Gel nail wraps?

[Jimi2]

Anybody know about these or use them? Apparently they are a prepackaged, semi solid press on product that you trim down and cure with light. This could be a great solution for fingerpickers to use at home. I used to go to a salon for gels, and they were great, but after a while my nails started to thin. For the last couple of years I have just applied dip powder to the forward half of my nails to allow the rest to breathe as they grow out, and my nails are still very strong now. The problem is that the result is brittle and has to be redone frequently, as well as sounding brittle at times. The tone with salon gels was better. So I’m thinking these gel wraps could do it for me, though they have to be cured under a special light…and I’m hesitant to do the UV thing due to skin cancer risks. I’m hoping there’s an alternative to that part of the process….

[Sadie-f]

UV curing adhesives only harden with UV, that's the price of admission.

I've been using silk wraps held with CA glue over the top half of the 3 nails I use for picking for about a month. On thumb and middle finger, it's needed because the nails were splitting, on my index finger, because it was wearing down too fast from playing (a lot of hours the last two months).

I'm using Opi polish and only using non-acetone remover for maintaining, it's my understanding that acetone polish remover is responsible for most nail care damage, we'll see.

I only took this step after 7 months of a nails supplement had gotten them from routinely fracturing into the nail bed, to basically strong enough for playing. Will see where it goes over the next year. So far I'm ecstatic for having the flexibility to use both skin and nails for different attack.

This week I've got a salon appointment at a place that advertises being focused on nail health, I'm hopeful they'll help me improve on what I've gotten to on my own.

[Jimi2]

Originally Posted by Sadie-f

UV curing adhesives only harden with UV, that's the price of admission.

I've been using silk wraps held with CA glue over the top half of the 3 nails I use for picking for about a month. On thumb and middle finger, it's needed because the nails were splitting, on my index finger, because it was wearing down too fast from playing (a lot of hours the last two months).

I'm using Opi polish and only using non-acetone remover for maintaining, it's my understanding that acetone polish remover is responsible for most nail care damage, we'll see.

I only took this step after 7 months of a nails supplement had gotten them from routinely fracturing into the nail bed, to basically strong enough for playing. Will see where it goes over the next year. So far I'm ecstatic for having the flexibility to use both skin and nails for different attack.

This week I've got a salon appointment at a place that advertises being focused on nail health, I'm hopeful they'll help me improve on what I've gotten to on my own.

Thanks for the reply. In digging around I found some references to gels being cured by LED lights instead of UV, but I’m not sure if this works in practice….would be nice if it did.

[Peter Z]

I think acrylic nails are more or less like gel nails but don’t need UV to cure.

[Sadie-f]

Originally Posted by Jimi2

Thanks for the reply. In digging around I found some references to gels being cured by LED lights instead of UV, but I’m not sure if this works in practice….would be nice if it did.

They'd be UV LEDs, probably 390 nm wavelength, I've assembled my own array of $0.40 LEDs to do that - slow, more powerful ones are expensive.

Clearly there are low toxicity UV adhesives, as they're used for dental work. I worry more that the bonds might be too strong. One thing I like about CA adhesives is they're extremely hard, which makes them reasonably strong against abrasion, and also causes them to release cleanly from a nail surface. However UV cured gel nails may stay in place longer, I don't know, as I haven't tried.

[savannahmay]

Depending on the brand, some suck as they come off easily but the good ones are like salon quality and last ... I don't use them as my skin is sensitive . . .

As a kid i remember getting excited when my older sister showed me to paint and use fake nails but she said her nails would get weak from using thme and turns out same with me, so I don't use them. It's a bummer, but also surfing tends thrash long / fake nails, and in highschool I had to get glasses, and I use contacts so long nails or fake ones were not really an option when I started caring about my appearance.

My nails are strong enough naturally, so I grow RH out a bit if fingerstyling guitar. But usually they are short so, it's finger pads mainly as on finger nail scrapes on bass sounds weird.

UV cure adhesives are faster . . . like UV resins in my uncles surfboard glassing factory, it takes 5 minutes to harden vs days with standard or hours with epoxy. Same with nails . . . non UV takes longer time before it cures . . . . the regular acrylics that use non UV, but also you can't use UV if acrylics are pre painted or have stuff (like real or fake gems embedded etc) . . .

[The Badger]

Here's something that I have successfully done many times to repair broken nails.
It'll also work fine for just giving the tips of unbroken nails extra armour so they don't
just wear away after a few hours fingerpicking.

You need a bottle of the type of glue used to adhere false nails. Also a teabag!
Apply a drop of adhesive to the very tip of the nails, just on the area that makes contact
with the string. When the adhesive gets tacky, cut off a little section of the teabag at the
crimped edge and lay it into the adhesive on your nail with a tweezers. Tap gently into
place, making sure the material is lying flat. When the adhesive dries, put another drop
on top, allow to dry again, and trim with a scissors and file down flat. Because you're
only applying the adhesive to the top of your nail it won't weaken, and this job will last
days, weeks even. I'm sure a lot of you guys know this trick but it does work and saves
you a lot of money in nail bars! There are videos of this on You Tube so it's well worth
checking out.

[Sadie-f]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Here's something that I have successfully done many times to repair broken nails. ...

You need a bottle of the type of glue used to adhere false nails. Also a teabag!
...

Exactly what I did before switching to silk wraps, which don't cost that much and are easier to work with.

I used the teabag approach for an emergency repair of a crack, the woven silk is stronger and thinner.

Best of all, a couple times in the course of a month, I've done something that would have damaged a nail, and instead the wrap detached, leaving the nail unharmed.

[Jimi2]

Originally Posted by Sadie-f

They'd be UV LEDs, probably 390 nm wavelength, I've assembled my own array of $0.40 LEDs to do that - slow, more powerful ones are expensive.

Clearly there are low toxicity UV adhesives, as they're used for dental work. I worry more that the bonds might be too strong. One thing I like about CA adhesives is they're extremely hard, which makes them reasonably strong against abrasion, and also causes them to release cleanly from a nail surface. However UV cured gel nails may stay in place longer, I don't know, as I haven't tried.

So I guess as far as skin cancer risk, those LEDs would be as bad as traditional UV bulbs? Also, your process with silk wraps seems like a great idea- like in my OP, I’ve found not covering the whole nail really helps with strength as they grow out. Where are you getting silk for your process?

[Sadie-f]

Originally Posted by Jimi2

So I guess as far as skin cancer risk, those LEDs would be as bad as traditional UV bulbs? Also, your process with silk wraps seems like a great idea- like in my OP, I’ve found not covering the whole nail really helps with strength as they grow out. Where are you getting silk for your process?

Went to Sally beauty supply, they're a go-to for home and pro use. The ones I'm using are Swiss Silk Self Adhesive Wrap Tabs. They're a bit fiddly if you're going to cut out shapes for each use, separating the silk weave from the backing wants fine tip tweezers, or maybe an exacto knife. Add brush on CA / PMMA nail glue and you're all set.

Back to UV adhesives, 390 nm wavelength will cure the glues, that's just past visible, and probably not that hard on skin - still, I prefer to avoid it.