My lifehack. Rules for making gel polish last a long time

How long does gel polish last, which one lasts better? Gel polishes require their own wearing rules. If they are followed, the coating will remain bright for at least 2 weeks, and the nails will be healthy and strong. I share my findings and personal experience!

I will not touch on the technological process of application, but I will go over the choice of salon and specialist. Hybrid gel polishes include CND Shellac, OI GelColor, EzFlow TruGel, Ibd Just Gel Polish and several other brands.

Most often, the reason is that the gel polish does not adhere well - a violation of the coating technology and thin nails. I have written several rules that affect the durability of the coating and the health of your nails!

Choosing the right salon!

1. The nail coating procedure consists of several stages, special products and a lamp. Look at the materials that the master uses - they all must be the same brand! It often happens that the varnishes are of one brand, the base coat is of another, and the lamp is generally from TaoBao. This coating will not last long!

2. Gel polishes must be fresh! The old ones thicken, are applied in a thick layer and form air cavities, which will lead to peeling of the varnish.

3. Before applying gel polish, you cannot do a wet manicure, the nail plate will give off moisture and quick peeling of the polish cannot be avoided.

4. The color coating must be applied in two or three thin layers, the procedure will take more time, and there will be fewer uneven spots. Remind the technician to coat the ends of the nails with a top transparent coating and “seal” the nails, this will prevent chipping and peeling.

Durability of shellac manicure

[yandex1] [google1]

Shellac 14 days later

The developers of this coating, the CND brand, promise that the coating will last up to 14 days. However, there are a number of reviews that say that the coating did not last even a week. Along with them, there are also those that describe varnish that lasted almost a month. So why does shellac last poorly for some and well for others? The following factors primarily influence durability:

1. Mechanical loads and damage;
2. Application technology;
3. Contact of chemicals on the coating;
4. Condition of nails;
5. Poor quality materials, fake.

Mechanical loads include regular damage to the coating by foreign objects. This is possible, in particular, when grating something, getting excessively long nails between the keyboard buttons, etc. Another reason why gel polish does not stick to the nails may be constant slight bends in the regrown end of the nail plate. Although shellac makes nails strong, if they were originally thin, the tip can bend without breaking. Cracks and peeling may occur at the bend site.

Mechanical load

The application technology is violated, in particular, when applied at home. But in salons it can also be incorrect. We will try to answer the question of how to properly apply gel polish below.

The ingress of cleaning agents and chemical compounds also negatively affects the durability of the coating. Therefore, you should wear rubber gloves when cleaning. This will protect not only the manicure, but also the delicate skin of the hands.

One of the most common reasons why shellac peels off at the tips is due to initially weakened nails. Most often, if the plate is slightly prone to delamination, gel polish, on the contrary, prevents the separation of nail particles and reduces fragility. But with a very advanced degree of delamination, the coating begins to separate along with the plate flakes. The situation is similar with fungal nail infections, which, by the way, is an absolute contraindication to applying shellac.

If you are going to apply gel polish yourself, in this case, how long shellac lasts on your nails will directly depend on the quality of the purchased coating. A high-quality and original product cannot be cheap, so there is no need to try to save on nail health. We will also talk about how not to buy a fake below.

Strengthen your nails!

1. To prevent nails from deteriorating from wearing gel polish, I recommend taking a break for 1-3 weeks after 3-4 procedures. At this time, apply a clear varnish, use a nail strengthener, cuticle oil, lanolin and vitamin E.

2. On weak, thin and peeling nails, gel polish will not last long, so first we strengthen the nails and drink vitamins for nails , biotin and silicon are effective, as well as complete omega acids from fish oil and primrose oil.

You can buy my ready-made supplement protocols, take nutritional courses and join a closed club, whose members gain more knowledge on taking vitamins and dietary supplements.

Low lamp power

Another common reason why shellac does not stick well on nails is poor polymerization of its layers. This happens when the master uses a lamp with low power in his work - below 36 V. It is also necessary to understand that the gel polish company always warns about the required type of polymerization. To do this, the label located on the bottle of varnish contains the mark LED or UV.

This information must be taken into account when choosing a lamp for drying shellac. In addition to choosing the right lamp, you should ask the technician how often he changes the bulbs in it. They need to be changed every 3-6 months, depending on the intensity of use of the device.

Vitamins for strengthening nails, dosage regimen

I made a regimen for taking vitamin complexes to strengthen my nails. The course of treatment is 2-3 months.

• Biotin Solgar Solgar, Biotin, 1000 mcg (drink 2 capsules per day) or
• Complex for hair and strengthening nails Country Life, Maxi-Hair, 90 Tablets (drink 2 tablets per day)
• Orthosilicic acid for nails and hair Natural Factors, BioSil, ch-OSA Advanced Collagen Generator (drink 2 capsules per day)
• Omega acids to restore nails are needed from Natural Factors, WomenSense, RxOmega-3, Women's Blend (drink 2 capsules per day)

That makes just three nail supplements that will also improve hair and skin: biotin, orthosilicic acid, and omega acids.

What affects the shelf life of gel polish?

There are quite a lot of factors that determine how long the decorative coating on a girl’s manicure will last. If they coincide, the wear time of neat nails can be reduced by 2 times.

The factors mainly concern external influences on the fingertips:

• Use of low quality consumables and compounds by the master;
• Strong mechanical pressure on the fingertips, which leads to damage to the matrix;
• High humidity, visiting a sauna or swimming pool on the first day after visiting a nail technician;
• Using aggressive chemical compounds and solutions without wearing protective gloves;
• Insufficient drying of gel polish. Often, when the client is in a hurry, he tends to shorten the drying time of the pigment, and, instead of the required one and a half minutes, he holds his hands in the lamp for only a minute;
• Exposure of sensitive area to ultraviolet rays. Because of this, it is recommended to use sunscreen when on vacation or visiting a tanning salon.

However, premature removal of the gel is also often associated with problems with the health of a girl’s nails. If the natural plate has a fungal infection, thinning, numerous detachments or yellowness, it is not recommended to apply varnish. It is better to pay attention to restoring the condition of the matrix, increasing metabolism and local immunity.

If you find that the applied design gradually begins to fall off after a few days, you should immediately consult a specialist, as this may indicate serious pathologies.

Protect your nails after applying gel polish!

1. Do not expose the coating to alcohol, solvents or liquids containing acetone. Clean only with gloves, otherwise scratches will appear on the varnish and the shine will disappear. Metro sells packs of HORECA nitrile gloves; they are talc-free and do not tear. I recommend!

2. Be sure to treat your nails with cuticle cream daily. Ideally, such a cream contains lanolin!

It is rarely on sale, so here are excellent creams with lanolin for cuticles:

• Cream for hands, nails and dry skin Weleda Skin Food
• Lansinoh Pure Pharmaceutical Lanolin, HPA Lanolin

Problems caused by wearing gel polish longer than expected

Yes, it's not very beautiful, but it's not the worst thing. The main problem, as I already said, is the risk of breaking a nail. Another problem is detachments of overgrown nails at the base.

You've just had your coating done. At the base, this very coating is hidden under the cuticle, and everything is hermetically “packed.” After a week, the edge of the coating at the base of the nail begins to peek out from under the cuticle (the nail is growing). Further more. The base, which should have been under the cuticle, moves to the edge of the nail and begins to peel off a little in this place. Water, dirt, hair, and everything else begin to clog into this “gap.”

Personally, this is very inconvenient for me. For example, when I wash my hair or do my hair, the hair gets stuck in the areas of detachment at the base, and it’s just terrible. It becomes completely impossible to get yourself in order. Even untying a knot on a grocery bag becomes a problem.

• After 2-3 weeks, the quality of adhesion of the coating to the nail plate decreases, and air pockets and detachments may appear.
• Water, dirt, and any nasty things that get into places where the material is detached can cause the development of pathogenic microflora. The fungus, if you catch it somewhere, will feel great in such places.

Overgrown nails are not only not beautiful and not convenient, they are also a little more expensive. When I once again forget to make an appointment for a manicure on time, I consistently end up with 1-2 cracked nails. These cracks have to be repaired for an additional fee during the next manicure.

So it turns out that irregular visits to the master entail a whole series of problems and inconveniences for the owl?

Wearing time and removal of gel polish

1. Gel polishes can last on the nails for all 4 weeks, but it is better to remove the coating after 2 weeks, since with longer wear the adhesion to the nail increases and it will take more time to remove the polish. Which accordingly spoils and dries out your nails.

2. Never peel off gel polish from your nails! The structure of the nail is disrupted due to strong adhesion to the coating, and pieces of varnish are torn off along with the top layer of the nail itself. Just soaking in special liquid and orange sticks.

3. When removing gel polish, place the nails in foil envelopes with nail polish remover for 10-15 minutes. I have met nail technicians who did not respect the soaking time and shortened it; as a result, the nails were severely damaged when the varnish was peeled off. If everything is followed, the gel polish can be removed without effort.

What do you do to ensure that gel polish lasts a long time and maintains a beautiful shine?

Subscribe to the channel on Telegram , I’m there at the link https://t.me/simply4joy or in the search for channels type simply4joy

How long can you wear gel polish?

Since this type of coating appeared, controversy about it has not ceased. There are discussions about the dangers and benefits, about whether it is possible to do manicures constantly or whether you need to give your nails a rest. What is the truth in these disputes, and what is nothing more than myths?

Gel polish is a polymer that contains diluents, pigments and photoinitiators. These components provide coating strength, color intensity, and quick drying. There are a number of substances prohibited in the production of cosmetic products and materials for nail services (formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, xylene and other substances). Therefore, it is recommended to carefully study the composition and not use gel polishes from dubious manufacturers.

There is an opinion that you need to take a break from such a manicure periodically. Allegedly, nails become thin from frequent filing and stop growing. In fact, experts have not found a relationship between the duration of wearing gel polish and the deterioration of the condition of the nail plate. With the correct application and removal technique, the coating does not harm healthy nails; on the contrary, they grow faster and are protected from microcracks, scratches, and external influences. Do your manicure calmly for as long as you think necessary. But make sure that there are no skin diseases, take care of your hands, especially in winter. If there are problems, you should temporarily abandon the procedure.

How long does gel polish last on nails? On average, it lasts up to 2 weeks, and can be worn for up to a month. How long to wear depends on the rate of nail growth. Did you know that nails grow faster on the middle fingers, on the right hand of right-handed people, and on the left hand of left-handed people? As you can see, problems with coating usually occur on those nails that grow faster. And if they are recently painted, it is not easy to break them, and as they grow back, the risk increases.

In modeling there is such a thing as a stress zone. This is the point that has the greatest thickness and is the center of gravity. If this center moves, the nail plate becomes weak and may crack. In fact, by applying gel polish, we also model the nail. When the material is laid out evenly, the center of gravity is not displaced. But during the process of regrowth, the stress zone shifts and the nail plate becomes fragile.

Do a simple test to see where your nail is likely to break - peel off the polish and press on the edge until it turns white. The line between pink and white is your stress zone. As long as the regrown area has not reached it, you can walk around with the old manicure. The closer to this zone, the greater the likelihood of a crack appearing due to an accidental impact.

Why experts do not recommend wearing gel polish for more than 2-3 weeks:

• the overgrown area at the base catches the eye (especially with dark coatings), which makes the manicure look sloppy;
• the quality of adhesion of materials decreases;
• Dirt and water get into the places of detachments, and there is a risk of introducing pathogenic organisms.

Use high-quality materials for nail services, follow the application technology, update your manicure on time, and there will be no harm from it.

The first stage is nail preparation

• Form a free edge and degrease it. If delamination of the plate is observed, it must be leveled using a file for natural nails. It is advisable to perform a manicure with cuticle removal. Don't forget to degrease your nails after manicure and dry them completely. A high-quality manicure significantly extends the service life of gel polish;
• Remove the top layer of the plate. Arm yourself with a highly abrasive buff and treat your nails with it so that the gloss is removed. If you skip this step, the gel polish simply will not stick to the glossy surface of the nail and will chip off. After treatment, you should not touch your nails with your hands. After treatment with the buff, the nails need to be degreased again and treated with a dehydrator. This preparation will make the nail most suitable for coating with gel polish. In this case, the adhesion of the nail and the product will be maximum.
• Apply base. Nails are often not strong enough for gel polish. If the nail plate is very thin, the product will not adhere well to it. Chips and cracks will appear. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to use a primer that provides reliable adhesion to the gel polish. Try to use only primers that do not contain methacrylic acid. They will not harm your nails. The primer in this case plays the role of a primer. It is important to carry out a complete treatment of the nail, including its end part. Otherwise, where the nail plate is not treated with primer, the gel polish will begin to chip.

Common Mistakes

The coating will last longer if you take into account a number of common mistakes and do not repeat them.

Another useful article: What accessories to choose for a blue dress

Material peeling

To prevent shellac from chipping, flaking, or wrinkling, follow 4 rules:

1. Prepare your nail plate carefully. Insufficient degreasing, neglect of the dehydration procedure, and the use of improvised means lead to shellac peeling.

1. Know your limits. Do you want bright nails? Apply several thin layers of coating, rather than one thick one. It is unlikely that it will be possible to dry it sufficiently, which means that it will quickly wrinkle, sagging will form and chips will occur.

1. Don't feel sorry for the top. Unlike shellac, you can apply it in a thick layer.

1. Stick to drying times strictly. If you realize that you only have an hour to create a manicure, it is better to refuse shellac coating. Reducing the drying time leads to delamination of the material.

If you carefully followed all the rules and strictly followed the instructions, but the varnish still chipped, then the reason is in the characteristics of your body. You may have peeling nails. A nail file and vitamins will solve the problem.

You may be interested in: What to wear with a burgundy dress: choosing clothes and accessories

Neglecting the cuticle

Often, removing cuticles is long, tedious and sometimes even painful. But without this you won’t get a lasting manicure. Imagine, the nail is constantly growing, but the cuticle remains in place. By grabbing it when painting, you doom the coating to peeling off.

Carefully look at the composition of cuticle softeners. Give preference to bases based on fruit acids, avoiding alkaline ones. They do not leave a specific coating, which means they minimize the risk of coating damage.