“Would you have a regular polish or a gel polish, ma’am?” This is a common question you will hear every time you have your manicure or pedicure in a salon. Have you asked yourself, is it really worth the additional bucks you have to pay to have a gel polish? What does it benefit you to opt for having your nails covered with a gel polish? How does it differ from a regular polish?
What is Gel Polish?
A traditional nail polish or nail enamel is used to coat fingernails. Though they may cling to your nails for a few days, they may be easily removed using a nail polish remover or acetone. There are instances that this nail coating gets chipped or cracked even just after a few hours it has been placed on your nails. It is a good thing that there are alternative nail polish that remains glossy and may stay up to two weeks on your nails before you will need to have your nails done again. This type of nail enamel is called gel polish.
How Do Gel Polish Work?
Gel nails first appeared during the 1980‘s. However, it took a couple more decades before this alternative to traditional nail enamel became well accepted.A gel polish is made with photo-reactive ingredients and requires curing (drying) under a light-emitting diode (LED) or ultraviolet (UV) nail polish lamp. This curing process bonds the polish to the nail, allowing it to stick on it the nails up to fourteen days without affecting its color and shine. Just like a regular enamel polish, most gel nails are applied onto the fingernails with a base, color, and top coat. Each layer is applied and cured to a hard gel finish with a UV nail lamp, or a LED lamp. The process normally ends with an application of cuticle oil on the nails and fingers.
As it requires lesser time to have your nails coated with gel nail polish to dry, produce less the odor during application than traditional nail enamel, as well as stays radiantly shinier and longer on the nails, it took only a while before gel nails become a trend. There are different types of gel nails that you can have other than the lamp-cured gel manicures. Lamp-cured gel nails are commonly used in nail salons. The only drawback to having gel nails is a few more bucks that you have to shell out for the use of this nail paint.
Which Lamp Should You Choose?
Making sure that you use the right product for this application is a must to ensure that you would see the effect on your nails longer. The Gel II® Pro-Cure 2.0 will do the job for you safely and easily. You can cure all your five nails at the same time with this most advanced LED lamp from Gel II. This cordless LED lamp is made with an acetone proof housing, a mirrored interior for even light distribution, a rechargeable battery that can last for up to three hours or up to 40 manicures, an automatic digital timer with a motion sensor, a and safety auto off feature.
Is Gel Polish Safe with Natural Nails?
Absolutely. As the light emitted from the LED chip results to quick curing, exposure is, hence, minimal. Just like ordinary LED lights you have at home, these lights are also quite efficient in generating the light needed to bond the gel polish to the nails. As gels hold longer on your fingernails, you may need to have your nails chipped less frequently avoiding the possible damage to your nail cuticles and fingernails.
Top 5 Best Gel Polish
Still looking for the best gel polish? Here are 5 of our top picks:
DND Gel Polish
Choose your color from this list of luminous nail colors that not only applies quicker, feels thinner but also last longer. The DND gel polish is blended with essential vitamins that will help make your nails stronger, healthier, as well as radiantly stunning for weeks. Show off your style and your color with one of these gorgeous shades to fit the occasion or your temperament. There is an endless possibility with the wide range of options you have with the DND nail polish. Whether you are looking for bold colors or want to have tamer looking shades to coat your nails, you will find one that will best suit your taste from the hundreds of available options to choose from.
Kiara Sky Gel Polish
Enjoy a 30% discount when you purchase one of these gorgeous Kiara sky gel polish. You have the option to buy single products, order by the bulk or find one of the available packages from the collection and get an extra free gift with the purchase. With the Kiara sky gel polish, you get the stunning shine and lasting finish that will keep your nails looking perfectly polished for that date or formal occasion that you are planning to go to. Check out the fall collection and pick one that best suits your taste. Thirty seconds is all it takes to cure each coating under LED lamp or two minutes under UV lamp. You have hundreds of colors to choose from. Pick the ones that define who you are.
Gellen Gel Nail Polish Set
For some nude grays color set, check out Gellen gel nail polish set. You can have stunningly polished nails done in no time but will last longer than having your nails coated with a regular nail polish. It takes longer to cure each layer coated with this gel polish, however, the seller recommends, 30 seconds curing time for the base coat, 60 seconds for each coat of the gel polish, and another 60 seconds for the top coat. Make sure you apply each coating evenly and thinly, however. This product is made from natural resin and wears like gel. If you check reviews from previews customers, you will know why this is one of the bestsellers on Amazon for gel nail polish.
Coscelia 6 Pcs Gel Nail Polish
Here’s another set of light-colored gel nail polish that you may want to check out. The Coscelia six-piece gel nail polish coats and wears like gel, but can be easily removed in a few minutes. There is a wide range of color available to choose from, ranging from light to dark shades. Like any other gel polish, the Coscelia brand lasts from two to three weeks. It will keep your nails looking fantastic and shimmering longer. Curing time for each application is about 30-60 secs with LED lamps and about 2-4 under UV lamps.
Gellen UV Gel Nail Polish
Here’s another one from Gellen. Each purchase of this package includes six small bottles of GV UV gel nail polish of the colors of your choice, plus a bottle each of a top coat and a base coat. Color options are limited to pure colors only. You can check available colors for purchase on Amazon. Each pack sells for $19.99 with free shipping on orders over $25.
Gel Polish Is Easy to Remove?
You have finally decided which gel polish to have, but you are still wondering whether it is easy to remove. Well, this is the easiest way to remove gel polish from your fingernails. You will need some cotton or absorbent pad, acetone (nail polish remover), and some aluminum foil.
Place a fully soaked cotton on your fingernails. Then wrap the nail with the cotton or pad with foil and let it soak for about 30 minutes. Some nails may require lesser or longer time before the polish flakes off from your nails. Once the gel has finally lifted off from your nails, you need to re-hydrate your nails with some balm or cuticle oil. If there is still some residue on your nails, just wipe it clean with a round of cotton or a pad doused in acetone before rubbing on some cuticle oil.
If you want shinier nails with fab colors that won’t fade easily and won’t require you to visit a nail salon every week, you can try one of the gel polished we recommend. The additional cost that you may need to pay for a gel polish is paid back with the number of days it stays on your nails and the lasting gloss it offers. Go ahead, have that gel on your nails today.