If you love gel manicures but hate the way they chip after only a few days, then you’ll want to check out these tips for long lasting gel nails.
1. Dry your hands well before applying polish. Any moisture on your nails can cause your polish to chip faster than usual. Make sure to wash and dry your hands as thoroughly as possible before you start painting.
2. Apply a base coat under the gel polish. A regular top coat or gel top coat is not enough — you need a base coat to create an extra layer of adhesion between your nails and the polish. This will help keep your manicure from chipping as quickly as usual.
3. Wear gloves when doing chores around the house. Dish washing, gardening and other household tasks can weaken your manicure, so make sure to wear gloves whenever you can’t avoid getting your hands wet or dirty.
4. Avoid banging your nails against too many hard surfaces while wearing gel polish. Hitting metal, plastic or concrete with your nails can cause chips in the polish that are impossible to fix without removing the entire manicure first — so make sure to be gentle with them!
5. Apply a regular top coat over the gel polish every day or two to protect it from chipping
When it comes to getting a manicure, we’re looking for two things: pretty nails, and long lasting nails.
With the invention of gel nails, we get both! But just like with normal nail polish, gel polish doesn’t always last as long as we want it to.
So how can you make your gel manicure last longer?
1) Prep your nails before applying the polish
Before applying your first coat of color, make sure you prep your nails. This means removing any existing polish with a non-acetone remover, cleaning your cuticles and pushing them back, and lightly buffing the nail surface. Preparing your nails will allow the gel polish to adhere better to your natural nail and reduce cracking or chipping.
2) Choose an opaque color
Choosing an opaque color will not only look more beautiful, but also help hide any imperfections in the nail surface that could cause cracking or chipping. A good way to determine if a color is opaque is by looking at the bottle; if it looks more transparent than solid then it won’t provide good coverage. If you really like a sheer color, you can use a white base coat under the sheer color to help hide imperfections in the nail
I love having my nails done. I get a gel manicure once a week and always have fun picking out different colors for the season. It’s such a nice treat to go to the nail salon and spend an hour getting pampered. But gel nails are definitely an investment – at least $35 each time – so I want them to last as long as possible! Here are some of my tips for making your gel manicure last longer than ever:
1. Start with clean, dry nails. Use a cotton ball soaked in polish remover to wipe away any old polish or residue from your nails. This will help your new polish adhere better and last longer. Also make sure you start with clean, dry nails and cuticles so that any dirt or oil doesn’t get trapped under the gel coat and ruin it later on.
2. Don’t soak your hands before the manicure. While nail salons often have you soak your hands before a regular manicure, don’t do this for a gel manicure! Soaking softens the cuticles and can cause them to absorb water, which will cause the gel coat to peel off later on. Instead just wash your hands with soap and water before starting the treatment, or at least don’t soak them too
When we talk about gel manicures, we are talking about a gel topcoat over regular nail polish. It’s the same thing you can have a salon apply over your regular polish, but without the need to go to the salon and pay for it!
My nails grow really quickly, but I also work in a lab. So I am constantly washing my hands and using sanitizer. Long story short, my polish never lasts more than a few days before it starts chipping. And if you know me at all, you know that doesn’t fly with me!
I’ve tried a variety of things to get my polish to last longer. I’ve tried gel topcoats- like Seche Vite or Poshe- but those still only worked for a couple days before they started peeling off (which isn’t great either). But then I discovered gel polish!
Gel nails are great because they last so long- sometimes up to three weeks! The only downside is that you have to soak them in acetone when you want to take them off. That can be really hard on your nails and cuticles if you do it too often.
So I was super excited when I found out about gel
1. Prep to make sure your polish sticks
2. Use a base coat before gel nail color
3. Cap the free edge of your nails
4. Apply a top coat every two days
5. Soak nails in polish remover when ready to remove gel manicure
If you are anything like me, you love the idea of a gel manicure. The luster and shine of a gel manicure is unmatched by traditional nail polish. Plus, with a gel manicure, you can go weeks without chipping your nails. A gel manicure will set you back anywhere from $30-$50 for a full set, so it is important to make your gel nails last as long as possible!
1. Exfoliate your hands and moisturize them before your manicure. Be sure to use hand lotion that does not contain any oils or alcohol.
2. File your nails in a square shape with soft strokes, rather than “sawing” back and forth. This will keep your nails stronger and less likely to break or chip.
3. Make sure the nail technician doesn’t file down too much of the nail when prepping the surface before applying the gel. This can weaken the natural nail and cause it to break more easily. Also, be sure they apply thin coats of the polish, rather than thick ones; this will also help prevent chipping and breaking once the nails are cured under the UV light between each layer of polish (which is what creates that shiny finish).
4. Avoid wearing gloves when cleaning or
1. Do not use your nails as tools
2. Do not pick or peel off the gel polish.
3. Do not expose gel nails to harsh chemicals such as acetone, alcohol, bleach, etc…
4. Use a rubber base coat on nails before applying gel polish.
5. Seal the top coat with a UV lamp or LED lamp according to package instructions.