Yellowing manicures and how to solve this issue

Yellowing manicures

Yellowing manicures
Your top coat should look natural and clear.

Get me a drink, my clients manicure is turning yellow!

One of the greatest fears of most professional nail techs-yellowing top coat! What went wrong? Is it my fault? The clients face lets you know just what she is thinking, she is blaming you, we all know what you probably thinking too, interesting ways of murdering somebody without getting caught! (and of course 1 or 25 shots of tequila). here we go Yellowing manicures

Sometimes this situation is unavoidable. However without doubt, knowing how and why these complaints arise will be helpful. This article will not only assist you in avoiding this but help you to explain to clients how this occurs and help them to understand and take better care of your hard work. This is invaluable in your archive of customer service.

Techs themselved often cause this situation is however even more often by the customers’ lack of knowledge. Your task is to identify and remedy those you can and also educate clients, in those they can avoid. The surest cure for all of them is the rule of three, 1. preparation, 2. execution and  3. drinking loads of tequila! Or maybe only the first two? :)))

Yellowing manicures and how to solve this issue

Ok seriously now. The number one cause is cheap top coat. Good top coat will not absorb dirt and will have ingredients protecting against light. Cheap  top and base may save a little cash when purchasing. Over time though, they will cause not only extra expense but even worse damage to your reputation.

The number two reason is over curing, always check with the supplier on recommended curing time. Please do not forget the same UV light that damages your nail in sunlight is present in your lamp too (not literally the sun is a huge and could not possibly fit in your lamp…There I go again completely off track).

Back to the point of the article, gel polish and frankly all soak off products are porous, this itself could be your problem. Tanning, smoking, hair dyes, hair care products, working with certain textiles (that are not tolerated by gel) and food preparation(we all love a good curry but curry doesn’t love manicures quite as much), these are also common causes of discoloration.

More complicated are cracked nails, which allow moisture to get in. Check clients’ nails for this carefully. Contaminated brushes or cleaner can also cause yellowing  . Even your actual top coat could have become contaminated, don’t forget you use the same application brush for multiple clients. Proper health and safety procedures must always be followed. I cannot stress enough how important hygiene is. Sterilise and clean tools, PROPERLY, after every client. (Don’t clean it in that alcohol you drinking, it’s bad for the brush and hell it will wreck your drink and ruin your day!).

Is yellowing only found with gel?

Acrylic enhancements are also prone to yellowing. Storing monomer and polymer near each other is unadvisable. Monomer must always be stored in a sealed container in a cool, dark place far from polymer powders. Mixing products could also be a cause. Even mixing the same product of different ages may cause yellowing. Finish one complete container before using a new one.

Low quality monomer will definitely cause yellowing MMA is not only unhealthy but is also prone to yellowing. (Dare I say ditto for low quality Tequila?)

Not properly sealing the nail is also common. Moisture under enhancements causes yellowing as well as lifting. In the case of both natural and enhanced nails, not allowing prep and primer to fully dry, defeats the object of increasing the natural nails adhesion. The preps and primers leave moisture under the enhancement or polish and could cause yellowing and lifting.

As we have seen there are a myriad of reasons for Yellowing manicures. Using improper hygiene, application methods and especially inferior product is your own fault! Some are out of your control, where clients themselves have caused the issue. We all know getting them to look after their manicure is as difficult as getting a cat to tell you about its day while flossing its teeth! Taking a moment to explain proper care to clients though, adds value to your service, shows your professionalism and builds trust. Sure they won’t always listen to your advice but it does assist in comebacks, (heck you can lead a horse to water but rather ride it to the liquor storeJ).

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