SOAK OFF GEL GUIDE

An Instruction and Reference Guide to understanding application and removal of Soft Gel

by Elaine Watson

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS. 1

What is Soft Gel and what is Hard Gel?. 1

I am new to Soak Off Gels, where do I begin?. 1

There are a lot of Soak Off Gels on the Market. How is yours different?. 1

I am worried that Soak Off Gels are too big of an investment. How will I afford them?. 2

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLOR APPLICATION.. 2

COLOR GEL INSTRUCTIONS (POLISH LOOK) 2

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLOR REMOVAL.. 3

FINGER NAILS: 3

TOE NAILS: 3

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PINK AND WHITE ENHANCEMENT APPLICATION.. 4

FRENCH LOOK.. 4

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PINK AND WHITE FILL.. 5

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is Soft Gel and what is Hard Gel?

Hard Gels are the traditional gels used in the nail industry for years. They are cured under a UV light and can only be removed by filing. The gel becomes so dense it is impossible for soak off solutions to penetrate it. Hard gels are still considered flexible when compared to Acrylics; however, do tend to be much stiffer than the Soft Gels.

Soft Gels are the newest generation of gels. These are much more porous than their predecessor. It is their porosity that makes it possible to soak them off in a soaking solution. The porosity also makes them even more lightweight and flexible than Hard Gels.

I am new to Soak Off Gels, where do I begin?

It is important for you to understand the many uses of Soak Off Gels. Most Technicians will immediately associate them with an artificial enhancement. This is absolutely true. However, Soak Off Gels are also being used as a Polish alternative (otherwise known as Semi-Permanent Color / Polish / Lacquer). On top of the benefit of instant cure Polish, you also have one of the best Nail Strengtheners (without harmful chemicals that dehydrate your nail bed and fool you into thinking your nail is stronger). Consider the polish alternative as a Nail Kapping System. So now, you have three new services from one new System. Artificial Nail Enhancement, Polish Alternative and Natural Nail Kapping.

There are a lot of Soak Off Gels on the Market. How is yours different?

We spent two years formulating and reformulating our Soak Off Gels. There were so many aspects of “soak off” gels that were undesirable. Unnecessary Yellowing was the first issue as well as continued Yellowing in Sunlight. We were able to stabilize the formula to prevent yellowing at the start, as well as continue yellowing in the Sun. The next predominant issue was a rubbery surface. This gave the gels an uncured feeling. We were able to make our formula harder without sacrificing cure time, which brings us to the next issue, soak time. Being a licensed Nail Technician I knew it would be useless for me to release a Soak Off gel that took longer to soak off than it would take for a Technician to file it off. We were able to reduce the soak off time in our Soak Solution to five minutes. This helped put colors into the “polish alternative” category. Ours are also very lightweight. They also encourage and help the nail grow just like a Kapping System. Our adhesion makes it possible for the nails to flex without lifting at the free-edge and extend wear up to four weeks without lifting. There is also little to no shrinkage during application.

I am worried that Soak Off Gels are too big of an investment. How will I afford them?

Fortunately, we are all about delivering high quality products at realistic prices. Some Soak Off Gels on the market are selling for £60 an ounce. Ours is only £29.99 an ounce. This doesn’t mean that you are sacrificing quality for cost. We just choose to provide you with the opportunity to use the product at a cost your clients are willing to pay and STILL give you a profit. In the long run, you will be able to turn more than 200% profit. Why continue to pay for bottles of polish and give it away for free to your customers? Soak Off Gel as a polish alternative will give you a means to making $5 for color application. Your Clients, will be happy to pay this small fee when they realize their color can stay on longer than it ever has, the color won’t chip, it will be dry in three minutes, AND it will strengthen their nails!

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLOR APPLICATION

COLOR GEL INSTRUCTIONS (POLISH LOOK)

It is important to understand that how you prepare your clients nails will determine how long the client will wear them. IF you have a client coming in ever 7-10 days for a manicure, you do not want to risk your repeat business by preparing the nail TOO well. What I mean is, I can prepare the nail like it is an artificial application and get this color to stay on for four weeks, however, now your repeat customer isn’t coming in as often for his/her manicure. You will lose profit from the loss of repeat business. Our goal, for those customers, is to beat the wear time of polish. However, if you have a customer with wear issues, you can turn UP the adhesion by buffing the nail plate and/or using primer. It is important that you understand how your preparation can effect your business.

Before application, it is very important that you stir your Soak Off Gels with a Birch Wood Stick. Some of the colors with heavy pigments may settle.
Prepare all of the nails by pushing back and removing all of the cuticles. This step is very important. The most common cause of lifting is cuticle left on the nail.
Using a 240 grit file or White Buffer Block, gently remove the natural shine from all of the nails. This removes surface oils and contaminants on the nail plate.
Clean the nails and remove dust using Finishing Wipe on a lint free Wipe.
If you are adding length, apply tips now. Because this is a Soft Gel it is important that you do not cut your length too long. The correct balance is 2/3 nail plate to 1/3 free-edge.
If you did any tip blending or filing, be sure to clean the nails (again) using Finishing Wipe on a lint free Wipe.
OPTIONAL: for extended wear, use a small amount of primer on the nail plates.
Apply a thin coat of the Clear Base Gel to the five nails on one hand and place them in the 9 Watt UV Light to cure for 30 seconds. While your first hand is curing, apply your clear coat to the second hand and cure it for 30 seconds. REMEMBER: if you apply thin coats you will maintain control over your gel product. If you apply thicker and unnecessary coats, you risk your gel self leveling onto the skin. This will result in more work later.
Apply your Soak Off Color Gel of choice. Lightly brush from cuticle to free edge just like polishing a nail. Apply a thin even coat. If you apply too thick, you will risk an improper cure (especially with darker colors that are heavily pigmented). This coat may have a small “creep back” effect directly at the free edge. If this happens, lightly brush all five edges before placing the hand in the light. This is usually only a problem with darker colors and only occurs on this coat.
Cure in a 9 Watt UV Light for 3 minutes.
Apply your second coat of Soak Off Color Gel. Again, use a thin even coat just like polishing a nail.
Cure in a 9 Watt UV Light for 3 minutes.
Using the Finishing Wipe and a lint free Wipe, remove the induction layer (sticky layer) one nail at a time. Do not use the same wipe on more than one nail. If you do this you will cause your other nails to lose their shine. This is caused when you remove the induction layer and spread it on the remaining nails. Also, do not panic if you see some pigment on your wipe. There is still some pigment in this induction layer.
Apply a coat of Top Coat over all the nails to seal and protect them. Let them air dry.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLOR REMOVAL

FINGER NAILS:

CAUTION: never use any form of heating (or electrical) unit to warm the Soak Off Solution. You risk serious injury to your client.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: A towel, glass or ceramic dish, our Soak Off Tool and our Soak Off Solution.

Using polish remover, remove the Top Coat from your Clients nails.
Using a 180 grit file etch the surface of your Clients nails. We are not filing them thinner, just breaking the gel seal and speeding up your soak off time.
Pour enough Soak Off Solution into your glass or ceramic dish to cover your Clients nails.
Put all of your Clients fingertips into the solution.
Use a towel to cover the dish (and over their hands). This will help keep the body heat in and will be enough warmth to aid in speeding up the Soak Off process.
Depending on the thickness of your application, soak off time can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes.
After 5-10 minutes remove the towel. You should see a crackle effect all over the surface of your Client’s nails. This indicates that it is releasing from the nail bed. Unlike traditional Acrylics, Soak Off Gel does not dissolve. It releases from the nail plate.
Now take your Soak off Tool and gently scrape the nail. This should take little to no pressure. This should not damage your Clients nails.
Once you have removed all of the Soak Off Gel, it is important to have your client wash their hands with soap and water to remove the moisturizer in the Soak Off Solution. If you do not do this, you will cause lifting when your reapply their color gel.

TOE NAILS:

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: A towel, a glass or ceramic dish, strips of cotton, tin foil, our Soak Off Tool and our Soak Off Solution.

Using polish remover, remove the Top Coat from your Clients toenails.
Using a 180 grit file etch the surface of your Clients toenails. We are not filing them thinner, just breaking the gel seal and speeding up your soak off time.
Pour enough Soak Off Solution into your glass or ceramic dish to saturate strips of cotton. (If you are wearing Soak Off Gel, Polish or Artificial Nails, it is important you wear a pair of rubber gloves to do this.)
Pile the cotton strip onto the toenail. Be sure you are making contact with all of the nail.
Wrap the toe in tin foil.
Repeat step 4 and 5 on all of the nails.
Use a towel wrap each of their feet. This will help keep the body heat in and will be enough warmth to aid in speeding up the Soak Off process.
Depending on the thickness of your application, soak off time can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes. After 5-10 minutes remove the towel and the foils from the toenails. You should see a crackle effect all over the surface of your Client’s nails. This indicates that it is releasing from the nail bed. Unlike traditional Acrylics, Soak Off Gel does not dissolve. It releases from the nail plate.
Now take your Soak off Tool and gently scrape the nail. This should take little to no pressure. This should not damage your Clients nails.
Once you have removed all of the Soak Off Gel, it is important to wash their feet with soap and water to remove the moisturizer in the Soak Off Solution. If you do not do this, you will cause lifting when your reapply their color gel.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PINK AND WHITE ENHANCEMENT APPLICATION

FRENCH LOOK

It is important to understand that how you prepare your clients nails will determine how long the client will wear them. It is important to prepare your nails correctly to prevent lifting and extend the life of your nails enhancements.

Before application, it is very important that you stir your Soak Off Gels with a Birch Wood Stick. Some of the colors with heavy pigments may settle.
Prepare all of the nails by pushing back and removing all of the cuticles. This step is very important. The most common cause of lifting is cuticle left on the nail.
Using a 240 grit file or White Buffer Block, gently remove the natural shine from all of the nails. This removes surface oils and contaminants on the nail plate.
Clean the nails and remove dust using Finishing Wipe on a lint free Wipe.
If you are adding length, apply tips now. Because this is a Soft Gel it is important that you do not cut your length too long. The correct balance is 2/3 nail plate to 1/3 free-edge.
If you did any tip blending or filing, be sure to clean the nails (again) using Finishing Wipe on a lint free Wipe.
For extended wear, use a small amount of primer on the nail plates.
Apply a thin coat of the Clear Base Gel to the five nails on one hand and place them in the 9 Watt UV Light to cure for 30 seconds. While your first hand is curing, apply your clear coat to the second hand and cure it for 30 seconds. REMEMBER: if you apply thin coats you will maintain control over your gel product. If you apply thicker and unnecessary coats, you risk your gel self leveling onto the skin. This will result in more work later.
Apply your Soak Off Pink Gel. Lightly brush from cuticle to free edge just like polishing a nail. Apply a thin even coat. If you apply too thick, you will risk an improper cure (especially with darker colors that are heavily pigmented). This coat may have a small “creep back” effect directly at the free edge. If this happens, lightly brush all five edges before placing the hand in the light. This is usually only a problem with darker colors and only occurs on this coat.
Cure in a 9 Watt UV Light for 3 minutes.
Apply your French smile line using the Soak Off White Gel. This White is heavily pigmented. You need only apply it like polishing a smile. If you do it too thin, it will not cure properly.
Cure in a 9 Watt UV Light for 3 minutes.
Apply a final coat of Soak Off Clear Gel. Again, use a thin even coat just like polishing a nail.
Cure in a 9 Watt UV Light for 3 minutes.
Using the Finishing Wipe and a lint free Wipe, remove the induction layer (sticky layer) one nail at a time. Do not use the same wipe on more than one nail. If you do this you will cause your other nails to lose their shine. This is caused when you remove the induction layer and spread it on the remaining nails.
Apply a coat of Top Coat over all the nails to seal and protect them. Let them air dry.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PINK AND WHITE FILL

If you intend to soak off and start over, please refer to the section on removing nails. Be advised that the soak time will be a little bit longer for tip extensions.

Before application, it is very important that you stir your Soak Off Gels with a Birch Wood Stick. Some of the colors with heavy pigments may settle.
Prepare all of the nails by pushing back and removing all of the cuticles. This step is very important. The most common cause of lifting is cuticle left on the nail.
Using a 240 grit file or White Buffer Block, gently remove the natural shine from all of the regrowth area. This removes surface oils and contaminants on the nail plate. Using the same file or buffer, file over the existing gel to thin it down a layer.
Apply a small amount of Soak Off Clear Gel to the regrowth area only and cure for 30 seconds in a 9 Watt UV Light.
Apply a small amount of Soak Off Pink Gel to the regrowth area only and cure for 3 minutes in a 9 Watt UV Light.
Apply a coat of Soak Off Clear Gel to the entire nail and cure for 3 minutes in a 9 Watt UV Light. Using the Finishing Wipe and a lint free Wipe, remove the induction layer (sticky layer) one nail at a time. Do not use the same wipe on more than one nail. If you do this you will cause your other nails to lose their shine. This is caused when you remove the induction layer and spread it on the remaining nails.
Apply a coat of Top Coat over all the nails to seal and protect them. Let them air dry.

If you need to replace your smile line, during step 3 you would need to file off the existing smile line. You can reapply it between step 5 and 6.