Magazine for the professional nail industry.
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132 | NAILS MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2015 explain the possible causes." She begins an investigative process to fgure out what went wrong to avoid the spike with the other hand. "I don't assume right off the bat that it's because their nails are thin. Once they understand the mecha- nism behind it, they seem to be more comfortable letting me put their other hand into the light," she says. The bottom line is that heat spikes are solvable — and not "normal." Sambrano says, "In my experience, both personal and when trouble- shooting with customers, if a manufac- turer's gel system is being used in its entirety, heat spikes are rarely an issue. If it is becoming a problem, it is usually an application issue. The burning sensation may be especially true if the natural nail bed is damaged or thin." It's up to you to play detective and solve the heat spike issue, giving clients a luxurious nail salon experience, not a painful one. nail strengthener by Famous Names on clients with weaker nails prior to applying gel. Finally, prior to application, you may want to ask clients if they've had gel nails before and if they've ever experi- enced a heat spike, as well as examine the client's nails for signs of pre-existing damage. Carter says, "If the client has a thinned down natural nail, I'll let her know before we go into the lamp that she might feel heat. I tell her that I'll do everything I can to prevent it from happening, for example, applying the gel thinly. I tell her that if she feels too much heat, she should pull her hand temporarily out of the lamp." HEAT OF THE MOMENT If despite your best initial efforts a client experiences a heat spike, it's best to empathize and explain, recommends McConnell. Lombardi-Brown says: "I apologize profusely. I always try to which would be to fle the nails less. "You should assume you are over- flling," Schoon says. "If you see that the new growth is thicker than the old growth, then you've over-fled. You're not supposed to remove any layers of nail plate. The instructions say to 'take off the shine,' and the nail plate itself doesn't shine — it's the oils on the surface that shine." If you fle less and fnd that you are getting poor adhesion, Schoon says there is something wrong with your technique or product, not that you should return to fling more. "These days products adhere too well, so nail techs lose patience and rather than take time to remove them, they force them off and cause nail damage," he says. Another solution is to apply the gel thinly — the less gel there is, the less molecules there are to react and release heat. Every gel has its own personality and some of the thickness determina- tion is trial and error. But in general, the frst coat should be about as thick as three business cards, recommends McConnell. If your client's nails break when you go that thin, there are likely other issues that you'll need to research and resolve. Some techs have found success in adding a sort of buffer layer. "Clients who damage their nail beds by biting or irritating them in other ways can control the heat they experience using the above techniques and by using a softer gel against the nail plate. Then a harder gel can be used on the top surface to give increased durability," McConnell says. "The frst layer of gel that is against the fngernail acts as an insulation layer, which will help to protect the client from the heat that is generated. Lombardi-Brown uses IBX Urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) is a common molecule used in the nail industry for gels. When this molecule is combined with itself (polymerization reaction), heat is generated. H2C O O O O O O O NH NH O H3C H3C CH3 CH3 CH3 CH2 Kristine Thiessen makes it a point to explain to her clients why a thin gel application is best.