December 10, 2024

Every lady wants beautiful hands and nails. Little wonder they’re willing to part a few bucks for manicures. Gel nail polish is an aesthetic that has come to stay. It’s the latest trend in the nail industry.

Gel manicure

Getting your nails done is a form of self-care recommended by therapists. A little nail art and color can boost your confidence and enliven your mood. You should stop by a nail salon to do your manicure. Want to know more about gel manicure? Read on to get some insight about it. Let’s dive in!

What’s A Gel Manicure?

Gel manicure makes use of a soft gel as an overlay on the nails. Like regular manicure, gel manicure involves the cutting, filing, and shaping of nails. The nail care service employs the use of gel-based polish and UV rays or LED light to fasten polish to nails for a long time. Unlike regular polish, which chip away within two to three days, gel nail polish colors is long-lasting, sturdy, and chip-free. Regardless of your nail type, you can get a gel manicure. Do you have short or long nails? No worries! You’re covered.

How Is It Done?

Like the traditional manicure, gel manicure begins with cutting the nails and soaking them lightly for a while. The cuticles are then trimmed and the hands thoroughly cleaned. Following hand cleaning is polishing. The nails are coated with a base layer before applying the gel, which is usually dried by UV light. After coating the nails, the hands are placed under the UV light for 30 seconds to complete the finishing process.

How Long Does Gel Manicure Last?

An advantage of a gel manicure is its durability. Typically, it can last for 2-3 weeks without any fear of chipping or breaking. While it’s durable, maintenance and care are a determining factor in how long it will last. Due to natural nail growth, wear and tear, it’s not ideal for the manicure to stay beyond the specified period. Though gel polish lasts longer than traditional lacquer, the painting process plays a huge role in the staying power. Ensure nail beds are dry before applying polish. Clean off water, lotion, and oils before applying gel polish. Chipping and broken nails can occur during a gel manicure. Make sure you have a nail file at hand to remove unwanted nails.

Is Gel Manicure Harmful?

We earlier stated that gel nail polish is cured under UV light. Due to this curing process, there’s a misconception that gel manicure damages the nails. While there are speculations that UV light can promote the growth of cancerous cells, they’ve been dismissed by other studies.

Gel manicures aren’t harmful, except they aren’t done well. If the nails aren’t adequately prepared for the process, and the gel nail polish isn’t applied or removed correctly, it can be pretty damaging. Carefully remove the polish when it has overstayed or look for a nail technician or manicurist to help with the gel removal. Nail experts recommend the application of cuticle oil before visiting the nail salon. The oil hydrates and keep your nail beds and plates healthy.

How Do You Safely Remove Gel Manicures?

Are you removing the gel polish by yourself? Ask your nail technician about the type of gel applied to aid removal. For example, soft gels are initially soaked before removing them, and hard gels are filed before soaking. There’s no one-size-fits-all for gel removal; hence you should know the brand and type of gel nail polish applied on your nails. Below are tips that will help you with getting off the gels:

  • Immerse cotton balls in acetone and cover each nail with it.
  • Allow it to stay for 10-15 minutes. 
  • After a while, you’ll notice that the gels are sliding off all by themselves without scraping or filing.
  • You can decide to try the following procedure:
  • File your nails to remove the seal of the topcoat.
  • Saturate the nails in acetone for at least three minutes.
  • Using a wood stick cuticle pusher, gently scrape off the gel.
  • After scraping, buff your nails in a gentle manner.
  • Daub your nails with cuticle oil, hand and nail cream.

How Do You Choose The Right Gel Nail Polish?

Have you decided to get gel nails? Ensure you opt for the right polish. A good polish gives you that youthful look and improves your nails’ health. Ensure you check the composition of polish before using it on your nails. Make sure it doesn’t contain these compounds – Dibutyl Phthalate, Toluene, and Formaldehyde. These compounds are quite toxic and carcinogenic, causing skin cancer and damage to your nails.

Conclusion

Now you have an in-depth understanding of gel manicures, how they’re done, how to remove gel polish nails, and the likes. Guess you want a manicure that’s long-lasting, durable, crisp, and done within a short time. Get a gel manicure today!