QuestionHello Maggie,
I was reading many of your postings and I really appreciate your willingness to share your expertise and time. I have recently learned to do Bio Sculpture Nails and was hoping to making a career out of it but I keep running into the same problem over and over. My gel nails keep lifting so how can I promote this product with honesty? When my nail gel lifts it is not just at the back or just at the front, it is sometimes the sides too. I have been practicing on myself and eliminating any possible irritant or product that could be causing the lifting. My instructor says that I must be doing something as this product just does not lift. Initially I felt she must be right and as it happened time and time again, I eliminated more and things to the point where I can't see that I could possibly be doing anything to cause this. In my refresher class, she used me as a model and did two nails--within 48 hours one of them was lifting up the side and she was careful to clean them I noted. The second nail was good for a little over two weeks and it is just now starting to lift. I beg to differ that it must be something I am doing. Have you ever ran into this before? Is there some people that this Bio Sculpture does not stick to or do you concur that is there something that I am doing to cause this. I am not hard on my nails. I am not sticking them in chemicals. I use non-latex gloves, etc. I would be most grateful for your thoughts on this dilemma. The only thing I haven't tried is not using Executive Base underneath--is it possible that some people's nails are too oily for gels? I really want this product to work for me. Please help!
AnswerI really must remark on how amazed I am at the number of questions I get concerning "Bio Sculpture Gel" specifically. I had no idea this product was THAT popular!
Is this the only gel that you have experience with? It is not (I admit) a product that I have significant experience with myself. I tried a sample of it years ago and didn't find it to out-perform the product I was already using.
Does the product only lift on your nails? Or are you having problems with it lifting on your clients' nails? Which nails does it lift on?
Because no matter how I do gels on myself, and no matter what product I use, I find that the side of my middle finger on my left hand lifts. I'm left-handed, and that side is the side that gets all the pressure against it from holding a pen, my brush, and my drill. It's also the side of the nail that gets saturated with acetone because of the way I hold my cotton when I remove polish. I don't have the same problem with acrylic-- I just file/melt through acrylic and have to constantly build up that side of that nail with new acrylic. But with gel, it's totally different. It ALWAYS lifts there.
So pay close attention to exactly who and where your lifting is happening. Maybe you could do new sets of gels on 5 people, then keep a notebook and log each day or week, finger by finger, for several weeks and see if you can see a pattern develop?
Also, there's no such thing as "oily nailbeds." Nails do not have sebaceous glands and cannot sweat. Any oil on a nail bed comes from somewhere else, once you properly cleanse and prep the nailplate, that oil is removed and new oil cannot penetrate the bond between the product and the nail. ...with the possible exception of Armor All... but that is a personal rant. :-)
There are SO many things that go into mastering gels. It is really hard to cover them all here. I'll be happy to help you out if you want to keep in touch with me!
For now I would suggest
A. obtaining sample kits of other gels and trying them all out to see if perhaps another brand of gel works better for you.
B. Do those sample sets and keep a log. If you are in school and can use fellow students, then you have a better chance of being able to see those nails everyday to keep an eye on them. Make sure you keep close tabs on what your "clients" do with their nails too! A lot of people will say "I'm not hard on my nails" but they do their dishes by hand twice a day without gloves, scratch labels off of bottles with their nails, and play Frisbee with their dogs (that's how I break my nails!)
C. Try applying the layers of gel in thicker or thinner coats. For years I was applying my gels in too thick of layers. The gels would call for 1 coat of base gel, 2 coats of builder gel, and then one coat of top gel. I'd try to build the nails up by applying the gel too thickly. Eventually I got some good advice and learned that it's ok to think outside the box-- and apply thinner layers, but more of them. This way I was able to get a better cure for each layer.
OH! That's another good point! What about the lamp you're using? Is it new? Is it yours? Is it the schools? how old is it? When was the last time the lightbulbs were changed? And is it an official Bio Sculpture lamp?
Those lightbulbs can make or break your gel service! Looks like Bio Sculpture requires 9 watt bulbs for their products. Now-- there is a lot of debate about this so be prepared to hear other people tell you I'm an idiot-- it does NOT matter if your lamp only uses ONE lightbulb, or if your lamp uses FOUR or even SIX lightbuls! AS LONG AS the lightbulb(s) in the lamp are 9 WATT lightbulbs!
9W bulbs are U-shaped.
If you are using a lamp that uses any other wattage of bulbs the gel will NOT cure properly and this could cause problems down the line.
Also, if the bulbs are old it will cause problems. UV bulbs stop working to cure gel LONG before they "burn out" or stop emitting visible light. This can be really hard to wrap your brain around because we tend to look at the lamp and see that the bulbs are still "on" so we think they are still good. But gels cure with Ultra Violet light-- which isn't in the visible spectrum. So always pay attention to the lamp's recommendations, and replace your bulbs at least once every 6 months-- or every three months if you use it often.
There is a VERY helpful website that is full of info about gels: http://www.beautysplash.com
Unfortunately, the site is no longer actively maintained, but it's still available and there is still tons of great info available.
Good luck! If there's anything else I can help you with, just holler!
