Issues related to the expiration date of materials, rules and storage conditions are relevant for every master, regardless of experience, number of clients and place of work. By following some simple rules, you can avoid unnecessary spending and prevent negative he alth consequences that may be associated with the use of expired material.
Our article will tell you how much you can use gel polishes and how best to organize their storage.
Gel polish shelf life
Information about how much you can store the product, the manufacturer always places on the packaging. There is a version that before opening the term is one, and after the bottle has been opened, it is completely different. Do not rely too much on the fact that no one has ever opened the varnish you bought: store consultants make paints, show customers the consistency, and give them the opportunity to evaluate the smell. Most of the materials on display have already been opened. Therefore, it is simply pointless to accept any amendments. It is worth focusing on the general termstorage.
On average, the period of use of most modern materials is 3 years. For example, this is exactly the expiration date for Bluesky gel polish is indicated on its packaging. Most materials have the same shelf life.
Note that more expensive materials have the same indicators: for example, the same number is indicated on the packaging of Luxio premium nail polish.
What do we see on bottles from other popular brands? The expiration date of the Kapus gel polish is declared as three years; Kodi, Haruyama, Kosmolak recommend using their products for the same amount of time; the same number can be found on bottles of TNL, CND, IBD and many other brands.
Some series from MyNail have a shorter term - 2 years after the release date. Gelish varnish is recommended to be stored for 18 months after the first opening. Exceptions are very rare, but it is necessary to read what the manufacturer indicated.
What to look for when buying?
In addition to the recommended period, the release date must be printed on the packaging. If you cannot find this information, you should refuse the purchase. It is highly likely that a dishonest seller simply erased the numbers with a solvent in order to sell the product with an expiring expiration date.
Maybe the paint peeled off by itself. This is also cause for concern. No serious manufacturer will put such important information on bottles with low-quality ink.
Carefully inspect the bottle for chips and otherdamage. The neck and threads must be clean.
How to store gel polishes correctly?
There are three people who take care that the nails do not get low-quality material: the manufacturer, the seller and the master himself. What can be done to reduce the risk of damage to varnishes?
Let's consider the main rules for storing gel products for manicure.
- As you know, the transition of a material from one state of aggregation to another occurs under the influence of ultraviolet or LED radiation. So, for such coatings, the sun's rays are also dangerous. Complete polymerization may not occur, but a small amount of bright sunlight is enough for the material to begin to thicken. Vials stored in a well-lit area increase the risk of premature aging.
- While working with the lamp, for the same reason, contact of light waves and open vials should be avoided. Remove the bubbles as far as possible from the switched on lamp, do not be lazy to twist the caps.
- Do not shake vials. Gel materials do not like this: during shaking, air bubbles enter the thickness, which are then very difficult to remove. They interfere with work.
- Watch the room temperature. If the room is too hot (above +26 °C), varnishes should be removed to a shaded, cool place, at least in a closet or desk drawer.
- A closed case with opaque walls can be a great solution.
- If the bottle is damaged, but the material itself can still be saved, pour it only into containers with dense walls, do nottransmitting sunlight. A bottle of ordinary varnish is not suitable for these purposes! It is better to purchase a special bottle made of painted glass or thick plastic in the nail art supplies department.
- Conduct regular audits. Knowing the shelf life of gel polishes in your collection will help you keep track of which materials to use first.
What should I do if the varnish thickens?
There is a way to resuscitate material that has been inadvertently in contact with sunlight or a switched on lamp. You can dilute the product with a special liquid. Experiments with solvents will not give any good results, it is better to purchase a special thinner.
This is an emergency measure, it can only extend the life of the material by a couple of months. It can be carried out only once, repeatedly diluted material will not stick to the nails.
Can I use expired material?
What if the date on the bottle coincided with the date on the calendar?
We already know that the question of whether gel polishes have an expiration date should be answered in the affirmative. But what happens to the material when the recommended usage time has come to an end?
From the point of view of chemistry, certain processes can begin in the structure, which can hardly be stopped. But there is also a high probability that nothing like this will happen 3 years after the production date. The material can work likebefore. Here, the truth can only be established by experience.
Test the material, cover the tips with it, dry, making sure that the required time for polymerization has not increased. Rate the result. Is there grayness, cloudiness or yellowness? Is there glitter? Is the surface hard when pressed? Has the “behavior” of the material changed (for example, has the varnish, which used to lie flat, started to “bald”, “stripe”)? If you haven't noticed a change, feel free to use the varnish further. Its shelf life has expired, but it has not gone bad.
Advice from the masters. How to avoid delay?
Professionals with a large flow of clients can afford huge palettes of 300-500 colors. But the masters of their craft assure that this does not always make sense. Firstly, the client is often lost with such a huge choice, and secondly, delays cannot be avoided. You should not try to acquire varnishes of all conceivable shades, this may not justify itself. Especially there is no point in such a huge assortment for those who consider manicure their hobby, and not their main activity. A few tens are enough, not a few hundreds.
Masters advise to be scrupulous about the storage rules and carefully inspect the goods before buying. This will minimize the delay and fully exploit the potential of the product.
