Liz, I feel like you read my mind. I’ve been practicing baby boomers and chrome for my wedding this Friday. This was so helpful. Especially the makeup sponge. I was sometimes getting scratches and I think it was from the eyeshadow applicator edge. I feel like you just gave me a wedding gift!!!

Yay, I love seeing quick and simple nail art videos from you, thank you! 🤗 I love the tips for troubleshooting chrome and especially appreciate the pigment alternative to airbrushing! The frequency I'm seeing airborne gel being used (especially without a mask) totally freaks me out and is def concerning. Stippling the pigment with the makeup brush really does give a similar airbrushed look and gives you much more control. Thank you, as always, for sharing with us! ❤️

@TheNailHub

8 ай бұрын

You are so welcome!

I love when I see you do things the same way that I kind of figured out how to do it on my own. I know I'm doing it in an okay way then lol. I really value all of the knowledge you give, and I still constantly share your channel to newbies who have questions about gel. I just tell everybody to start with your whole gel fundamentals playlist, and then watch everything else!

@TheNailHub

8 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the positive word of mouth. :)

Thank you ❤

I love seeing a new video on my feed! ❤️

@Emmaly717

8 ай бұрын

I thought I was the only one LOL!! ♥

@TheNailHub

8 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@TheNailHub

8 ай бұрын

🥰@@Emmaly717

HI Elisabeth! I've been following your channel for two months now. I finally got around to the Luxio products today. I was impatiently waiting for them for a month. When they arrived finally, I quickly tried them on and they are incredibly easy to put on, BUT when I read the ingredients of the bottles, I was disappointed. Among the first ingredients are Di Hema and HEMA (Luxio base, X bond, Luxio Gloss, Luxio Incite, Luxio Dauntless, Luxio Build, Gel play). I was like there is no way, because all the time you emphasize that they are pure gels. Now I don't even know what is that thing "pure gel" ?I understood that pure gel is one ingredient, because everything else on the market is nonsense according to you. You have a video on what causes an allergy and you talk about how harmful Hema and Di Hema are, how they shouldn't be in the first three places of the ingredients and then Luxio products you are advertised have exactly that. Can you explain to me how Luxio products can be one of your first choices if they contain harmful ingredients? maybe I didn't understand something correctly

@TheNailHub

8 ай бұрын

Hi Amy, this is a great question and I know this HEMA conversation can be confusing as there are so many facets to it. Pure gel means it does not have solvents. Not that it is monomer free. I think you might be confusing a few topics I've talked about and understandably because I have a ton of different videos talking about different points. Akzentz is a very high quality brand that is very carefully and responsibly formulated otherwise I would not have used or represented them for over 10 years. I've never once heard of an allergy caused by Akzentz use. They use primarily (75%) Di-HEMA which is an oligomer chain format of HEMA as their main ingredient. Di-HEMA means it is bound within a chain and is much much more difficult for the body to absorb. Saying something is HEMA free means it is free of HEMA in its monomer form. Putting it in an oligomer chain means you'll still see the HEMA acronym on the ingredients list but it is definitely not the same thing. Same goes for Light Elegance. Bis and Di HEMA are both oligomer chain formats. Akzentz does use a small amount of HEMA monomer which when cured properly poses very little if any allergy risk. However, if someone is already highly allergic to acrylates it is not a brand we would recommend as "hypoallergenic" because of the small amount of HEMA it contains. The nuance behind this conversation is you can have an individual who does all the riskiest things but never develops an allergy. Or you can have someone who makes a small curing or product choice mistake and they get allergies right away. Allergies also appear to accumulate where over time with repeated exposure to certain formats of ingredients (mainly exaggerated by the poor knowledge about UV curing) creates an immune system response in certain people. There are definitely ways to mitigate the risk which is what I try to educate on, and again, not everyone will develop allergies. We've found correlations between high percentages of monomers and increased allergy risks. We've also found correlations between the low quality generic lamps that are being used and allergies. And if you're using both you can imagine the impact on the risk factors. The interesting part is that you can take a gel that is perfectly safe if it is cured the way it was intended by the manufacturer, and it becomes risky because it is constantly being undercured by a generic lamp. So the formula goes hand in hand with the lamp choice. Optimizing both your formula choices and your lamp means you are greatly lowering the risks. The order in which the ingredients are listed on the label is a good indicator of what is the main ingredient, however, it's important to review SDS to get details on percentages. The way that Akzentz differs from other "dangerous" brands/formulas is that those other brands are using upwards of 40-50% HEMA or other monomers like HEA to create a fast curing and high adhesion product. The upper limit for safe levels of HEMA monomer is 35%. Akzentz contains around 7%. The more monomer means the cheaper the product is to make and it means it will stick no matter how inexperienced the user is. Most of these super high monomer content formulas come out of China and are then private labeled by companies around the world. The bigger issue is people are reaching for cheap lamps off the internet without curing knowledge and are then thinking they are curing these high monomer formulas, when in fact they are probably only getting 40-50% cure rates. This leaves a lot of uncured monomer on the nail that then poses a bigger risk over time. Akzentz does not have this issue from what I have seen. After a single cure cycle in their lamp or a comparable one the product reaches 97% cure rate which is well above the safety standard. Pair that with the lower percentage of actual HEMA and it becomes extremely low risk. Akzentz also is made in house in Canada and I personally know the owners and the lab. I would never put my name on this brand if I didn't stand behind its quality.

@rociojocelyn3151

Ай бұрын

Hi Liz I’ve always been curious about why gel is not considered 100% cured after its full cycle in the lamp. For example you said here 97% cured. Would it reach 100% if you kept curing it for more cycles in the lamp? Also, if the product is not 100% cured wouldn’t that not be a good thing?

Hello!! I've been following you for 5 months now. I live in greece and i am doing my own nails at home. Unfortunatly, i am allergic to gel polish...and when it gets in contact with my skin it itces. Your channel was the only place which informed me about gel allergies and why it can happened ... anyhow On youtube i haven't found a video on rubber base gel and rubber top gel and how to apply those correclly so i would love to see it from you, who makes informative nail videos. Without you i wouldn't have known how to execute a semi gel application corectly (so i won't get an allergic reaction ) and i woudln't have my semi gel manicure last up to 1 month. (p.s sorry for my english, i haven't completly got used to it after getting my proficiency degree)

@TheNailHub

8 ай бұрын

Your English is amazing! Rubber base just means “soak off flexible gel”. It is not a different product. An example of one I have demonstrated would be Akzentz Luxio Build or Light Elegance Jimmygel. And I would watch monomer content like HEMA if you get itchy skin.

@Bellababe777-in2jp

4 ай бұрын

So am I - gel makes the tips of my finger itch and blister😞

❤❤

This was perfect timing. I use semi cured gel strips and was wondering how to use regular pigment powder. I dipped for years but just can’t spend hours and hours doing my nails anymore. Now I know I can use my pigments. Looks like I’ll be buying more clear strips to play with. Thank you so helpful.

@TheNailHub

8 ай бұрын

You can also apply pigments on cured cleansed matte top coat for a more airbrushed/subtle look, but for chrome over the top it doesn't have to be as perfect. Try it and let me know how it goes!

@melissamorales3635

8 ай бұрын

@@TheNailHub oh,thank you I’ll try that also. I have a question. Last time I took my strips off I has some major or what I consider major damage to a few nails. Do you think a peel base will help?

@TheNailHub

8 ай бұрын

Yes peel off base is great as long as you don’t want your nails to last more than a few days. Or go for an overlay method where you keep a protective layer in under swapping color/art.

@melissamorales3635

8 ай бұрын

@@TheNailHub thank you I was only planning on using a strip down the center of the nails not the whole nail. I’ll have to play because once these things are on my nails they are like cement to remove.

Love your videos! I have learned so much from you. I honestly didn't think that chrome would even out the ombre like it did. Amazing! I learned something new. 😃 I would like to know why companies do not put the little metal mixing balls into their gel polishes. Also, is it ok if I add them on my own? I won't get an adverse chemical reaction?

@TheNailHub

8 ай бұрын

Hi there, so glad you liked this tutorial. The mixing balls are usually only used in thinner formulas that are prone to separation. You can definitely add them or even better there's imix which perfectly mixes gels and the mixers are reusable. Check it out here: www.thenailhub.com/products/imix There should be no adverse chemical reaction to inserting metal mixing balls (that I can think of). As long as they are made of a material that doesn't rust or interact. From my understanding the typical ones are made from stainless steel so they are not impacted by potential solvents in the gel formula.

@tutips7365

8 ай бұрын

@@TheNailHub Thank you for the link and response! With all the research and knowledge you have about gel polishes, I thought you would be the best person to ask. I trust you!

I tried to apply an air dry bonder over my chrome but it just make it splotchy and patchy. Did I cure my no cleanse top coat too long before applying chrome? I cured for 30 seconds and the product for a full cure needs 60 seconds.

Can you please which brands for pigment powder and chrome products that you use? Thank you very much in advance.😊

@TheNailHub

5 ай бұрын

Hi they are included in the description of this video. Please click on the title of the video when watching on mobile to see all the caption details.

Hi Liz! I use a curing method that you talked about in one of your videos, where you paint one nail on one hand while your curing one nail on the other hand, so you don't waste time. How do you manage that with chrome powders? I thought maybe while one finger is curing I can chrome one finger AND also top coat the next finger?

@TheNailHub

8 ай бұрын

Often with nail art like chrome I will do the whole hand (or at least 4 fingers) if I can so I can flash cure all five nails for 10-15 seconds, then apply chrome on all fingers, etc.

@d.on.in.a

8 ай бұрын

@@TheNailHub thanks! I don't feel confident to do top coat on multiple nails at a time but I'll learn

I have been following your channel for a long time but I’m stuck with difference between holographic art and chromes like how do I differentiate them!😢please help!!

@TheNailHub

5 ай бұрын

Chrome is just shiny like a pearl. Holographic has reflective silver elements like a rainbow effect. Look up holographic gel vs chrome. The former reflects/glitters with more dimension.