Enhancement Troubleshooting: Yellowing in Enhancements

Yellowing is the discoloration and breakdown of artificial nail coatings by ultraviolet light, excessive heat, or chemical contaminants.  Yellow enhancements is a relatively common problem in the nail world but luckily its something that is easy to fix. The majority of yellowing occurs in acrylic nails and wraps, though it could happen in gel nails as well.  Lets take a look at the reasons.

Acrylic (Liquid & Powder) Nails

Since acrylic nails are porous, yellowing can be caused by a number of things.  The fact that all modern acrylics are cross linked means they are not as likely to yellow as a resin based product which is not cross linked but still more likely to yellow than a gel nail which is non-porous.

These are the most common reasons for yellow acrylics:

• Staining from nail polish
• Contaminated or old liquid - Make sure you store monomer in a dark, cool place, always use a proper dispenser made for that product, and never mix old and new monomer together and always use fresh monomer for each client
• Using monomer that doesn't have a UV protestant 
• Using a contaminated brush or brush cleaner - Also, never apply any oil or conditioner to the bristles. Nothing but monomer and polymer should ever come in contact with your brush
• Not thoroughly seasoning a new acrylic brush - Each time you buy a new acrylic brush, gently run a new wood stick through the bristles until the manufacturer’s powdery gum is completely removed. This may take 15 minutes or longer, but if you fail to do it, the gum could cause your acrylics to turn yellow.
• Odorless acrylic is more likely to yellow
• Acid primer touching existing acrylic during a fill can cause that part to yellow.
• Not allowing an acid primer to dry before applying nail enhancements.
• MMA (methyl methacrylate, which we will discuss soon ) is notorious for yellowing
• Excessive tanning or smoking, on the client’s end. Sunless tanning lotions can stain the nails as well.
• Household chemicals can also cause yellowing (clients need to wear gloves!)
• Certain top coats that are used over pink and whites tend to stain and yellow.

Gel Nails

Gel nails (hard gel) are non-porous and generally not susceptible to yellowing, however occasionally it is seen. Products designed for UV tanning sometimes yellow the top surface of traditional gels and can be easily buffed away at the next appointment.  With certain brands, if you do not apply the finish gel to seal nails, nail polish and smoking can sometimes cause the gel to discolor. Lastly, some gels actually absorb UV rays from the sun, technically "over-curing" the gel and causing yellowing.

Wraps and other Resin-based Products (i.e. "Tip and Dip" systems)
The most common cause of yellowing in resin-based systems like wraps and dip systems is staining from polish, nicotine, tanning lotions, etc or age.  Because resin based systems are not cross-linked, they are more susceptible to things like UV rays, nail polish pigments and general wear and tear. Resin-based systems are the one type of system that has to be removed and replaced periodically since there is no way to avoid the aging.



References:
http://www.nailsmag.com/qa/70113/why-does-gel-turn-yellow-on-some-people-and-not-on-others-in-the-summer
http://www.nailsmag.com/article/112640/the-help-desk-answers-your-technical-and-health-questions
http://www.nailsmag.com/qa/81788/why-do-my-clients-acrylic-nails-look-discolored