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Remember when a red manicure meant being on constant chip patrol? How about pulling on jeans and realizing your quick-dry topcoat wasn’t so quick (or dry) at all? Or digging in your bag for the car keys and smudging a fresh salon mani? Been there! New manicure options make salon and DIY nails totally stress-free with longer-lasting color, healthier application and removal, and a wider range of updated shades — from classic to trendy — to choose from. Here’s how to nail it, hands down, if you’re:
1. Finally trying salon gel manicures.
Thinking about switching from regular polish to a gel manicure for the first time? Let’s be realistic: Low-maintenance color and shine that’ll look flawless every day and last two weeks is hard to resist. Applied just like regular polish over a base coat, the polish is hardened, or in salon language “cured,” under a UV lamp between coats and after the topcoat. Gel has extra-strong adherence and sticks like glue to the nail bed, thanks to helpful polymers in the formulas. While a regular salon mani is about $20, a gel mani can be $25 to $50, plus polish removal that runs about $10 to $20. Prices vary depending on the salon and location. One caveat: Gel removal must be done at the salon.
- Say no to any pressure by salons to use a nail drill to speed the process, and never resort to DIY picking and peeling! It will make your nails weaker.
- Ask the nail tech to use a soak-off gel formula in the first place, to make polish removal easier. This is done safely by applying acetone-soaked cotton balls to each nail and wrapping the aluminum foil for 10 minutes.
Not every manicure has to be a gel. You might save this splurge for special weeks and events like an upcoming summer wedding or a vacation.
2. Not sure whether to choose gel, Shellac or dip powder.
The menu of salon nail options for extended color and shine can be confusing. Shellac — which is often referred to as a gel — is a trademarked hybrid of regular polish and gel. Gel manicures, which are pure gel, last longer, but Shellac soaks off more easily. Dip-powder manicures are even pricier — $30 to $70 — but they last longer (often four weeks) and require no use of UV rays. In this process, the nail tech dunks each nail in pigmented powder that is then sealed with an activator and air-dried; it is removed with acetone-soaked cotton balls, like gel. However, for hygiene’s sake, ask the nail tech to sprinkle dip powder over your nails, or opt for a single-use pot instead of dipping your fingers into a communal powder pot used by other clients.
Gel, Shellac and dip-powder manicures all give you chip-free long-wear color. Gel and Shellac manicures require a UV light to set (and some experts link UV lamps to skin cancer); dip powder does not. Make sure to wear protective gloves for dishwashing or household chores, and be aware that long soaks in a hot tub or even a steamy bath or shower habit can shorten the life of your polish.
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