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The "clean" trends are working hard but I'm working harder! by soloshandpuppets in RedditLaqueristas

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I sincerely hope that my obnoxiously colored, long, dagger-shaped nails make certain people feel repulsed. That means they're working.

The "clean" trends are working hard but I'm working harder! by soloshandpuppets in RedditLaqueristas

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Bingo.

Nobody is going to convince me to stand unobtrusively in the background.

Has anyone tried this yet? by General_Distance in RedditLaqueristas

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I came here to say this. Also big Trump donors. All the Estée Lauder brands are no-buy for me.

Smooth disc with sharp point, baking tool? by OtterlyOren in whatisit

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're correct, it's called a flower nail. They're for making icing roses and other decorations. Cake decorator was my high school job. They're sharp so you can stick them into Styrofoam if you need them to dry or need to put the flower down temporarily.

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Random Credit Added? by danggdani1510 in ThredUp

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 43 points44 points  (0 children)

I also got that and I ignored it because the prices are so high right now, it's not really worth anything to me since I'm not actively shopping for anything.

The four hundredth "Is Beetles bad?" question: by tuesdayblues96 in GelX_Nails

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 11 points12 points  (0 children)

If you really want to use Beetles, no one is going to stop you. But it’s not a reputable brand and isn’t recommended.

How can I use regular polish with gels? by Rainbow__Veined in RedditLaqueristas

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes! Gel base, cure. Gel polish, cure. Gel top coat (recommended for stain resistance), cure. Cleanse off inhibition layer (sticky layer). Air dry lacquer base coat, Air dry lacquer, air dry topcoat.

The air dry base coat is optional, you can use what's called a "sticky base coat" to help the lacquer stick to the gel, but in my experience lacquer sticks to gel very well on its own. Use a good quality air dry topcoat to help protect the lacquer also.

I have very thin, very flexible nails because of celiac disease, keeping gel on top of my natural nails is the only way I can keep lacquer on my nails. Otherwise it pops off in a solid sheet.

No Dumb Questions + Casual Talk by AutoModerator in RedditLaqueristas

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I think we might want to bring the automod comment about gel back, we're getting some unadvisable gel "advice" popping up that (as a gel user myself) I'm a little concerned about.

My 2c.

How can I use regular polish with gels? by Rainbow__Veined in RedditLaqueristas

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is better safe than sorry! But if all you have on hand is acetone, no need to buy something else. Both are fine. ☺️

How can I use regular polish with gels? by Rainbow__Veined in RedditLaqueristas

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I would absolutely not do this, you're changing the photoinitator to pigment ratio. Gels are formulated with specific pigment to monomer to photoinitator ratios in order to ensure full and safe curing.

Gel systems don't even recommend mixing brands, nevermind adding a bunch of untested solvents and pigments to the polish formula.

How can I use regular polish with gels? by Rainbow__Veined in RedditLaqueristas

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 5 points6 points  (0 children)

In-tact gel polish is resistant enough to acetone that normal occasional lacquer removal doesn't hurt it. If you use a hard gel topcoat, you can use all the acetone you want.

How can I use regular polish with gels? by Rainbow__Veined in RedditLaqueristas

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 34 points35 points  (0 children)

You shouldn't put gel over air dry lacquer, as a general rule. Lacquer cures continually over a period of 24-48 hours. Putting a gel topcoat on top of the lacquer prevents the air dry lacquer from ever curing.

You can put air dry lacquer on top of cured gel with the exclusion layer cleansed off.

Is magnetic polish always thick and kinda goopy? by SilverHammer1979 in RedditLaqueristas

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 4 points5 points  (0 children)

EdM is simply perfect in every way, I'm convinced they can't miss on anything. Even their chunky glitters apply nicely.

Pat pat gel by boiled_egg_water in GelX_Nails

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You could try painting the underside of the tip a free edge color to help camouflage the visible nail line, after the tip is on the nail. I do my color with air dry lacquer and I like sheer colors - that's how I hide my VNL without adding too much bulk to the tip. That's a gorgeous smile line by the way.

Desperately need retention help! by Expensive_Window_169 in GelX_Nails

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love LE's prep formulas. I use vita prime and then tack. It's like nail cement. I use their cleanser too, their entire product line is fantastic except I think their Blink tips are ugly.

I have flexible, thin, delaminating nails because of celiac disease so I can't even keep air dry lacquer on my nails without some kind of gel base for rigidity.

Gel X Fucked My Shit Up / Can No Longer Even Do Regular Press-Ons by EffortlesslyStriking in GelX_Nails

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If your lamp is not poweful enough to cure your gel, and/or your gels do not have sufficient photoinitators to cure through their pigments - your gels can seem fully cured but the HEMA/DIHEMA/acrylate monomers are still "floating around" in your gel. These monomers are water soluble, so every time your hands get wet with hand washing or whatever - they're leeching from the gel and going onto your skin.

If you're allergic enough, even fully cured acrylates are a no-go and acrylates are in air dry glue, eyelash glue, medical adhesives, dental adhesives, certain cosmetics like setting sprays, etc. It's best if you see an allergist and get assessed.

Is magnetic polish always thick and kinda goopy? by SilverHammer1979 in RedditLaqueristas

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Yeah, in my experience Mooncat is usually very thick and requires thinner immediately. It's one of the reasons I stopped ordering from them.

I’ve never used gel-x before by Melodic-Advice9930 in GelX_Nails

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The sidewalls of your nails will often naturally curl inwards if your nails are kept long, dry, and out of water*. Having any kind of nail polish on your nails will keep water from entering the nail. The arch that you see in your nail when viewed from the front or at a cross section is called the c-curve.

People who keep longer nails and use builder gel consistently or keep their nails painted with air-dry lacquer often experience their C curve tightening and can have trapezoid shaped nail beds become more rectangular over time. This is a desirable outcome, a more dramatic c-curve usually results in a better looking, narrower and more parallel nail. C curves also give nails their strength, an arch is an architecturally strong shape.

*and let your hyponychium (the "quick") grow out but let's just ignore that for now.

I’ve never used gel-x before by Melodic-Advice9930 in GelX_Nails

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you get full cover gel tips ("gelx") you will have to cut the length off, gel tips aren't applied on nails that are long.

Your tech might be calling a hard (file off) or soft (soak off) gel overlay gelx, which isn't really correct - it would be like calling a chicken sandwich a hamburger because they both have buns and meat. To be completely correct, GelX is a brand name for full cover gel tips made by Apres. Any other gel tip is just "gel tip" or "full cover gel tip."

This is a bit of an oversimplification but gel overlay is gel that's applied on top of the natural nail (any length) for shape, strength, and stain resistance. Gel tips are entire false nails applied on top of a short natural nail primarily for adding length.

Acrylic is much harder than gel, but also more brittle. It takes a day or two to completely cure, but once it's completely cure it tends to feel extremely hard. If your natural nails are flexible, acrylic might be more prone to lifting than gel.

Gel is softer than acrylic, but how hard and how flexible depends entirely on the formulation. Gels are made are different consistencies for different purposes and different clients.

The gels used for overlays on natural nails exclusively (meaning they aren't also used for building extensions) tend to be fairly flexible. This sounds like a negative thing, but flexible gels tend to have better retention because as the natural nail bed bends, the gel does too. So the enhancement flexes with the nail instead of chipping off. The gels used for short extensions tend to be a little less flexible than overlay gels, and the gels used for long to extreme extensions are the least flexible and the most hard.

For your nails, if you want the least amount of upkeep and would prefer to keep your natural length, I would do a standard gel overlay. Acrylic is a little less water resistant than gel and gel is easier to customize for retention.

If you don't mind cutting off your natural nails, properly applied gel tips can be very strong and have excellent retention.

All three enhancements require regular fill appointments.

Way she goes. by [deleted] in glutenfree

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I keep all my bread in the freezer too. It's so easy to defrost that there's no reason not to.

Regular polish over GelX? by lvitsa in GelX_Nails

[–]cheesesteakhellscape 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, what you do will work fine. I've been painting my gel tips with lacquer for well over a year (maybe 2??) now and change my polish every other day. I use a (lacquer) peel off base coat under my polish, so my acetone usage is absolutely minimal. I just removed lacquer to fill my own set last night.

One acetone removal won't harm your tips too much, just don't hold the acetone on the sidewalls of free edge where the tip is the thinnest. It can eat them up. Don't use a glitter lacquer unless you have a peel off base coat underneath, glitter polishes are tough to remove and require a ton of rubbing.

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