protein bond vs linkage

[wendynailart]

That's not something I've ever experienced so I'm puzzled about it, too. I'm just not sure how it could be the bonder causing it. Two fills, that's a month's worth of growth at least....seems like it would be the product itself and not the bonder. Is it on all fingers or on the most used fingers of their dominant hand? Sounds a bit like pocket lifting.

Funny thing is, only on clients I use Linkage on (but not all), separation from tip to middle, never further, all nails..... a product that has never done this on over three years of use (not a new container), and one wrap client.....
Weird. changing products anyway, going to try Air bond and Nu bond, using Light Elegance gel...
a wave of lifting... what a pain

[Erick]

Gelousy Acid free primer has none of those problems, yet works just as well, if not better. http://revolutionnails.com/magento/acces...r-5oz.html

[Donna in Huntsville, TX.]

NOTHING works as well as E Link, in my opinion. Of course, as a retailer, we feel like the product we sell is the best, just as Erick does. There's not a primer on the market that is perfect for ALL clients, I don't care what it is and where it comes from. If there was, there'd be ONLY ONE.

[wendynailart]

E Link?

[Donna in Huntsville, TX.]

E Link, formerly known as Linkage.

[jennie]

NOTHING works as well as E Link, in my opinion. Of course, as a retailer, we feel like the product we sell is the best, just as Erick does. There's not a primer on the market that is perfect for ALL clients, I don't care what it is and where it comes from. If there was, there'd be ONLY ONE.

Donna, I agree about Elink. There is nothing like it, period

[Donna in Huntsville, TX.]

NOTHING works as well as E Link, in my opinion. Of course, as a retailer, we feel like the product we sell is the best, just as Erick does. There's not a primer on the market that is perfect for ALL clients, I don't care what it is and where it comes from. If there was, there'd be ONLY ONE.

Donna, I agree about Elink. There is nothing like it, period

Thank you, Jennie!

[you'vegotnail!]

I'll second that about E-Link. It's a game-changer. All of the Elite gel products are the bomb!

[Donna in Huntsville, TX.]

I'll second that about E-Link. It's a game-changer. All of the Elite gel products are the bomb!

Thanks so much for the support!
For those of you who're looking for a new product line, our kits are still on sale until Sept. 30 for $25. Click the link below to be taken to our website.

[[email protected] USA]

T.E.N.'s Linkage is one of the best bonding agents on the market when used and applied properly. It is the same quality product that it has always been.
I have not been on the boards in some time but as always if you have questions about the TEN original product line and the new acrylic line and gel polishes please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected]
Or give me a call at 918-231-3000. I always enjoys talkin nails !!!!

[wendynailart]

after a lot of experimenting, the final front runner is still Linkage...
Donna's swabs, proved to be the best application

I tried to avoid using anything of a fuzzy material... but, I've used nearly the entire bottle, I'm seeing some more lift than my earlier results but no longer have a source for BioSculpture... so I'm shopping a new base gel for those problem nails....
still with wraps and acrylics, for clients with thin nails... the improvement is great.

Buying more Linkage today....

not sure what happened with the weird period of lifting... so far, has not happened again.

[[email protected] USA]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your testing and comments. You can expect a FREE extra bottle of Linkage in your order.
I will also send you a sample of the Poly Gel to try as a base gel. And the Linkage brush that is working great for application and works good to the last drop !
I appreciate your business.
Brenda

There is ONLY ONE LINKAGE. If all the others were the same they would perform the same !!!
Linkage is and will always be the same acid free bonding agant. There is NO "former" Linkage.
Trusted, tried and proved.

[wendynailart]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your testing and comments. You can expect a FREE extra bottle of Linkage in your order.
I will also send you a sample of the Poly Gel to try as a base gel. And the Linkage brush that is working great for application and works good to the last drop !
I appreciate your business.
Brenda

There is ONLY ONE LINKAGE. If all the others were the same they would perform the same !!!
Linkage is and will always be the same acid free bonding agant. There is NO "former" Linkage.
Trusted, tried and proved.

You are psychic, I was thinking of asking about samples of the gel...


the brush... I began to wonder, when I was using small solvent brushes, if I was not getting them clean enough and that was why the Linkage set up (other possibility, some mini bottles were not sealing well enough, not happy with supplier since they were supposed to be solvent and aromatherapy bottles). I noticed the solvent brushes, soaked and picked clean, later showed traces of dried product.

How is the brush cleaned to not contaminate?


thank you for the extra bottle ;-)
very generous after I gave you such a hard time ;-)

The difference Linkage made, particularly on clients with thin nails, in improving the adhesion of wrap and even acrylic nails was amazing.

Is your acrylic designed to work with it?
that's a silly question isn't it....

[[email protected] USA]

I sent you a brush too. As soon as I am done applying the Linkage I clean it in acetone. I keep a liquid pump full of acetone and clean it immediately and wipe it on a paper towel (Viva)
My acrylic is Poly Pure Powders and yes Linkage works great with it. Since the Gel and Powders are both "Poly" products I have been mixing the powder with the gel to make it thick enough to build. It also greatly slows that heat spike too :-)
It cuts down application time because you can apply it heavier and not have to repeat the layering to build.
Applies like gel, workable like a super think builder, acrylic adds strength but maintains the poly flexibility, easy to file and ODORLESS !!

[wendynailart]

I sent you a brush too. As soon as I am done applying the Linkage I clean it in acetone. I keep a liquid pump full of acetone and clean it immediately and wipe it on a paper towel (Viva)
My acrylic is Poly Pure Powders and yes Linkage works great with it. Since the Gel and Powders are both "Poly" products I have been mixing the powder with the gel to make it thick enough to build. It also greatly slows that heat spike too :-)
It cuts down application time because you can apply it heavier and not have to repeat the layering to build.
Applies like gel, workable like a super think builder, acrylic adds strength but maintains the poly flexibility, easy to file and ODORLESS !!

do you mean you mix some powder into the gel? then shape with the brush and cure?
that is interesting....
is there a ratio? any difference in cure time?

I was thinking I did not see a "sample" acrylic kit, but... there might have been... had a sample gel in it?

[[email protected] USA]

YES !!! You can mix it as thick as you want to. The cure time is the same because the acrylic powder is transparent. They are both "poly" products so they blend together and maintain the gels flexibility.
I make a pretty thick paste. My chemist says it will work no matter what consistency you make.
I don't know how the gel will blend or react with other powders. The TEN powder is a poly pure powder and the chemist says that is why they work together like they do.

[[email protected] USA]

I have some new cotton swabs ordered and should have them any day now. For those of you that prefer the cotton swabs, please email me !! The cotton on these is much smaller and pointed at the end. Those big swabs waste too much product. You use up the whole bottle of Linkage but you are throwing away more in than you are using in that big ole ball of cotton.
I will send samples out to those of you that like the swabs.

[email protected]

[wendynailart]

I have some new cotton swabs ordered and should have them any day now. For those of you that prefer the cotton swabs, please email me !! The cotton on these is much smaller and pointed at the end. Those big swabs waste too much product. You use up the whole bottle of Linkage but you are throwing away more in than you are using in that big ole ball of cotton.
I will send samples out to those of you that like the swabs.

[email protected]

Homemade swabs

I agree, even at this size, there is a lot of waste. The end of the last bottle thickened before emptied, about 1/8 inch left.
not sure why it won't show pic.....


http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh114...CN8315.jpg

---

I sent you a brush too. As soon as I am done applying the Linkage I clean it in acetone. I keep a liquid pump full of acetone and clean it immediately and wipe it on a paper towel (Viva)
My acrylic is Poly Pure Powders and yes Linkage works great with it. Since the Gel and Powders are both "Poly" products I have been mixing the powder with the gel to make it thick enough to build. It also greatly slows that heat spike too :-)
It cuts down application time because you can apply it heavier and not have to repeat the layering to build.
Applies like gel, workable like a super think builder, acrylic adds strength but maintains the poly flexibility, easy to file and ODORLESS !!

Brush use... will one filling of the brush do both hands? cleaning with acetone... clean and reuse immediately?

received all, thank you...

I found the gel cure time...

[you'vegotnail!]

I love these dental micro-applicators for applying E-Link/Linkage. Granted I use 4 or 5 per service but that's a heck of a lot cheaper than having to toss a half bottle of product. I'm able to use every drop with these. There's a ton of different eBay sellers who sell them so shop around for your best price. The ones I get are the regular ones.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dental-Disposabl...3cbc4679af

[[email protected] USA]

The Linkage brushes have very short bristles and I dip into the product for each nail. The brush does not hold so much Linkage that it floods the nail. For a fill it's just the right amount with out flooding but for a new set I may dip into the Linkage more than once to get good coverage. So no wasted Linkage !!!

I apply to all ten nails with the Linage brush and immediately clean it in acetone.

The new swabs I have found look just about like the home made ones. I just got them Thurs. and have used them on one client but one swab held up for all ten nails and the Linkage went on very nicely.

I tried the dental swabs and they seem to break down in the Linkage and I was afraid it might contaminate the Linkage.

I have 100 of them. Email me and I will send samples of 10 as long as I have them.
[email protected]

[you'vegotnail!]

I haven't had a problem with the dental swabs breaking down in the E-Link/Linkage. I dip them in for less than a second then apply to 2 or 3 nails and toss them out. I never redip!

[GwenRowan]

Shannon, sorry you had problems with the Linkage and I totally understand about the cost. In these times you've got to watch every penny. The brush issue is the main reason I stress to to anyone interested to use the swabs instead. I'll use most of the bottle before I throw out the last 1/4" when I use swabs. I've found if I keep using Linkage past this point, I'll start getting lifting since the primer is pretty contaminated by this time and it's started to thicken.

curious... using a new Q-tip each time... contaminated by air? or the Q-tip material?

I've been "rolling my own", smaller Q-tips... takes some time but, rolling them very tight... I can really squeeze the Linkage into the nail...less waste...
I'd experimented with using some teflon tape around the threads... seems to seal tighter...

---

I've been using Linkage faithfully for about 2 years, now and can usually get a full 3 weeks of clients from one bottle. The first new style bottle I used was gone and halfway dried up in a little over a week. I use the brush as I don't like using the swab.

I figured out that the brush that was provided with the new style bottle was too big and too long. It not only flooded the client's nail plate with too much Linkage but it seemed as if it sort of pushed too much air back into the bottle.

So, I still use the brush provided but I cut the length off so it's only about 1/4" long. I know it doesn't reach to the bottom of the bottle but I can sort of tip the bottle to the side and get the product up to the brush. This way I've been able to use just about all the Linkage! I'm on my 3rd bottle that I've done it this way and so far so good! I haven't spilled any so far!

Plus, I like the way the shorter brush kind of lets me "scrub" the Linkage into the nail and right up to the cuticle without actually touching the skin. The bigger brush was really getting the product all over and the longer I left the brush outside the bottle to wipe off the product, the faster it was going to dry up.

I contacted Brenda about the problem I was having and I was basically told the bottle and brush is how it's going to be so I decided to do what I had to do to make it work. I love Linkage and don't ever want to change products! It's totally changed my nail business by preventing lifting on all my clients and shortening my service times. I'm hoping to find another bottle that I can transfer the Linkage in so I can get the brush to reach the bottom but in the meantime, how I'm doing it works just fine!

I purchases some solvent brushes, a pack cheaply... cut them to desired size, thought it would reduce contamination because I could really soak and clean them, not have to clean immediately and re dip.... (cut the bottle brush off)... might work for the size issue...

product contaminated anyway... but not as fast as the bottle brush, now using swabs... (after some time of experimenting with various natural and unnatural bushes)

---

Here's the problem with Linkage when you talk of storing some other bottles....it's exposure to air that activates it. So when you transfer it to another bottle that's not full, then it has air trapped in the bottle with the Linkage. I've left work on Friday with a quarter of a bottle left, thinking I'd have enough to get me thru til my next one arrived, only to come in on Tuesday and it's all gone! (I might not have had the lid screwed on tight enough, too :oops: )

If I were going to transfer some to another container I'd use somethng you can get the air out of. What comes to my mind is the small pinch seal bags that tips come in. You can pour some in it, make sure the air is out, seal it, and store it in a dark place.

agree, I tried putting it in very small bottles, thinking... use up small bottle, then open the next so... less exposure to air.. etc.
didn't really work, possibly, caps not fit enough for product... some bottles stayed fresh, several never opened, set up and, impossible to clean.... end of experiment....