Gel vs Acrylic Nail Enhancements

Gel versus Acrylic seems to be a hot topic lately. A common complaint that I hear is "Acrylics damaged my natural nails leaving them very thin.". I think that I need to set the record straight and address this "myth". Thinning of the nail plate occurs from over filing, or improper removal of enhancements, whether they be acrylic, gel or wraps. Acrylic does NOT damage nails. Improper application and improper removal of enhancements damages nails. Damage can also occur from misuse of electric files, or drills, again, it is not the drill or the electric file doing the damage, but the person behind the machine that causes the damage!

Improper removal of enhancements, generally mean that product (i.e. acrylic, gels, or wraps) were literally pried off the nail!! OUCH!! The weaker of the two is going to give and guess what,the weaker of the two is your natural nail!! Products (gel, acrylic, or other) are designed to adhere to the nail plate, so when you pull product off, it is going to pull half the layers of your natural nails with it!!

Over filing- that is another misconception that is among nail techs. Many years ago, when many nail techs first went to school to learn how to do nails, were taught to "rough up" the nail plate and make it look like a shag carpet. This is no longer necessary for enhancements. Products have come a long way and have improved over the years. If a nail tech is still using a product that requires "extreme roughing up" of the nail plate, maybe it is time to look for another product line. Many product lines just require that the nail tech remove shine from the nail plate, which is a big difference to making it look like a shag carpet.

There are a great many of the "bargain Nails only salons" out there, and it amazes me how little they charge for their services. In the end they rely mostly on volume. This leads to a rushed service. Acrylic is difficult to file, and soaking them off takes too long, that leaves the option of prying them off as a time saving solution. Unfortunately, this leaves the natural nail in a damaged condition, not to mention, OUCH!! I think that many of these types of salons, do NOT have their clients best interest in mind and only care about their bottom line. More clients in their chair, more money. Same strategy that Wal-mart uses, less expensive, more volume.

I feel that in my profession, I need to preserve the natural nail as much as possible and still create beautiful enhancements. If the natural nail is in a healthy condition, then the enhancements look that much better. Without the natural nail, I would have nothing to work on! Thanks for reading and call me with your questions!

-Kym 505-480-9334