Gel Manicure

[MaryAnnDVC]

What has been your experience with gel manicures?

I went for a manicure Christmas Eve and the manicurist suggested using gel polish. ($10 more.) Said it lasted two weeks, and another customer raved about it. So I went with it.

I get manicures to keep my nails/cuticles in shape. I never count on them looking nicely polished for long, because they start chipping day 2. So I thought this would be nice.

Since having it done, I looked online and see that it can be extremely difficult to get off...that it might be necessary to have the nail salon take it off, possibly needing to file or scrape it off, and for a price. (No one at the salon mentioned anything about how to take it off, so it never occurred to me it would be any different than other nail polish.) I really don't want to do any damage to my nails.

I also read that the UV light they use can be "dangerous" (skin cancer) which I'm assuming is if you get them done regularly. And that the amount of time actually under the UV light should be limited, which they did not do. Basically, while one hand was being worked on, my other hand was under the UV light.

The brand they used is this:

I picked a shimmery gold, which is basically clear/skin colored with subtle shimmer, so it doesn't show up much, which is good because I may just let it grow out.

Other than all that, I really love that it still looks so nice. With regular nail polish, I would have taken the polish off by now.

 

[joviroxx]

I dont use gelish but have been getting Shellac manicures for about 6 months and love love love them! Yes, they are more expensive but they last. I had stopped getting manicures because they only lasted , if I was lucky, 3 days. Now, I have great looking nails for 2 weeks at a time without having to worry about water, dishes, etc...

The only thing I have found is that it tends to dry out your nails but my manicurist told me to put cuticle oil on every night and that has fixed that issue.

I don't take it off myself, I have it taken off when I get it reapplied. Taking it off does not damage your nail if you have a tech that knows what they are doing. It is more of a process and I do pay extra for taking it off but, for me, its worth it.

 

[3smithboys]

I have gotten gel nails a few times and really like them. You can take them off yourself by soaking a cotton ball in nail polish remover and holding it on the gel nail to loosen it. (By the end of the 2 weeks they will be falling off anyway!) The only issue I found with them was that if I kept on getting them over and over, I found that my nails started to get weaker, so now I just get them for special occasions or just once in a while. I do love the way they look and how long they last! I also love how they don't chip and that when I walk out of the salon I don't have to worry about messing them up, which I always seem to do after a regular manicure!!!

 

[MickeySP]

I do them in the summer when I do a French but for color I just go regular.

 

[karice2]

I have gotten gel nails a few times and really like them. You can take them off yourself by soaking a cotton ball in nail polish remover and holding it on the gel nail to loosen it. (By the end of the 2 weeks they will be falling off anyway!) The only issue I found with them was that if I kept on getting them over and over, I found that my nails started to get weaker, so now I just get them for special occasions or just once in a while. I do love the way they look and how long they last! I also love how they don't chip and that when I walk out of the salon I don't have to worry about messing them up, which I always seem to do after a regular manicure!!!

I think OP was talking about a new process that is not the gel nails but a polish that has the properties of gel nails but not all the work and damage.I have used the gel manicure and love it. When they start to chip, I just peel it off.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I dont use gelish but have been getting Shellac manicures for about 6 months and love love love them!

That's a different product/process, isn't it?

I think OP was talking about a new process that is not the gel nails but a polish that has the properties of gel nails but not all the work and damage.I have used the gel manicure and love it. When they start to chip, I just peel it off.

Thanks...I was just about to ask if she was talking about gel polish or gel nails. Yes, I was talking about the gel polish.

It just peels off? That would be good.

I don't know if I'd keep up getting them every time, but definitely for a vacation! Or even being able to get a manicure that will last before an event days before the event. I usually go the day of, or the day before (like Christmas Eve day, when I really had other things to be doing), and sometimes bring my own color so I can touch up.

 

[3smithboys]

I think OP was talking about a new process that is not the gel nails but a polish that has the properties of gel nails but not all the work and damage.I have used the gel manicure and love it. When they start to chip, I just peel it off.

The kind I get is a polish....is there another kind??? It was a polish that goes under a UV light to harden... I thought that is what she was talking about. I got that kind, but not the brand that she was talking about...

 

[disneymom2evie]

I had the gel polish put on the day before we left for Disney and it stayed on great. The polish was a little messed up because I can't put my hand on all kinds of crazy positions to make my nails dry evenly. I came back from Disney early November (the 10th I think?) and maybe 2 weeks ago my polish finally started to peel off. My nails looks pretty terrible after, but two days of lotioning and moisturizing made them all new again. The product my salon used was called Axiom (which I laughed at and asked for Wall E and Eva, but it fell on deaf ears). Probably will not get it done again. Maybe next time I'm going for a week at the beach or something, but not just to have pretty fingers to run around town.

 

[woodkins]

I have gotten gel nails a few times and really like them. You can take them off yourself by soaking a cotton ball in nail polish remover and holding it on the gel nail to loosen it. (By the end of the 2 weeks they will be falling off anyway!) The only issue I found with them was that if I kept on getting them over and over, I found that my nails started to get weaker, so now I just get them for special occasions or just once in a while. I do love the way they look and how long they last! I also love how they don't chip and that when I walk out of the salon I don't have to worry about messing them up, which I always seem to do after a regular manicure!!!

Gelish & Shellac are NOT Gel Nails, they are a hybrid polish that has gel in it which makes the manicure last longer. It is a completely different thing.

I think OP was talking about a new process that is not the gel nails but a polish that has the properties of gel nails but not all the work and damage.I have used the gel manicure and love it. When they start to chip, I just peel it off.

Do NOT peel it off, it will peel your nail off. You can get it removed at the salon (my salon removes it for free if you got it done there or for $5 if you got it done elsewhere). If you want to remove it yourself it is super duper easy. Get pure acetone polish remover (not the non-acetone kind). Soak a cotton pad or ball in the acetone and put it on your nail. Wrap the fingertip/nail in aluminum foil and let it sit for about 10 mins. After your remove the pad the polish will have literally lifted off the nail. I use an orange stick to remove any residue or scrape off any bits that didn't pop off.

I only do shellac or gelish manicures now and they last at least 2-3 weeks for me, usually I end up removing it at 2.5 wks due to my nails growing out. I had mine done for our last trip to WDW in Sept and it lasted through swimming, hot tubs and water parks for over 2 weeks.

 

[3smithboys]

Gelish & Shellac are NOT Gel Nails, they are a hybrid polish that has gel in it which makes the manicure last longer. It is a completely different thing.

Oh, ok....then I have not gotten gel nails.... I have gotten the gel polish...and this is what I really loved!!! Thanks for the clarification!!!!

 

[joviroxx]

I think OP was talking about a new process that is not the gel nails but a polish that has the properties of gel nails but not all the work and damage.I have used the gel manicure and love it. When they start to chip, I just peel it off.

Yep, like others answered before me (LOL), shellac is a polish hybrid NOT gel nails, just another brand.

Havent tried the gelish, but am interested to see what colors they have but my salon doesnt carry them..

 

[DVCJones]

I loved my shellac manicure so much, that I bought myself a UV light on ebay and I get my shellac polish from my friend who owns a salon and I do it myself now.

The polish is easy to get off. I saturate make-up pads (cut into 4) with 100% acetone and lay then on each nail and wrap with foil. I let it sit for 10 minutes and presto it comes off easily.

If you are concerned about the UV exposure you can put SPF 30 on your hands. just make sure your nails are cleaned with 99% rubbing alcohol before applying the polish.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I loved my shellac manicure so much, that I bought myself a UV light on ebay and I get my shellac polish from my friend who owns a salon and I do it myself now.

The polish is easy to get off. I saturate make-up pads (cut into 4) with 100% acetone and lay then on each nail and wrap with foil. I let it sit for 10 minutes and presto it comes off easily.

If you are concerned about the UV exposure you can put SPF 30 on your hands. just make sure your nails are cleaned with 99% rubbing alcohol before applying the polish.

Now that you mention about the sunscreen, I do recall reading that and I'll do it next time. I still won't get them done on a regular basis tho. Not too thrilled about the acetone exposure either, but don't have enough information right now about it...if it's something to seriously avoid or what? For now, I'm just curious to see what happens...if they start chipping, peeling off on their own, or what.

Also, I read that they can use LED light instead of UV, and it actually takes LESS time under it to cure each step??

What's the difference between the gel manicure and the shellac manicure??

 

[DVCJones]

Nothing really. Just different names for the brands of gel polish. Gelish, Shellac and OPI makes one too.

But, there is are gel nails out there similar to acrylic nails. This is when you need to go back to the salon for a "fill" to fill in the growth. Gel polish is something different.

 

[okeydokey]

I got the Shellac stuff on Amazon and did my first manicure a couple of days ago. I love that you don't have to drill down the natural nail before using this product, and so far it has stayed super hard and shiny!

 

[golfgal]

Would this be a good option for someone, me, that has super brittle nails that tear and rip constantly??

 

[woodkins]

Yep, like others answered before me (LOL), shellac is a polish hybrid NOT gel nails, just another brand.

Havent tried the gelish, but am interested to see what colors they have but my salon doesnt carry them..

Gelish has ALOT more colors than the CND Shellac brand. You can also layer different colors of shellac in order to create new shades. I personally would stay away from the OPI Axxiom brand, many people I know have not had great experiences with its wear and the removal is not very user friendly.

 

[kendall]

Would this be a good option for someone, me, that has super brittle nails that tear and rip constantly??

Absolutely!

I used the gelish polish in mid-November - lasted 2.5 weeks before some polish showed signs of peeling. Manicure mid-December with gelish again - lasting great through the holidays. I love the durability of the gelish polish. I especially like how the polish is hard immediately - no danger of messing up the polish. I don't know if I will use the gelish all the time - I do worry about maintaining the strength of the natural nail so will have to do more reading on that.

 

[Kteacher]

I've been getting Shellac manicures since January and love them. My nails were never long, and would always break or split because my hands are constantly in water due to handwashing at my f/t job, and using my nails as tools at my p/t job (I know bad, but necessary when doing watch repairs/adjustments).
I love Shellac- there's no drying time, no chipping, and my nails have never looked better. The longest the manicure has lasted is 4 weeks, but I usually go every 2-3 weeks. There are lots of color choices because you can layer colors. The salon I go to charges 36.00, and that includes removal.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I have just started using shellac and LOVE it. My nails were splitting and catching on everything. It doesn't show through the shellac and they feel stronger. I only pay 26.00 here in Denver. Mine last 3 weeks and could last longer but once I see them starting to grow out I begin to "pick". I just read last night on another site to use sunscreen and I love the idea.