A gel polish or Gel Lacquer can come in a soak-off formula or traditional hard gel that must be filed. Light Elegance has some fabulous (hard gel) colors & most cover in just 1 coat. Although a little thicker, it works well over acrylic or gel enhnmnts or straight on the toes for a perfect durable toe gel lacquer.
Colored gel makes a great overlay whether hard or soft. Personally, my regulars will do & wear anything & I file pretty much everything off...soak-offs are great for 1st timers or temporary services. I use French colored gels just like French colored polishes. But if someone is going for a french look (P&W) all the time I opt to do pink & white hard gels, I find it's stronger & more durable for 3 to 4 week fills ________________________________ From: Manicures That Last <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Mon, July 19, 2010 9:12:17 AM Subject: Re: NailTech:: gel "polish" At 11:00 PM 7/15/2010, you wrote: Ladies - What is the difference between an SOG and a gel polish? Does the polish on come in colors, ie could you do a french with it on a natural nail? Do you need to soak off the gel polish and re-apply? OR is the gel polish something you use as a gel overlay? > >(I know very little about gel and am in the midst of broadening my knowledge, >so >go easy on me) > >~debi~ >631.678.7126 >[email protected] > ToTheEnd4Me > Hi Debi! In my mind there are now 3 - maybe 4 types of gels. "Gel Polish" can be interchanged with any gel that has color. Traditional HARD gel Must be filed off, impervious to acetone Lots of color and viscosity choices Enhancement type prep required Target client - enhancements, longer nails Overlay, tips, sculpts HARD - but flexible, an alternative to acrylics Maintenance requires fills 2-3 weeks Soak Off Gels (what I call the first generation of soak offs) Can be soaked off but takes 20+ minutes Lots of color and several viscosity choices Enhancement type prep required Porous so it can stain from hair color, tanning, smoking etc Target client - enhancements, longer nails Overlay, tips, sculpts Not as hard as traditional gels, but not as soft as the new lines of gels varies depending on line and viscosity used (builder type for instance will result in a less soft/flexible finished nail) Maintenance requires fills 2-3 weeks Soak Off Gels (what I call the second generation of soak offs) Can be soaked off takes 5-10 minutes depending on brand and how many layers Lots of color choices, almost no viscosity choices Minimal prep required (basic mani plus white block to remove shine) Porous so it can stain from hair color, tanning, smoking etc Target client - manicure polish replacement, natural nails, short-active length OVERLAY or short length tips It is extremely difficult, if not impossible to sculpt with these types of gels SOFT and flexible allowing clients to maintain longer natural nails, but not extreme length Allows polish to stay fresh looking with no chips and nice shine for 2+ weeks with little to no breakage. Can be used over acrylics and all gels - but should be filed off not soaked off Maintenance 2+ weeks, by fill or soak off and re-apply There are some differences between the new soak off gel polish lines: Gelish & Shellac are in polish bottles (thinner viscosity) eco So Quick is in pots (thicker more gel like consistency) Shellac is truly gel mixed with nail polish (Hybrid is their term of choice) and has an odor of polish Gelish & eco So Quick is gel with color pigments and has no odor Shellac & Gelish have a matching top coat - UV cured eco So Quick was designed (for time saving purposes) to use a traditional quick dry topcoat - Polish Sealer but you can use the eco Clear as the top and forgo the Polish Sealer Shellac & Gelish because of polish consistency you can not sculpt or "pull out" a corner eco So Quick is thicker and can be used to "pull out" a corner, sculpting even the shortest of length can be done but takes practice. These new generation polish replacement gels do take some getting used to on our side and the customers side! The increased flex takes a little bit to get used to. Application for all should be thin or you will see some lifting and peeling. When transitioning a client from acrylic or enhancement gels, they should expect some breakage, splitting issues for several weeks, not every client will have this problem, but a good number will as they adjust their nail and hand use to not having the protection and length of enhancements. All of these gel types can be done as French, either regular pink & white or any combination you want because they all have a wide range of color choices. You can even layer the colors (from the same brand is recommended of course!) to create all kinds of effects and colors! I think I covered it all! I hope that gives you an overview to help you understand gels better! Lorraine, webgirl www.ManicuresThatLast.com eco So Quick Soak Off Turn your Part-Time Clients into Full-Time Bookings! 3 Minutes On, 5 Minutes Off - Guaranteed -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NailTech" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nailtech?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NailTech" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nailtech?hl=en.
