First of all, thank you everyone for your kind comments. I really do appreciate it. I live this stuff every day and really geek out when someone else is interested in it.
On to the free radicals. In past presentations I have always left the free radical thing out, because it scares people. It is one of those blown out of proportion things. Free radicals are things that cause reactions. They start reactions. Without free radicals we would not have many kinds of reactions and life on earth would be unable to develop. For example we would not have fire. We need free radicals in our bodies in order to function. The problem comes in when we have too many free radicals. When we dump garbage into our bodies and do not consume enough good stuff the balance is off and too many free radicals are created which cause cell damage. However the free radicals that are created during the curing process are used up and do not enter the body. If you do not have a free radical, polymerization cannot occur. Erick Westcott, CEO Gelousy Gel Nail Systems 1745 W Deer Valley RD STE 124 Phoenix AZ 85027 602-493-9043 Fax: 602-493-2544 [email protected] www.gelousy.com From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Wet Paint Nail Spa Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 6:17 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: NailTech:: More Gel Geekery What does "release free radicals" mean? Are we talking about the free radicals that cause cell damage? Is the sunscreen I put on my clients going to protect against free radical damage? Michelle Phoenix, Owner/Elite Nail Technician Wet Paint Nail Spa Nails, Skin & Hair www.wetpaintnailspa.com On Jan 25, 2012, at 7:59 PM, "Erick Westcott" <[email protected]> wrote: The questions you have asked could be explained better than this. What you are asking could be made into a 12 week course. So here is my best shot, without writing a textbook. If you want something expanded on let me know. Here you go, For starters: I want to confirm my suspicions regarding the type of curing. My research leads me to think that our products are cured using a "free radical cure" process. I understand there is also a "cationic" cure process, but it doesn't sound like it would be suitable for nail products-- are there any nail products that use a "cationic" cure? Gel cures by UV energy entering the gel and reacting with the photo initiators, which release free radicals. Cationic curing is normally used for adhesives. Recently, we've been hearing a lot of "correction" in the previous explanation of "heat-spikes." It used to be acceptable to over-simplify this phenomenon with the "friction" explanation. Suddenly everyone is saying that it isn't friction. Ok-- so "exo-thermal reaction", fine-- but WHAT CAUSES the exo-thermal reaction? Specifically? At the molecular level? What's the process by which heat is generated? (research teaches me words like "precipitation" and "crystallization" but I'm still looking for how those words apply to our products and their specific curing processes.) Friction is a quick and easy way to explain the heat spike. It is not exactly technically accurate. The heat with gels is caused by an exothermic reaction. Energy never goes away or dies, it can only be transformed. The UV energy that enters the nail has to go somewhere. During the curing process some of it is converted into heat. Just like a light bulb where some of the energy is used to create visible light and some of it is converted into heat. And I'm also trying to understand what is different-- chemically-- from the "traditional" or "hard" gels that we've used for decades to build extensions; the ones that we could soak in acetone for a week and they'd still be perfect, shiny, and untouched (Ok, I've never actually soaked one of these for a week-- it's possible that after that long they would start to break down... but I'D LIKE TO KNOW THAT TOO!) vs these "soak-off" or "soft" gels that can be removed with acetone in 10-20 minutes. Why? Are they entirely different types of compounds? Why makes them different? The difference between "hard" gels and "soft" gels is in the ingredients used to make the products. They are some of the same ingredients but used in different proportions. Make brownies and add a bit more flower and salt and you have cookies. Make cookies add a bit more flower and baking powder and you have cake. Make brownies, but instead of the flower add cream, put it in the freezer and you have ice cream. Gel companies, at least our gel company, does not make the raw materials. I don't have an oil well in my back yard, which I then refine and turn into an oligomer. We have a "pantry" of literally hundreds if not thousands of ingredients we can choose from. Some of those ingredients are exactly the same. You can buy Fred's milk, Jim's milk, Sally's Milk or Herman's milk, but they are all milk. Some of those ingredients are the same but have different properties. Low fat, 1%, 2%, skim etc. We decide what we want the product to do, then blend things together until we get the results we want. All the same chemicals, but some of the properties or quantities are different. Does the "12 week lifespan" statement apply to all gels? Acrylics? Or only to gel polishes? To gel polishes that are all-gel formulas? or to gel polishes that contain solvents? I answered this in a different message, but to summarize. When I made the 12 week comment I was talking about the maximum life cycle of a single application of gel on a nail. I would imagine that after three months if the nail was not completely grown out, I would assume that the client would either pick or file the rest of it off. Could be four months for slow growers, or two months for fast growers. It could even be up to nine months on the toes. And I still haven't had anyone explain how the difference between all-gel vs gel & solvent gel polish formulas is supposed to affect me and my clients? I understand what's different about them, but I keep getting half-statements about how they apply to different nail types, but no one's telling me what different nail types? I thought the hybrid formulas worked fine! I don't understand why I need an all gel formula? All gel vs. gel and solvent will not affect you or your clients in any way with one exception. If you leave your bottles open the solvent gel might get thick. Oh yes: And WHY does oxygen inhibit polymerization? Oxygen inhibits free radical polymerization because oxygen is a free radical inhibitor. Just as heat energy inhibits freezing. I'm not trying to be evasive on this subject. To get any more technical then that I would need to start drawing out diagrams and equations. Erick Westcott, CEO Gelousy Gel Nail Systems 1745 W Deer Valley RD STE 124 Phoenix AZ 85027 602-493-9043 Fax: 602-493-2544 [email protected] www.gelousy.com From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Maggie in Visalia Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 4:06 PM To: 1Nail Tech list Subject: NailTech:: More Gel Geekery Alright... while I have your attention. I am interested in more about light-curing technology than is reasonably applicable to the average nail tech. For starters: I want to confirm my suspicions regarding the type of curing. My research leads me to think that our products are cured using a "free radical cure" process. I understand there is also a "cationic" cure process, but it doesn't sound like it would be suitable for nail products-- are there any nail products that use a "cationic" cure? Recently, we've been hearing a lot of "correction" in the previous explanation of "heat-spikes." It used to be acceptable to over-simplify this phenomenon with the "friction" explanation. Suddenly everyone is saying that it isn't friction. Ok-- so "exo-thermal reaction", fine-- but WHAT CAUSES the exo-thermal reaction? Specifically? At the molecular level? What's the process by which heat is generated? (research teaches me words like "precipitation" and "crystallization" but I'm still looking for how those words apply to our products and their specific curing processes.) And I'm also trying to understand what is different-- chemically-- from the "traditional" or "hard" gels that we've used for decades to build extensions; the ones that we could soak in acetone for a week and they'd still be perfect, shiny, and untouched (Ok, I've never actually soaked one of these for a week-- it's possible that after that long they would start to break down... but I'D LIKE TO KNOW THAT TOO!) vs these "soak-off" or "soft" gels that can be removed with acetone in 10-20 minutes. Why? Are they entirely different types of compounds? Why makes them different? Does the "12 week lifespan" statement apply to all gels? Acrylics? Or only to gel polishes? To gel polishes that are all-gel formulas? or to gel polishes that contain solvents? And I still haven't had anyone explain how the difference between all-gel vs gel & solvent gel polish formulas is supposed to affect me and my clients? I understand what's different about them, but I keep getting half-statements about how they apply to different nail types, but no one's telling me what different nail types? I thought the hybrid formulas worked fine! I don't understand why I need an all gel formula? Have I asked enough questions? And-- be warned-- answers only beget more questions, choosing to humor me WILL open a Pandora's box. Oh yes: And WHY does oxygen inhibit polymerization? Maggie Franklin: Owner & Artist, The Art of Nailz <http://artofnailz.info/> , Visalia CA "Visionary rebel dreamer; obviously way ahead of my time." Maggie Rants [and Raves]@Nails Magazine <http://blogs.nailsmag.com/maggie/> Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/onykophile> -- 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. -- 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.
