IBX Nail Strengthening System Demo & Review for Professionals
As a 22+ year beauty industry professional specializing in nails, I am as thrilled as beauty school graduation day whenever a promising new nail product enters the market. With the invention of gel nail polish circa 2011, the nail industry changed overnight. It was the single greatest thing to happen for manicurists since the mid-1980s brought us safe (ethyl methacrylate) acrylic liquid! I often wondered what it must have been like for those techs learning and troubleshooting with acrylic nails for the first time. Like being dropped in the middle of a jungle and whacking your way through to civilization with a machete, or in our case a 100-grit nail file, now I know. The last 3 1/2 years of trying to get it right with gel manicures has been a challenge. With manufacturers changing their training instructions and every different gel polish company having different products and procedures, it has been at times a frustrating yet rewarding challenge. I am eternally grateful for the patience and understanding of my clientele as I slowly learned and honed my techniques over the years.
We've been in this gel manicure game long enough now that we can no longer pretend that the removal of gel polish is always gentle and non-damaging to the wearer's natural nails. It can be and should be but it just doesn't always go that way in the busy time-constrained salon environment. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. Thank goodness for Famous Names, LLC and their newest product IBX!!!!
If you do gel manicures and you care about the health and condition of your clients' nails, then you need to have this product on hand. The IBX 2-step system was created for all natural nail clients whether they wear gel polish, normal nail polish or no polish at all. The thing that sets this product apart from any other nail strengthener is that it absorbs into the nail as opposed to sitting on top of the nail. Step 1 is called Repair. It's like the "base coat" of the system. Repair absorbs into the nail and lays down the foundation like double-sided sticky tape. Step 2 is called IBX. It's like the "top coat" of the system. It also absorbs into the nail and creates a strong but flexible weave with the Repair that the manufacturer calls IPN (inner penetrating network).
In only 2 months of using the IBX system regularly on my natural nail clients, I have seen the following improvements:
I can no longer imagine doing manicures without this product. I have the procedure down to where it only takes between 5-15 minutes. All you need besides the IBX kit is an LED lamp, a normal 75 watt light bulb or tiny hair dryer as a heat source, nail cleanser & 99% alcohol. The IBX kit comes with 2 bottles, Repair and IBX. Here is the procedure breakdown depending on whether you're applying to a gel polish client or a manicure client:
Gel Polish Client
Start by gently removing the gel polish completely. Shape the nails. Cleanse nails with a lint-free wipe saturated with a nail cleanser like CND Scrub Fresh. Shake the Repair bottle. Apply a very thin coat of Repair to all nails being careful to avoid the surrounding skin. Place your client's nails approximately 8" from a heat source (light bulb, hairdryer) for 1 MINUTE. Lightly blot the excess Repair from the nails with a dry lint-free wipe and cure them in your LED lamp for whatever the manufacturer's recommended cure time for gel polish is. (I use OPI's LED lamp for 30 seconds). Wipe nails with cleanser or 99% alcohol. Shake the IBX bottle. Apply a very thin coat of IBX in the same manner that you applied the Repair. Place client's hands under your heat source for 2 MINUTES. Blot, cure, wipe with cleanser. *For first time applications, it is necessary to heat the first coat of IBX for 4 MINUTES, blot, cure, cleanse and then apply a 2nd coat of IBX placing your client's hands under the heat source for the usual 2 MINUTES. Blot, cure, wipe with cleanser.* Proceed with your gel manicure as normal.
Basic Manicure Client
Start by removing nail polish completely. Shape the nails. Cleanse nails with a lint-free wipe saturated with a nail cleanser like CND Scrub Fresh. Shake the Repair bottle. Apply the Repair as a spot treatment to any splits, ridges, divots, damaged or peeling areas being careful to avoid the surrounding skin. Place your client's nails approximately 8" from a heat source (light bulb, hairdryer) for 1 MINUTE. Lightly blot the excess Repair from the nails with a dry lint-free wipe and cure them in your LED lamp for whatever the manufacturer's recommended cure time for gel polish is. (I use OPI's LED lamp for 30 seconds). *Do not blot the nail if you are using the Repair to fuse the layers of a peeling/delaminated nail back together, go directly to cure.* Wipe nails with cleanser or 99% alcohol. Shake the IBX bottle. Apply a very thin coat of IBX in the same manner that you applied the Repair. Place client's hands under your heat source for 2 MINUTES. Blot, cure, wipe with cleanser. *For first time applications, it is necessary to heat IBX for 4 MINUTES, blot, cure, cleanse then apply a 2nd coat of IBX placing your client's hands under the heat source for the usual 2 MINUTES. Blot, cure, wipe with cleanser.* Proceed with your manicure as normal.
We've been in this gel manicure game long enough now that we can no longer pretend that the removal of gel polish is always gentle and non-damaging to the wearer's natural nails. It can be and should be but it just doesn't always go that way in the busy time-constrained salon environment. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. Thank goodness for Famous Names, LLC and their newest product IBX!!!!
If you do gel manicures and you care about the health and condition of your clients' nails, then you need to have this product on hand. The IBX 2-step system was created for all natural nail clients whether they wear gel polish, normal nail polish or no polish at all. The thing that sets this product apart from any other nail strengthener is that it absorbs into the nail as opposed to sitting on top of the nail. Step 1 is called Repair. It's like the "base coat" of the system. Repair absorbs into the nail and lays down the foundation like double-sided sticky tape. Step 2 is called IBX. It's like the "top coat" of the system. It also absorbs into the nail and creates a strong but flexible weave with the Repair that the manufacturer calls IPN (inner penetrating network).
In only 2 months of using the IBX system regularly on my natural nail clients, I have seen the following improvements:
- splits fusing back together
- ridges smoothing out
- weak flexible nails becoming hard and solid
- gel polish staying on longer with less peeling/chipping
- Vinylux polish staying on for 2 weeks (!!!)
I can no longer imagine doing manicures without this product. I have the procedure down to where it only takes between 5-15 minutes. All you need besides the IBX kit is an LED lamp, a normal 75 watt light bulb or tiny hair dryer as a heat source, nail cleanser & 99% alcohol. The IBX kit comes with 2 bottles, Repair and IBX. Here is the procedure breakdown depending on whether you're applying to a gel polish client or a manicure client:
Gel Polish Client
Start by gently removing the gel polish completely. Shape the nails. Cleanse nails with a lint-free wipe saturated with a nail cleanser like CND Scrub Fresh. Shake the Repair bottle. Apply a very thin coat of Repair to all nails being careful to avoid the surrounding skin. Place your client's nails approximately 8" from a heat source (light bulb, hairdryer) for 1 MINUTE. Lightly blot the excess Repair from the nails with a dry lint-free wipe and cure them in your LED lamp for whatever the manufacturer's recommended cure time for gel polish is. (I use OPI's LED lamp for 30 seconds). Wipe nails with cleanser or 99% alcohol. Shake the IBX bottle. Apply a very thin coat of IBX in the same manner that you applied the Repair. Place client's hands under your heat source for 2 MINUTES. Blot, cure, wipe with cleanser. *For first time applications, it is necessary to heat the first coat of IBX for 4 MINUTES, blot, cure, cleanse and then apply a 2nd coat of IBX placing your client's hands under the heat source for the usual 2 MINUTES. Blot, cure, wipe with cleanser.* Proceed with your gel manicure as normal.
Basic Manicure Client
Start by removing nail polish completely. Shape the nails. Cleanse nails with a lint-free wipe saturated with a nail cleanser like CND Scrub Fresh. Shake the Repair bottle. Apply the Repair as a spot treatment to any splits, ridges, divots, damaged or peeling areas being careful to avoid the surrounding skin. Place your client's nails approximately 8" from a heat source (light bulb, hairdryer) for 1 MINUTE. Lightly blot the excess Repair from the nails with a dry lint-free wipe and cure them in your LED lamp for whatever the manufacturer's recommended cure time for gel polish is. (I use OPI's LED lamp for 30 seconds). *Do not blot the nail if you are using the Repair to fuse the layers of a peeling/delaminated nail back together, go directly to cure.* Wipe nails with cleanser or 99% alcohol. Shake the IBX bottle. Apply a very thin coat of IBX in the same manner that you applied the Repair. Place client's hands under your heat source for 2 MINUTES. Blot, cure, wipe with cleanser. *For first time applications, it is necessary to heat IBX for 4 MINUTES, blot, cure, cleanse then apply a 2nd coat of IBX placing your client's hands under the heat source for the usual 2 MINUTES. Blot, cure, wipe with cleanser.* Proceed with your manicure as normal.
UPDATE, NOVEMBER 2014: I was so thrilled with this incredible new product and how it has increased my client happiness and loyalty factor exponentially that I wanted to become an educator for Famous Names...and they accepted me! I couldn't be more proud to say that I am now working with award-winning Famous Names Products and I'm very excited about this new chapter in my professional career!
For more information or to purchase the IBX system (PROFESSIONALS ONLY): www.ibxnails.com
Looking for a nail tech in the Las Vegas area who uses IBX?
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