Hottest New Trend for Nails: Gel Polish

A manicure that lasts for two weeks without chipping?  Sounds like a miracle but it is a reality!  Soak-off UV gel nail polish is becoming a huge trend in manicures.  Love to get manicures but tired of your polish chipping after just a couple of days?  This is the solution.  The gel polish has the long wear of an acrylic nail without damaging your natural nails.


So what exactly is soak-off gel polish?
If you're not familiar with the gel nail craze, it's much different than your run of the mill manicure.  Thin layers of colored gel are painted onto natural nails with a brush.  Some brands come in a bottle that looks very similar to regular nail polish, and have their own brush built into the top.  Others come in small pots and are applied with a separate brush.  Each layer of the gel (including a base coat and top coat) is cured under a UV light.  The great thing about the gel polish is that after just a couple minutes of curing the last layer under the UV light your nails are completely dry...I'm talking rummage around your purse looking for your keys and no smudges or chips! 
Another benefit you can't forget is the the gel polish truly lasts 2-3 weeks without chipping.  The only draw back to this is that with darker colors you can notice where the gels are growing out at the nail base, but a lighter shade makes this less obvious.
Unlike acrylic nails you don't have to drill or file down your natural nails.  This saves your nails from a lot of damage.
Also what's pretty genius about the gel nails is that you can paint right over them with regular nail polish if you want to change the color for a couple of days.  Amazingly, you can remove the nail polish with a non-acetone polish remover and the gel color is still in tact underneath!

Ok so I'm sure you've been wondering how expensive this type of manicure costs.  The price is a little steeper than the traditional manicure, it goes for anywhere from $28-$40.  But it also lasts two to three times longer than a regular manicure.  
The removal of the gel polish is a little more difficult than traditional polish.  There are a two removal methods.  You can soak your nails in acetone for about 10-20 minutes and then the gel dissolves and can be easily peeled off.  Or you can soak cotton in acetone and place it on your nails and then wrap each finger in foil.  After about 10-15 minutes the gel should easily peel off.


There are many brands that make gel nail polishes now.  It seems that the most popular gels are OPI Axxium soak-off gel lacquer, CND Shellac, Calgel, and Dashing Diva Gelife, but there are many more brands out there as well.  

OPI Axxium comes in 26 shades based on the existing OPI polish shades we all know and love.  Calgel is available in over 80 shades, including some glitters and nail art colors.   Right now both CND Shellac and  Gelife have limited shades but more are being released soon. The great thing about the gel colors is that they can be mixed and blended together to make new colors.  If you feel that a color is too dark, the nail tech can add a little bit of white gel to it to lighten the shade for you.  That is something that can't really be done with regular nail polish.
So next time you go for a manicure try a gel polish, you may be pleasantly surprised!
Lash L'Amour is currently offering gel manicures.  Come try it out while having luscious lash extensions applied!


Lash L'Amour
55 Langley Road
Newton Center, MA 02459
617-916-1209
www.lashlamour.com
contact@lashlamour.com