You probably have already heard or tried the new way of getting a manicure that last two weeks. Most of the salons in New York City offer the Gel Manicure – a semi-permanent nail color which is applied as a regular nail polish, but then is dried under the UV or LED light and Voilà! – your nails are pretty and shiny for a whole two weeks! There are however, some downsides to the miracle manicure. First, that if done wrong it may damage your nails. And if you ever gotten a manicure at a salon, you might have been as unlucky as me and had your nails over-polished to paper-thin. Another problem is that it can come costly. The average price for the Gel Manicure is around $35 plus the tip and the tax, and you are looking at $90 or more a month just for the manicure!
I have been getting the Gel Manicures for about two years now, and about a year ago I have decided that it is definitely not worth braking the bank. At about same time pharmacies introduced gel manicure sets. So I have decided to try it out. The gel polish bottle by Sally Hansen cost around $15 plus the base and the top coats which are at the same price per bottle. The LED machine by Red Carpet Manicure, which promised to dry your nails in 30 seconds cost $49. To my surprise, I did a pretty good job applying it, however two days later the polish started peeling off and had some discoloration. I have returned the Sally Hansen bottles back to the pharmacy and went online to look for gel colors of a better quality. Amazon was filled with products that promised great quality with prices varying from $3 to $20 per bottle. I found a brand called nailUV, which was priced at $7 and had a started kit of base and top coat for $10. It had plenty of positive reviews and offered free shipping. Believe it or not these gel colors were amazing. I use them ever since and am very happy with the quality.
Now I just want to talk a bit about some techniques I have learned while doing the manicure myself. First, the nails should be lightly buffed prior to application. After the buffing it is best to wipe the nails with acetone to remove all the oils. Then, the “Bonder” coat needs to be applied, it is a sheer liquid that prepares your nail and makes the gel stick to the surface. Then a coat of base should be applied (nailUV had a top and base coat in one), after applying the top coat nails should be placed under the UV of LED lamp and dried for either 2 minutes (UV) or 30 seconds (LED). After that, two or three coats of color should be applied, followed by the top coat. After each application the nails should be placed under the UV or LED lamp. After the top coat has dried the nails should be wiped with acetone to remove the excess gel. Please note that when applying the gel color and/or the top coat it is important to apply a very thin layer, because the gel is very runny and can be a mess if applied in excess.
These are pictures of my nails with the Gel Color. The trick I have learned because of my need for a constant change is to use regular nail polish when you wish to change the color. If you use lighter gel color for your manicure you can always paint over it with a regular darker-color nail polish and it will last about a week. This will not ruin your gel color, and could be removed at any time with a regular nail polish remover. I usually put on a neutral nude as a gel color and then just re-paint the nails with regular nail polish every week!
When you are ready to remove the gel color, you can simply buff the color off until its gone with a rough buffer first, and then with the more gentle one. You don’t have to completely remove the gel from your nails if you are just changing colors, the bonder and base coat could be applied on a buffed gel as well.
The next time you are thinking to go to a nail salon, think about the fun you would have by doing the nails yourself and the money you could save!
