"Safe" Brand Promotes Speedrunning Gel Allergies... Then Doubles Down and Threatens Me

[00:00:00]I fully expect a seasoned assist in my inbox by the end of the week, but I'm going to say it anyway because a $20 a bottle hypoallergenic safe brand that can't be bothered to understand basic polymer chemistry and then threatens a creator with copyright infringement for calling out unsafe advertising has no business calling themselves professionals. I said what I said and chemist Doug Shun has said the same thing countless times. It is actually insane to me that in the exact same week, an overseas company with $2 gel polish reached out to me for safety advice, while a $20 bottle US company that builds its entire identity on being safe pulls this. Are we in the Twilight Zone? It's a mess. So, let's get into it.

[00:00:47]For anyone new here, let me give you a crumb of context. American Creator is, per their own website, a US-made hypoallergenic brand primarily focused on builder gels with safe ingredients.

[00:00:58]When I looked at their SDS sheets, I was genuinely excited about trying them this fall to provide my allergic audience with another solid option. Made in the USA, and they had a seemingly decent formulation and care for allergy awareness. I had every reason to like this brand. That is until this video crossed my feed. I made a quick short about it simply stating that I was disappointed to see a brand that I wanted to try promoting such a very obviously unsafe practice. Dozens of nail professionals chimed in my comments expressing the exact same disappointment. Now, I'm not telling American Creator how to run their business, but here's how a reputable brand would have handled it. Hey, we're sorry. We're not sure how this slipped past review, but we don't support unsafe practices. So, we are taking the video down and clarifying that opaque gels should never be used under dual forms.

[00:01:43]It's that simple. So, what they did instead absolutely blew my mind. Let's go through this atrocious response together because unfortunately for American Creator, I will not be bullied by empty threats. First off, it is a basic rule of social media that when someone offers a valid critique of your brand, you don't respond by threatening copyright infringement. That has worked for exactly zero brands in the history of the internet. But I digress because I'm not here to train their social media manager. Hi, confident opinions are valuable only when they're supported by facts. I say the same exact thing to you. Where is the evidence that this is safely curing? You don't even sell your own lamp. So, how are you making a blanket statement that this is safe in any lamp? Now, that's a liability nightmare. It is a well-known fact in polymer science that you never layer opaque, heavily pigmented gels with builder gel inside a dual form for the exact same reason that you don't glue an opaque press on with UV gel. It is one of the most fundamental rules of safe gel use. In fact, your own video demonstrates that the gel doesn't cure.

[00:02:44]You then proceed to do nothing differently other than flash curing the pink inside the form first. What is your scientific explanation that it magically cured the second time? Let's continue.

[00:02:53]At American Creator, every educational video is created and reviewed by experienced nail professionals. We don't publish techniques for views or engagement. We publish them because they have been tested with our products and proven to work when performed correctly.

[00:03:08]Proven by who? and tested by what? None of your employed nail professionals told you about one of the most basic rules of polymer science. There are at least 50 licensed working professionals in my comments right now who are also appalled by your video because they know it's unsafe. Maybe try hiring one of them instead. The method shown in our video applies only to the American creator system. We cannot comment on results achieved by combining products from different brands as every formulation behaves differently.

[00:03:37]What system? A gel system requires a compatible curing source. I scoured your website. Where is the American Creator lamp? You tell customers on your site to cure in any LED hybrid lamp for at least 30 seconds. And you don't provide any lamp recommendations that you have tested with your gels. So, if this method is tested as you say, why not just tell us which lamp was used so that your customers can use your gels safely?

[00:04:04]or are you telling us this technique is safe using a $10 sun UV lamp? No one asked you to comment on mixing brands, so that's irrelevant. Unless you've somehow reinvented the laws of physics, no gel formula can bypass light attenuation through heavy pigment. I would love to know what makes your gel so magical that it can safely cure where others can't. Our video doesn't stop at showing the technique. It ends by opening the enhancement with an e file to verify that the product is fully cured. An e file carving into a gel proves it's structurally hard. It does not prove safe polymerization. Gels feel and act completely cured at only 50%. I guess your employed professionals neglected to mention that also before publicly claiming that a technique is incorrect. We encourage testing it exactly as demonstrated. No thanks. I don't want to give myself a reaction.

[00:04:55]using the same products or simply reaching out to us. We are always happy to explain our methods and answer technical questions. Y'all cannot be serious. How am I supposed to replicate these results when we don't even know what lamp you used? What scientific testing do you have to back up these bold claims that your gel safely cures at any opacity in any lamp? If you have differential photoc calorimetry results that prove over 80% polymerization, by all means, I will gladly eat my words and promote your gels as the safest on earth that magically cure at any thickness with any lamp and with any pigment on top of it. Our educational content is created in response to the questions we receive daily from nail artists. Literally, who asked y'all for a tutorial on speedrunning an acryate allergy? American Creator attorneys.

[00:05:48]That was a joke. Our goal is to provide accurate, safe, and evidence-based education, not speculation. Speculation is the only thing you've provided thus far. But, okay, here comes the best part. P.S., we also noticed that our video was republished on your channel without our permission. Please keep copyright regulations in mind when using our content. Hey, so please keep the Fair Use Act in mind when threatening a creator for critiquing your marketing.

[00:06:12]Do you know how many brands have tried to copyright strike creators for valid criticism? Want to guess how many times it worked and didn't make things exponentially worse for the brand? Under fair use, using video clips for the purpose of criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, and educational review is explicitly protected.

[00:06:27]Commentary that critique safety hazards and public educational content is textbook fair use. I genuinely do not understand how some brands stay in business with how they conduct themselves. If I were in their shoes, I would have immediately apologized, removed the video, and pledged better education. I don't know what echo chamber they've created where not a single professional in the company will tell them that this is a terrible look.

[00:06:46]So, I'll tell you for free. This is a terrible look. My goal is and always will be the education of the people consuming these products, especially products that are so heavily marketed as safe. But the more I looked, the worse it got. This isn't even the first time.

[00:07:00]They show gel on the skin, building out links without forms and using even darker colors for this technique. Even people in their own comments are telling them it's unsafe. Just because a product claims to be hypoallergenic does not mean it's safe to undercure or get on the skin. Now I see why they couldn't say the videos would do not represent the brand and what they stand for because it apparently is quite representative of the type of advertisement that they typically put out there. I want to end by speaking directly to my audience. No matter what any brand or marketing campaign tells you, no gel is safe when undercured and no gel will safely cure when piled onto a form with opaque colors. This is why the right education is so important to get out there and spread the message and why I talk about it when reputable and professional companies put out content like this that people who don't know better will blindly trust. And to American creator, I sincerely hope you reflect on this and commit to better education. I highly suggest getting in touch with polymer chemist Doug Shune if you want to hear everything I just said from the scientist who actually wrote the books on it. Better yet, you may even be able to find a tested matching lamp for your products. I know options for us allergic girlies are slim, but I don't care if this is the greatest gel on earth. I cannot support this attitude. My DMs are always open for a productive conversation because my goal is never to tear down brands. All I'm asking is that you're more cognizant of how you advertise what I'm sure are great and well- formulated products.

[00:08:17]Thanks for hanging out with me and I will see you in the next one.