Staying polished for weeks on end
Freshly geled toenails will last two to three weeks without chipping.
by Kathy Dunker
It’s that time of year again when the weather is warming up and clothes are getting lighter. Flip flops are coming out of storage which means, you guessed it, pedicure time. So what is all the hub bub about with the latest gel nail treatments?
Soak off gel polish is very big these days. And what is it exactly? Gel polish is applied with a brush just like traditional nail polish. But each coat is cured under a UV light to dry which leaves virtually no drying time at the end. The best part is it lasts from two to three weeks with no chipping.
What is the down side to this? It is considerably more expensive (almost twice the price) than a typical mani pedi and needs to be applied by a professional. If you are very savvy you could buy your own UV light and on-line polish which is still not a cheap way to go. The process takes a bit more time as well.
The biggest inconvenience is removing the polish. You either need to pay to have it professionally removed or you can do the soak off process yourself which means soaking a piece of cotton in acetone and then wrapping the nail with aluminum foil. One other thing to note; in two weeks, with a dark color, nail growth will be obvious.
The options are plentiful with nail gel including gradation of color. Many brands are now available and most salons are offering this service. Here in Castle Pines you can go to New York Nails, Classy Nails, or RM Nails in the Village. Expo Nails has the set up but offers it only for manicures as they find it unnecessary for toes. Aspenfalls Day Spa doesn’t have it yet but will be offering it soon.
I decided to give it a whirl myself with a gel nail pedicure at Classy Nails in Castle Pines in April. The process was a little bit longer than a traditional pedicure. After the clear base coat, one foot is put to cure in a box that looks like a UV toaster oven. The other foot is painted while the first foot is toasting and then you switch feet.
It still requires the same amount of coats as the other pedicures with one base coat, two color coats and one top coat. And the curing time is equally as long as the typical drying time for traditional polish. But at least I’m assured that I can make it through the rest of the month with no chunks of polish coming off so I will be set for Mother’s Day!
