Quote: Originally Posted by
Monika1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I've never tried them, and likely will not in the long-term future. Why? I have other polish that I want to use and enjoy the creative process of choosing my polish colours and creating interesting combinations myself. Also, it's valuable practice for dexterity and hand-eye coordination. I worry about the additional light required for curing and the extended effort and exposure required for their removal. Traveling to a salon on a regular basis, and the added expense, does not appeal to me.
On the other hand, women who love them are able to maintain a very sturdy mani for two weeks under harsher conditions.
If you are a person for whom many of the following are true:
- likes to visit a salon biweekly OR would prefer to invest in the supplies for gel yourself
- is comfortable with this biweekly expense OR investment into personal equipment
- wants hassle-free nails for two weeks at a stretch
- will commit to regular removal and re-application visits OR will deal with removal at home
- is comfortable with the grow-out you will see in week two OR will go more often to a salon for extended maintenance so grow-out isn't visible OR will personally maintain
- does not have much nail polish at home OR is comfortable not using it OR will use the gel as the base for other manis
- must have a more sturdy base for regular manis AND prefers not to use other alternatives
- has very soft breakable nails, where regular manis are not possible
- has a busy lifestyle where doing a mani at home will not work
- is comfortable with the salon environment, sanitation, and compounds used OR will do it at home, and is similarly comfortable with needed compounds
- enjoys the pampered feeling of aesthetic service
- wants to enjoy professional artistic skills
- has hands in the water a lot
- uses hands a lot, and generally breaks natural nails
it might be that gel nails would work for you. Good luck. I would maybe try them once if you're seriously considering, and then you will have the experience to judge whether it would be a good longer-term approach.
Look at that! It took me only three months to (kind of)
change my mind. The pros and cons are still listed above, but where I sit on the matter has moved. And the reality is that I can still use my regular polish, and do nail art, so no problem there. I might try doing the clear gel base with polish on top or the polish under with gel topcoat < thanks @sushiteaz in the future. I had been doing some reading about gel polish, LED/UV lights (comparatively little exposure, especially if you use sunscreen and/or gloves), and acetone removal (drying, yes; but not that bad if you moisturize and reduce the exposure by localizing it to the top of the nail...then again, some claim full-on bowl soaking is also totally fine), and was getting more excited about the pluses. And then I got a gel polish kit (Sally Hansen) as a gift. And I'm happy about it. I'm doing it at home and have still never been to the salon. It's really easy to do - or course I'll gradually develop better technique (any super youtube recs or articles for technique?), and figure out what strategies work best. The finish is really gorgeous. And I'm done and not-dentable faster! < Note I'm talking about gel polish. The kind that has nothing to do with the length of the nail or large-scale structure and is just a polish system with UV/LED cured base, polish, and topcoat that claims to last longer on the nail than regular polish, and does for most. It enhances the look and durability of the nail and polish but is not an 'enhancement'.
/emoticons/
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I'm currently experimenting with multiple approaches using regular nail polish in the mix, so it'll be interesting to see what works best for me.