UV Gel Polish Shellac Manicure - What is it ?

Ok. It goes by a lot of different names.


UV Polish
UV Light Cured Polish
Shellac (usually used by one company CND)
Lacquer UV Nail Polish
Gel Polish
UV Polish Manicure
and so on....


There are a TON of brands, some more chemical friendly than others.
CND Shallac, Gelish and LeChat are a little lighter in chemicals and no discernible difference in quality WHEN PROPERLY APPLIED AND CURED (more about this later).


Personally, I am a BIG fan of Le Chat because it seems to last the best for me, I LOVE the range of colors and best on all those 3, they are "3-Free" meaning free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates).
All things you DO NOT want (in addition to parabens) on or near your skin and being adsorbed by your body. They are known carcinogens and can cause cancer among other things and don't ask me to cite a source, but you can Google and read a lot if you're interested.


Some other brands may be 3-Free (and probably are, they are all moving towards 3-Free), but I haven't looked into that a lot just yet (but I will later for you), however, 


So what is it ?

• It IS a nail polish
• It is NOT fake gel or acrylic nails that are built with fake nails, then layers of smelly chemical acrylic or gel or silk or whatever else they market these days, then filed into shape with an electric drum file. Those need refills etc, Gel Polish doesn't... it is a Nail Polish, it's different.
• It's important to know that and it's the difference between an applied fake nail and a gel polish.
• UV Gel Polishes are ALWAYS in a non-transparent bottle. This is because UV rays harden (cure) them, so they are usually in opaque white, black or some other color bottle to be protected, thus you'll often be asked to choose your color from painted nail samples.

What make Gel Polish a big deal ?

It's a special kind of nail polish that is applied right onto NATURAL NAILS (and it doesn't harm them if applied correctly, although your natural nail will need to be "cleaned" first of all oils and lotions , then roughed a little bit so it grabs the base coat, but should never have too much roughing filing), then started with a clear base coat, then usually 2 coats of the polish color (and they can be different, like a light pink first coat and a glitter next coat) and finally a sealing top coat.

EACH COAT must be "Cured" coat, by coat. 

Curing is done in either a UV (2 minutes per coat) or LED (usually 30 seconds per coat), LAMP that you pop your hand into as you go, (which lamp used varies by salon and UV lamps are neither strong enough nor are you under it long enough to cause skin problems.. that's a myth, most are 36 watts minimum and that's perfectly sufficient and harmless for a UV Lamp).
A Lamp looks something like this (this is mine).. it's not hot or uncomfortable.

This curing sets and hardens each coat and the formula and when the last top coat has completed it's 2 mins under the lamp, your nails are spritzed with alchohol and rubbed with a lint free cloth to remove the "tackiness" of the final coat.

What you then have is an instantly dry, very hard, highly chip resistant, gorgeous glossy polished manicure that will last up to 3.5 weeks (average 2 and a few days) that is really, REALLY hard to chip or scratch.

It's also instantly dry and hard (but it's a flexible hard), so no more smudged manicure when you dive in your bag to pay the salon.

It also protects your nails underneath and lets them grow without splitting, tearing, breaking etc.

You can also paint over whatever color has been applied, so if you have a black polish and want to put a cool holographic polish or glitter top coat over it, you can ! Just make sure you remove it with acetone-FREE polish remover (a few bucks at drugstores) and you'll still have your original glossy gel polish left on your nails.


Oh and no reason it can't be done on toes as well, but not all salons do that or are set up for it.

Perfect right ?

Almost.

The main three cons to this are :-

1. Removal : This is the big one. You can't just rub it with nail polish remover to get it off. It's like a paper thin plastic coating on your nails and has to be soaked off with pure acetone. Usually done at a salon by holding your fingertips in a bowl of acetone for 5-10 mins or with "wraps" soaked in acetone and applied to your nails with an elastic bandage type system or held in place with foil wrapped around your fingers. Acetone doesn't hurt you when exposed for this short amount, nor is it cumulative. So unless you're drinking it, it's no health risk, but it can be tedious and boring, but hey, so is repainting your nails every 3 days, right ? When the acetone softens up the gel polish,it's gently scraped off and your manicure proceeds as normal.... hopefully onto your next gel polish that will last about 3 trouble-free weeks :-)
2. The poor technician. This is a problem because if inexperienced or short on knowledge, the polish can wind up being thick, uneven and gluggy and can look more like a fake acrylic nail. Gel Polish Manicures are racing into salons and most salons that do manicures, do UV Polish now, but there is still a learning curve out there. Just be aware, ask if they are experienced and if you're not happy, say so and why. A Gel Manicure should look lovely, glossy, clean edges and add only a tiny bit of even thicknesss to your natural nail, maybe a hair more than a normal polish manicure that uses a base, 3 coats and top cost in normal polish. Heavy-Handedness is the single biggest problem in salons with Gel Manicures, because they're used to globbing on 2 thick coats of regular polish for you. Light-handed is better with Gel.
3. Cost : Salons will charge anything from $25 - $60 average (depending on where you live, what type of salon you go to and how high end the salon is). Sometimes they don't include an actual manicure, just a Gel Polish, so be sure and ask. I think for the time and expense, around $30-$45 is reasonable if done properly and includes manicure.. (Gel Polish is not cheap, even at wholesale, plus lamps need to be maintained and of course, the technicians time). HOWEVER, you get so much more wear out of a manicure, so less salon visits, less of your time wasted on visits or re-doing it yourself at home constantly, so I think it about breaks even or maybe better if you're a salon-a-holic because you like perfectly polished nails.

Anyway, go somewhere good and get one. Like most of us that are converts, once you get a UV Gel Polish Manicure, you're hooked.

Enjoy !

My Picks for Salons in Colorado doing UV Polish

North Metro Denver Area - Escape Uptown Salon & Spa 720 259 1370

Denver/Cherry Creek Area - Posh Nails

From the Glam Junkie