Shellac is one of the most popular means for achieving gorgeous and high quality manicure, which can be done both at home and saloon. The major advantages of shellac are the ability to totally dry out under the special ultraviolet lamp – UV lamp , it is long-lasting and can’t be removed by simple nail varnish remover with acetone.
Shellac Lamps
A special kit of tools for working with shellac will allow you to make nails by yourself and every single professional nail master definitely needs it.
Purchasing UV-lamp – is one of the main conditions for doing nails with the help of shellac. Any special lamp will do. Spectral wavelength of the lamp varies from 350-400 nm. These are the standard criteria for working with shellac. It is also possible to use the other kinds of lamps, like LED, but before purchasing one, it is advisable to carefully read the manual of the material for nail extensions. Many gel nails require the emission of 350-390 nm for the photo initiator, while Led lamps emit 390-405 nm.
Before you buy a lamp, please remember, that not all the lamps dry the surfaces equally good, due to the different power at the output.
If you take a lamp with a medium power of 36 W, you will require around 10 seconds to dry the base, the main cover – 2 minutes and the finishing one – 2 minutes.
One of the great additions to the lamp would be a timer. You will no longer need to get distracted to look at the watch and will carefully stick to the required time for drying.
While choosing a lamp you should also pay attention to the mirror surface: its availability and location. In cheap versions of the lamp you can find one only at the bottom. But in order to achieve perfect manicure, it is advised to use such a lamp which has a mirror surface all over inside the lamp itself. Thanks to such a location of mirror surface drying nails will be even, and shellac will dry exactly the same way along all the surface of the nail. Beginners should check if there are any protective layers and not to forget to remove them.
You should also pay attention to the location of the bulbs. Preferably would be if they were located not just on top but on both sides as well. This way, you will achieve even drying process of the nail plate sides in general and the small finger especially.
It is recommended to minimize the risk of light influence on the hand’s skin during drying nails under the UV lamp. Therefore it is advised to use a cream with SPF protection or special gloves with free fingers.
In order not to damage the bulbs, you should take them out once you purchase the lamp and are going to bring it home or if you plan to do nails at your client’s place.
Source: «Nails24h»
