take care of any problems associated with the lamp.
Keep practicing, it can take awhile before you get all the steps right!
