When would you use one system over the other?
When performing a particular service in the salon, a nail technician may attempt to use one
application to perform multiple tasks for which the application was unintended. Knowing which
application to use on a client in any given situation can pose challenging questions. Most nail
technicians will find that one application technique is insufficient to accommodate every situation.
Young Nails will help you explore and understand in these situations, which techniques have proven
effective and which have, after years of trial and error, failed to prove successful. Are acrylic nails the
best choice in this situation? Or would gel be a better choice? Perhaps a combination of both?
Remember, if a nail technician chooses the proper approach the first time, he or she will save time
and win the loyalty of the client. Success has always been built upon a foundation of knowledge.
Recognizing the Need
Most often, the new nail client’s natural nails are not in good form. This is why the client is looking
to you for a nail enhancement service. You will commonly encounter nail plates that are flat,
splayed, or offer absolutely no free edge with which to perform your magic. Then there are the
infamous nail biters! If this is the case, the application of an acrylic system enables you to cast or
reshape the nail bed into an attractive first set of nails with good formation and strength.
A client’s lifestyle can usually determine what system suits her natural nails. For example, if the client
plays sports or tends to pick at her nails, she will have greater success with the durable acrylic. The
tighter bond of acrylic may stand up better than that of gel. In addition to working on the nails, the
technician’s job also becomes a process of keen observation in deciding whether acrylic or gel will
provide the best bond and durability for the client’s lifestyle.
In the new nail service, you will find that in some cases sculptured acrylic will be the best
new nail application choice. Acrylic will let you reshape the nail plate, ensuring the
strongest nail extension while having to work with little or no natural free edge.
Once you have a good start of two or three nail fills and the results are favorable in the reshaping
process, starting your fills with gel often works well. In many cases you may find gel bonds better
than acrylic due to its flexibility and nonporous characteristic.
With the chemistry Young Nails has to offer you in both our Acrylic and Gel systems, your options
are limitless. Your choices will be based on which options you like to work with once the nail fills
become the ongoing service. Remember Young Nails is about choices and we help you make good
ones! Experiment, have fun, and always ask questions!