1 mins
ASK THE Experts
Is it safe to use gel-polish mixed into acrylic liquid in order to have different acrylic colours?
The answer to this question is no and I’ll try to be brief in terms of explaining why this is the case. Firstly, no mixing should be done without the express suggestion from the manufacturer, as long as said manufacturer understands what they are doing and has an in-house scientist.
It’s important to understand that gel and acrylic have two completely different polymerisation processes. One needs a photo initiator with a correct wavelength of energy, while the other needs the matched system of initiator (polymer powder), catalyst (monomer liquid) and heat energy.
The presence of oligomers (in the gel-polish) will interfere with the proper cure of the liquid and powder, which starts to polymerise immediately and will stop the oligomers moving around to polymerise with other oligomers. Consequently, the result will be a lot of uncured monomers that can leach into the nail plate and surrounding skin while wearing, and then released on removal – either via buffing or soaking – all over the skin and in airborne dust to create allergies.
In my opinion, the industry seems to be creating a culture of uneducated ‘chemists’ that are playing with the health of their clients! We are already in an ‘allergy epidemic’ as recognised by the British Association of Dermatologists way back in 2018 and mixing gel-polish into liquid and powder will just make matters worse.
Once upon a time, some brands developed coloured ‘drops’ to add to the liquid monomer to change its colour. If this process is developed properly, then it may be OK, but this practice has disappeared, probably because it wasn’t efficient in a ‘proper cure’.
Mixing gel-polish into liquid and powder is just another step in lowering the quality of the career of a nail technician. What we should be doing instead is elevating this career path with sound education and a thorough understanding of the hazardous chemicals we work with.
Marian Newman is a session nail technician and has authored the books, ‘The Complete Nail Technician’ and ‘Nailed it’.
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