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SEARCHNote from Holly: Have you been wondering what exactly these LED light things are that everyone is talking about all of a sudden and how they differ from a UV lamp like we have become used
Note from Holly: Have you been wondering what exactly these LED light things are that everyone is talking about all of a sudden and how they differ from a UV lamp like we have become used to? I have been getting asked lots of questions about them and wanted to be sure I had scientific answers that were easy to understand. Anytime I need a combination of those two, Doug Schoon comes to mind so here is a guest blog from Doug with the 411. Hope this helps clear up your questions like it did mine!
LED is not a type of light -- it's a type of light bulb. LED stands for "light emitting diode". This type of light bulb was developed back in the 1960s and is now being widely used for many purposes. LED bulbs can be customized to glow brightly in a wide variety of colors, including red, green, yellow, blue, and violet. Some types emit infrared light, while those used in the nail industry emit light in the UV-A region.
There are many different types of LED nail lamps and most produce different wavelengths of light as well as different intensities of each wavelength. It is a myth that LED lamps can be used with any artificial nail product. The facts are they should only be used with the products that were specifically designed for use with that type of LED nail lamp. It is very important to understand that these lamps are NOT interchangeable between systems and using the incorrect LED nail lamp can lead to service breakdown and may even harm client's nails.
For example, using the wrong lamp may lead to "under curing" the artificial nail, which can result in a weak artificial nail, increased service breakdown and increased potential for clients to develop adverse skin reactions, e.g. skin allergy. Or conversely, the wrong lamp may "over cure" the product, which can cause brittleness, discoloration and heat spikes that can damage the nail bed and cause it to separate from the nail plate (onycholysis).
Because LED nail lamps vary significantly in their UV-A energy output, as well as wavelength, nail products must be specifically designed for use with a specific type of LED nail lamp. Therefore, because of these differences manufacturers can't develop UV nail products that work properly with any nail lamp. To achieve the best product performance, it's important to use the correct lamp, which is the lamp recommended by the manufacturer of the artificial nail enhancement product or other nail coatings. If you're in doubt, contact the product manufacturer for more information before proceeding on your own.
Finally, just as traditional UV-A blubs age, LED bulbs also age with repeated use. When these lamps are used regularly in the salon setting, the LED bulbs can be expected to last up to 3-4 years before UV output drops significantly. Eventually the entire UV lamp must be discarded and replaced, since the LED bulbs cannot be replaced.
--Doug Schoon
Get more insight from Doug on his Facebook page and the technical articles at Schoon Scientific.
Here I am sharing a very comprehensive and well-rounded almost back to work package of information for you from Virox (Rejuvenate) that is the complete set of materials to help you feel confident that everything is in place and ready to go, even if you are already back at work!
Every Tuesday for the next four weeks, Holly will be doing an alcohol ink tutorial.
National Nail Tech Day is May 30, and to celebrate YOU, Virox and I would like to offer up the opportunity to win a canister of disinfecting wipes.
Join me Wednesday evening 5/27/20 for a Live chat on Facebook with Dr Spalding to get some idea of what it takes to be that level of clean and safe.
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This video is a really awesome resource for figuring out a reasonable hourly rate for yourself in addition to seeing the average your area can bear in service prices in some ways.
Have you ever heard of the stages of grief? With everything going on, we are grieving our “normal”. That means you should give yourself permission to feel the way you feel.
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For those of you that like a little data with your info, here is some really interesting information from salon owner Michele Baker in Georgia. Being one of the first states to open left the salon owners to scramble to learn a lot of things on their own and many have been generous in sharing things they have figured out to help make operating in the COVID-19 world more systematic and understandable.
Holly orders Wildflowers Nails in a Box and tries it out Live.
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Holly and Shelena Robinson show how to make a runway rose fit for everyday.
Holly helps you practice your hard gel technique.
Holly will be doing two Instagram Lives next week on PPE.
It has been quite a while since I made a video for the e-file chronicles so an update to that seemed in order. The latest installment is removing gel-polish from an enhancement.
Holly has a jam-packed week of live talks and demos on social media!
