If you've ever had hard gel or gelpolish applied to your nails, you probably know that gel can cause heat spikes and all you can do is jump in your chair, or shake your hand, or blow your nails, or swear, or all the above. Well, I've been there, I can feel your pain, so here is a little tip you can use when getting gel nails done.
What causes heat spikes when curing gel nails?
Gel can only be cured by activating it with ultra violet light. When you put it under a UV/LED light it activates the photoinitiators which is what makes it cure. (When the photoinitiator is exposed to the UV light, it releases free radicals which initiate cross-linking with binders in a photopolymerization reaction. This reaction results in a hardened (or cured) material.)
Basically the photoinitiators are aggitated and move freely within the gel creating a friction heat or "heat spike". As the gel hardens they are unable to move about freely and so it settles down. Not everyone reacts and it normally passes very quickly.
How to ease/survive heat spikes?
When the gel is on the nail plate, and the hand placed in the UV/LED lamp, it's best to wait for 3 seconds, then take out and FLIP OVER the hand, wait 4 seconds, flip back the hand and place it back to the lamp for 3 seconds, then repeat the process for 3 times or until the heat is bearable and eventually settled down.
The nail technician can help by pressing "low heat" mode on the lamp, using low heat gels (if possible) or applying thinner layers. Although sometimes thinner layers can cause heat spikes too, in that case, use the method explained above.
I hope this tip helps! Let me know if you've tried it.