So, I thought I’d do a little update on what’s changed recently. As many of you may know by now, I have recently changed brand of the products I use. I now use a local company based in Stockport for my gel polish and builder gel. Any changes I make are never done lightly and there is always good reasoning behind the decision. The main aspect being customer service, both by a company for me to obtain products and their ease of use, as well as for you as the client on what longevity you get out of the products. I want to feel reassured once I have applied a product, I am confident you are going to be completely happy with the quality and duration of the product. As well as me being able to easily obtain more so I’m never out of stock for you.
One of the recent issues I had was with my lamp, three of the LED lights went out. From a health and safety point of view this is detrimental, as the incorrect lighting changes the way the gel is cured which could lead to the gel not curing properly, over time this can lead to allergies. So, I contacted the company the lamp was from and felt disappointed it was not able to be repaired, simply buy a new one. This I didn’t feel was the best, id had the lamp just over 12 months and would have liked it to be repairable to save waste for the environment. Needless to say, this sent me on my search. The company I now use have a full repair service and also the option to loan a lamp whilst mine is in for repair. So, saving the environment as well as reducing any impact on me as their customer and you as my client.
As a professional it is highly important to use products which are also professional, meaning they have correct levels of chemicals within them as well as being fully safety checked and compliant. Then the next issue is to test the products on myself, after all if they aren’t good enough on my nails then they aren’t good enough for your nails. Moving to a company which is UK based is also important, as a long of imported products may not go through the same scrupulous tests, and other countries have differing guidance on what are classified as safe levels of chemicals. For example, during Covid lockdowns a lot of people found kits online which claimed to be safe for home application, but turned out to have higher levels of ingredients than stated in them. This was due to them being imported from other countries with differing standards and they were not made professionally. Due to them no being applied professionally either, people getting the product on the skin frequently, meant that it built to a large number of allergies developing. Once an allergy is developed it is there for life. As you can see it is therefore critical to make the correct choice of professional products you use! As well as wanting it to apply in a nice way, suit a number of people, and have good longevity for clients.
Once I had selected what I believe is a good brand, it is then important to use their full system so all products are compatible and work as they should. After all what the lamp does to cure (set) the polish is a chemical reaction, and you want to know that the correct type of reaction is occurring for maximum safety. One of the important factors to consider is how the company tests their products before sale, and that they freely have their safety data sheets available for all using their products. If SDS (Safety Data Sheets) are not available for products it is often a red flag for professionals to use them.
Moving over completely can be a costly process so it make take some time, but I have managed to complete this faster than I’d anticipated. I am very pleased with the choice, as many of the colours are a lot more pigmented and so stronger colour wise, the application is also much smoother. Clients up to now seem to be happy too. Though again I have to remind everyone that it’s a team effort, as so many factors can affect application and how long it can last (such as the season [heat/cold], diet, hereditary factors, after care, lifestyle, day job).
So, you can now see how much time and effort has gone into a big change of brand. As well as having a great professional and safe brand to use, I also have a great source of support and training available too. If you know me, you know I never sit still and continually like to update my skills, so this is another area in which I have been busy. I have completed a couple of courses just to renew my skills ensuring I’m not behind in any new techniques. As well as this I have also updated my manicure and pedicure skills. This means as well as offering dry pedicures, I can now offer luxury manicure/pedicure which include a hand/foot soak, exfoliation and oil/cream massage. This can be added onto your current preferred application for an extra fee. Again, I am proud to say all products used are completely professional and are supplied by the same brand as the gel polishes I use. Even more brilliantly is they smell absolutely amazing!! One where I wish I could do sniff-o-vision!
Of course, these extra luxury ad-ons are nicely timed ready for summer, when of course we all want our hands and feet looking lovely for our holidays!
