Have you ever wondered if the cold winter weather is causing your UV gel nails to lift, especially if your natural nails are brittle and weak? This may not be a problem if you’re using a flexible builder gel. Regardless, it has been reported that some salon customers are experiencing this issue.
Understanding the effects of low temperatures on UV gel nail coatings
Nail experts have known for years that cold temperatures can have a negative effect on the nail coating, making it less flexible, harder, and more prone to cracking and breakage.
The lower the temperature, the greater the negative effects. This is partly because the toughness and durability decrease significantly as the temperature decreases. The nail coating can eventually lose its flexibility, become hard, and even brittle. Highly flexible UV builder gels also lose some flexibility, but because they are naturally flexible, they can maintain some flexibility even at the coldest temperatures. As a result, more flexible nails remain stronger and more durable at lower temperatures.
Understand how temperature affects nail adhesion
Adhesion strength is also affected by temperature. Here’s how it works:
Everything expands or contracts when heated or cooled, and the greater the temperature change, the greater the contraction or expansion. Interestingly, different materials expand or contract to different extents and at different rates. These changes depend on the chemical composition and molecular structure of the substance. As a result, the nail plate does not shrink at the same rate or extent as the nail coating. Different shrinkage rates create mismatches that create stress at the interface between the nail plate and the nail coating.
This stress can pull them apart and have a negative effect on adhesion. When these warm up again, the opposite is true. One expands faster than the other, which also causes stress to build up. The nail plate and nail coating expand at different rates, increasing stress at the joints where they meet. Each time this happens, the bond between the nail plate and the nail coating weakens. This applies to all nail coatings. As the nail coating shrinks and loses flexibility at the same time, the forces generated may seem small, but they are sufficient to cause lifting. Tell your clients to protect their nails, always wear warm gloves before going out, and to avoid freezing their nails.
Be especially careful to avoid sudden changes in temperature. Sudden temperature changes can cause slower, more gradual changes that can cause even bigger problems.
