It’s been a minute, so thanks for your patience with me as I navigate launching a coaching brand and gearing up for the Summer show season. I sincerely hope to see as many of you as possible at upcoming shows like Premiere Orlando and beyond. THE GREAT UV Nail LAMP DEBATE
While I’ve been off building fun new things for you all to enjoy, a persistent topic keeps passing by my eyeballs on social media, Facebook in particular. Techs asking nail tech Facebook groups which discount UV lamp to buy from Amazon. I have seen it multiple times a day for the past few years, and I have had enough to finally put pen to virtual paper about it.
Why is this still a thing? I’m genuinely asking. Because I’ve endured enough conversation about nail lamps to choke a bear, and I can’t understand why we are still debating this topic. Is it because we value science less than scoring a good deal? Or is it because the information just isn’t out there? Help me understand. THE GREAT UV Nail LAMP DEBATE
The same members of our community that scoff at the “marketing language” behind 7, 12, and 15-free nail polish are the first to defend the “universal cure” lamp they bought on sale. “It cures the eight brands of gels that I use in my salon just fine,” they’ll say, and then come back a year later wondering why their fingers itch and burn all the time. This isn’t some “for best results, follow with our conditioner” sales nonsense. This is a safety issue. THE GREAT UV Nail LAMP DEBATE
Repeat after me. No one lamp cures all nail gels. Shout it from the rooftops, tattoo it on each others’ foreheads if you have to. The specific photo initiator in each gel product is different and the nanometer range that is put out by each lamp is different too. Each product is designed by chemists to be completely cured by the lamp that the brand sells. So if something is curing “fine” in an off-brand lamp, it’s likely partially cured. What does that mean? Potential service breakdown at best, and a reaction at worst.
I genuinely believe we have misinformation to blame, but we also need to look inwardly as professionals. One should own the lamp that cures their product, full stop. Or, at the very least, contact the gel product manufacturer to ensure the lamp you have cures the product you carry. Why is this so important? We must educate ourselves as nail professionals. When a “non-standard salon” cuts corners, it’s because it’s a “chop shop” and they’re easily dismissed as uneducated. When you buy a $30 lamp from Wish, it’s just a smart business savings, right?
No. You don’t get to have it both ways. If you still want to clutch your pearls about reusing buffers and not properly cleaning pedicure tubs, you don’t get to buy a cheap lamp. Why not? Because both practices endanger clients. If the client can catch an infection from a reused file or an improperly cleaned tool, then by the same token, dermatitis or an overexposure that causes a lifelong allergy is just as egregious, especially when it can be avoided. THE GREAT UV Nail LAMP DEBATE
The bottom line? Don’t be cheap. Invest in the equipment that sets you apart as a professional, and protect your clients and your livelihood in the process. THE GREAT UV Nail LAMP DEBATE
If you want to learn more about lamps and how they work, there’s more info here, here, and here, and if you know someone who needs to hear this tough love, share on your favorite social media platform by clicking the button below.