Mare and Debbie sent a link to this post on the
message boards about LED lamps and it is from Jim McConnell (love that guy!!!).
Anyway since the subject line said CND Shellac
Lamp, thought maybe some of you didn't see the
link. Very good info. diana from indiana
I thought you all might like this email Jim sent me....
"Hi,
I have been asked the question about LED lights
and if we are going to sell them a plethora of
times and thought I should pass along the
following information. Basically, the answer for
now is that we will not be selling an LED light and here is the reason:
Should I buy an LED light? –
Great question on the LED light - I am getting
this question a lot! Here is the scoop on LED
light units. LED lamps emit a VERY narrow band of
UV light - for example a 365 nm light emits from
360 nm to 370 nm. Compare this to a 9-watt UV
lamp (about 330 nm to 420 nm and into the visible
spectrum of 420 to 720 nm). The intensity of the
LED lights is highly dependent upon the type of
LED lamp used and the number of the lamps in the
light unit. A 4-watt, 4 finger LED light will
cure an LED gel well, but it will not cure a gel
formulated for a 9-watt compact fluorescent light
like ours. However, our 9-watt light WILL cure an
LED gel. If I want to make our gels cure in an
LED light unit, I need to add another
photoinitiator that is active at 35 nm. Here is
the other big issue - what if the LED light is a
420 nm light, not a 365 nm light? A UV gel
formulated to cure in a 365 nm light will not
cure in a 420 nm light unless the proper
photoinitiator is used for that light as well!
Currently, we use a range of photoinitiators in
our gels depending upon if that product is a
pigmented (gel polish or white gel) product, a
clear product or a product used to create a gloss
or shine. The 365 nm and 420 nm LED lights would
mandate that we add an additional 2 to 4 other
photoinitiators to get our products to cure;
moreover, we would then have to formulate the
product to cure in a wide array of LED lights
(for example, a 1.2, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 15 watt)
light unit!!!! ARHHHHHHH!!! How is a chemist to
deal with all of those?? Here are a few facts:
· Yes, there are LED light units on the market
· Yes, some of those LED lights are decent
· Yes, LED lights will be the way things will be
in the future - eventually saying "good bye" to 9-watt fluorescent lamps
· No, LED lights are not economical right now, but they will be in a few years
· No, now is not the time to buy an LED light
unit - too many changes will be made in the next few years
· No, LED lights do not produce enough intensity
to REALLY cure pigmented systems (IE: a traditional gel polish).
Save your money - buy a good 9-watt fluorescent
light unit for now, wait on the LED technology to
make a few more strides on intensity, wavelength
and curing power. After the LED lights have
settled into a proper product, then buy an LED light.
Think of the UV lights from 10 years ago as an
example. There were 4, 6, 8 and 9 watt lights on
the market, but few companies had settles on the
proper wattage. 9 watt lights became the proper
wattage at about 2005. Why? The answer is simple,
they work! LED lights have not settled on a
proper wattage yet, nor are they operating at the
proper UV wavelength. They really need to be
around 340 nm for the UV gels to cure properly.
This will happen so just give it time.
I thought that this would be good information. If
you have further questions, please feel free to ask me.
Jim
--
Jim McConnell
President
Light Elegance Nail Products
406 SW Umatilla Ave
Redmond, OR 97756
<http://www.lightelegance.com>www.lightelegance.com
<http://www.lightelegance.com> <http://www.lightelegance.com>
Ph (800) 275-5596
Ph +1 541 686 1887
Fax (541) 686-4225
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
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