QuestionQUESTION: I had been having my nails filled (acrylic) for 6 years and gradually started reacting. sore nails, itchy fingers, peeling cuticles. nothing my nail tech did was different than the past. so I had them taken off (I miss them terribly). I continued with manicures to keep my nails looking good for a year. We did try doing 2 nails in acrylic about 4 months ago with the same allergic reaction. Now my nail tech suggested fiberglass wraps which 3 weeks ago we tried for the first time. they were more fragile than my acrylics which of course I understand, so at the end of the 2 weeks they looked pretty bad. Today I had her wrap them again and they are beautiful, but would love to go back to acrylics only because they are sturdier. Is there anything I can have her try that would help me? I read in one of your answers that the chemical reaction should be over in 48 hours, so would I soak them in water and baking soda or use benedryl for 2-3 days after a fill and they will be ok? please help! I am in sales and it is important for me to have nice looking nails at all times.
ANSWER: Don't risk worsening your allergy by going back to acrylic. Think of it this way: you could love strawberries when you are 8 years old, then when you're 15 you notice that when you eat them your throat starts to itch... you get diagnosed with an allergy to strawberries, but you think "heck! it's just a little itch and it goes away after a little bit. I love strawberries, I don't want to stop eating them." So you keep eating strawberries... except after a couple of seasons of eating strawberries and putting up with the itchy throat, one day you eat some strawberries and your tongue swells up and you can't breathe! Because you ignored your body's warnings about being allergic, now the allergy gets worse.
Your body has told you it doesn't want you to wear acrylic nails anymore, don't push it and end up so sensitive to acrylates that you can't even wear a Band-Aid without breaking out! and baking soda and Benadryl will only work for so long.
There are some very good products available now that are hypoallergenic. Have your nail tech look into some of the new gels that are hitting the market such as Brisa by CND, or Light Elegance gel.
My personal favorite for my clients who are allergic to acrylics is a product called "Extreme" by a company named Backscratchers. It wears very similarly to acrylic and I have a significant number of clients who think I'm a goddess because they can wear nails again! If your nail technician is willing to try it for you, be patient with her! The technique sounds MUCH easier than it actually is, and it will take a little practice to get the application down.
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QUESTION: I showed my nail tech your email. she has a product called extreme made by backscratchers. what would she do for the application? she tried nail polish, top coat, extreme on top of that. it would not dry and after 2 hours I accidently rubbed one whole nail off. then the rest seemed to shrink as they dried and looked puckered and awful so I took it all off with nail polish remover. what should she do?
AnswerDoes your nail tech have the ENTIRE kit of Extreme products? Or does she only have the topcoat sealer? The ENTIRE product line will consist of a ph balancing handwash, a base coat resin, dipping powder, top coat resin, a Dryer that is in an aerosol can, and the topcoat sealer. It is a complete enhancement product line for creating artificial nails.
It sounds like your tech went wrong by attempting to apply the product over the polish. Extreme is like any other enhancement product, applied on the natural nail and finished with polish. It will not seal polish to the nail! Even the Extreme glaze topcoat cannot be applied over polish! It will not stick to wet polish, the polish will not dry underneath the sealer.
Your nail tech can purchase Extreme by Backscratchers at her supply house, or order directly from Backscratchers.com as well as obtain the instructions for applying the product.
