Temperature TALK

Feeling the chill? CALLIE ILEY explores the impact that temperature has on nail products & serves up practical points to note

Creating a comfortable atmosphere in the salon is important for you and your clients, but maintaining a regulated temperature is also vital to ensure that your nail products perform at their best.

Cooler temperatures can cause products such as gel, nail polish and art paints to thicken, making them challenging to work with. Heat, on the other hand, can cause products to cure or become runny. To get the best results from your nail products, ensure you put a focus on maintaining temperature control.

Education platform, Nail Knowledge, stresses the importance of maintaining a steady temperature in the nail space, noting that variations can impact a nail product’s performance. It shares the optimum temperature for nail products, detailing: “An ideal range is between 20 to 23°C, offering comfortable working conditions and client comfort. A temperature lower than 18°C affects cure and dry times, but a cooler temperature does improve a product’s shelf life.”

With winter temperatures dropping even further at night, Salon System educator, Ruth Atkins, highlights the importance of ensuring that products are safely stored, commenting: “When storing your nail products overnight, you need to make sure the temperature is maintained between 20 and 23°C.”

Ruth Atkins

But how does temperature affect specific products, such as gel polish and L&P acrylic? Ruth Atkins explains: “In colder climates, gel products often become stiffer, more difficult to apply evenly and will take longer to self-level. L&P acrylic products are also sensitive to temperature change, and their curing times can be affected by this.”

“In colder climates, gel products often become stiffer, more difficult to apply evenly and will take longer to self-level.”

Katie Clark

“Temperature and additional UV exposure can greatly affect the polymerisation process of L&P and the viscosity of gel,” adds Katie Clark, founder of Katie Barnes Tool Range & Education. “This can be particularly problematic for mobile techs, who move from one temperature to another, or those working in buildings such as conservatories, which are prone to extreme temperatures. Every degree, whether lower or higher, will change the viscosity of gel products.

“When your working environment is cold, you can warm L&P monomer to an ideal temperature by using hot water bottles and heated desk blankets under your towel, or place the monomer on a heated hand warmer.”

Feeling the heat

If temperatures inside the nail space are over 23°C, L&P users may experience changes to their monomer. “The higher the temperature of the liquid, the faster the reaction and therefore the quicker the set time, making the product difficult to work with and potentially responsible for service breakdown,” shares Katie Clark. “For those that work with gel, heat can cause the formula to become very fluid and challenging to control. It may then be likely to run into the surrounding skin and cause potential irritation and service breakdown. In higher temperatures, gels with a thicker viscosity should be used.”

Storage tips

Gels should be stored away from sunlight, especially pots or gel polish products that have a window displaying the shade. Any light that comes into contact with the formula will start to cure it. Primer is light sensitive, so can discolour and lose effectiveness if not stored correctly. Store inside a desk drawer or cupboard with doors, away from light.

“Clients will feel more relaxed if they’re not cold, so make sure your working area is comfortably warm, and if your clients feel the chill, provide them with a shawl or wrap. Cold hands are also tricky to work on, so offer clients a hot beverage to warm them up.”

For those working with nail polish, it’s important to note that the pigments in the product can fade when exposed to sunlight, and bottles can explode in temperatures above 48°C. If nail polish has been sitting around for a while or stored incorrectly, it will begin to thicken and become difficult to use, due to its contact with the air.

Client comfort

No client wants to be shivering during their pamper time, and cold temperatures can create issues with joint mobility, impacting the work of a tech. “Clients will feel more relaxed if they’re not cold, so make sure your working area is comfortably warm, and if your clients feel the chill, provide them with a shawl or wrap,” suggests Ruth Atkins. “Cold hands are also tricky to work on, so offer clients a hot beverage to warm them up.”

“Keep your customers warm with blankets, infra-red lamps and warm drinks, and ask them to wash their hands under a warm tap prior to the service,” Katie Clark recommends. “In contrast, if your clients’ hands are too warm or clammy, products may set quicker and there could be issues with form adhesion. Encourage clients to wash their hands in cool water, or give them a cold towelette prior to the service.”

“I heat up the salon at least half an hour before the first client arrives,” says Samantha Birtchnell of Suffolk-based business, Sunray Nails. “I have a variety of blankets available for clients and staff to put on their laps, and I provide hot drinks and invite clients to keep their coats on if they wish.”

Samantha Birtchnell

Depending on where your salon is located, certain environments, such as garden salons, can be trickier to heat due to poorinsulation or no central heating system.

“When your working environment is cold, you can warm L&P monomer to an ideal temperature by using hot water bottles and heated desk blankets under your towel.”

“A converted garage like mine can be difficult to keep warm,” Samantha Birtchnell explains. “I use portable heaters to add extra warmth when needed, but be mindful that leads are a trip hazard.”

It can be difficult to maintain temperatures throughout larger salon spaces, especially if areas next to doors let in a cold breeze as clients arrive and leave. “If your workplace is a large, busy salon, over-the-door heaters help to maintain the heat inside when clients enter and exit,” recommends Ruth Atkins.