Question For The Ladies

[blueyedgirl5946]

I have never been much for having my nails done at the salon, or for even keeping them painted. I can never keep polish looking pretty more than a day or two. So I decided this year to have my nails done with gel polish. I am told it will stay nice for three weeks, then I will have to go back to the salon and have it removed. I guess I just want some opinions and input to see how others like it.

 

[Merlin77]

I have no time/will for doing my nails but the gel polish sounds fun! Might be pricey though.

If you get the nail polish done, definately take some pictures. I'm curious!!

 

[Margret]

On the rare occasions that I polish my nails I've noticed that the nail grow out from the cuticles quite noticeably in less than a week. My sister-in-law uses a gel polish; she has everything she needs so she can do it at home, and when I visited for several months in 2014 she was constantly either painting her nails, curing the polish, or soaking to remove the polish.

Margret

 

[betsygee]

Last time I got my nails done at a salon was for my wedding 32 years ago. I rarely paint them at home, either. I've never even heard of gel polish. No help here...

Have fun with it--let us know how it turns out.

 

[Kat0121]

I don't paint my nails either. Sorry. I'll tag in Winchester for some expertise on this one.

 

[Winchester]

I don't use gel polish as I've heard it's a pain in the neck to get back off, plus with some of them you need a light for the polish to set properly. Maybe that's changed....I don't know. Maybe the newer gels work differently. Do you remember....oh, I can't think of her name; she was from Canada and she had some bad back problems or something. She did gels, but I don't remember if she needed a light.

I usually do my nails on Sunday nights: take off the old stuff, give myself a good manicure, and then put new polish on (a base coat of clear, 2 coats of polish, and either a shiny or a matte top coat. The top coat is usually a quick-dry type, but even so I try not to use my hands for about an hour or so (I'll read on my iPad or watch tv). After an hour or so, my nails are pretty much good to go. The manicure will last about a week, unless I'm in a lot of dishwater or using a lot of cleaning products. And every so often, I'll go a couple of days with naked nails, just to give them a breather.

Sorry...I can't help you with gel polishes.

 

[Kat0121]

DD does polish her nails and she said that you do need a UV light for the gel polish to set properly. She said that this is why a gel polish lasts as long as it does.

 

[Max's Human]

Having had cancer and being on CHEMO meds my nails are thiner than tissue paper. I had them done (pricy and having refills every 2 weeks). I bought the stinky stuff and did them myself for several years. I recently discovered glue on nails and if I lose one I just glue it back on and they run about $7 a month and come plain or painted and the gel nails hold their paint without any problems.

 

[neely]

I don't use gel polish as I've heard it's a pain in the neck to get back off, plus with some of them you need a light for the polish to set properly.

Ditto, I've heard the exact same thing. I rarely polish my nails except for special occasions or when one of my daughters sends me a gift card. However, the last time I was at a nail salon I was sitting next to a woman who was getting gel polish and asked how long it lasts. I was told 2 weeks.

 

[margecat]

I never was a fingernail polish gal, but I usually do my toenails in the summer, when they show. My Mom was the same way. Also, I volunteer in food service, and County laws do not permit wearing nail polish. I never had patience with it anyway!

 

[kashmir64]

I have had horses most my life. Horses and kept nails don't mix. Even though I no longer have them, the old habit of not painting my nails have stuck. My nails are long and I keep them filed, but don't bother much with them. And never been to a Salon. Sorry, no help here either.

 

[tinydestroyer]

I've gotten a gel manicure before. They can last about two weeks, and the polish really doesn't chip - no matter what kind of abuse you put your nails through. The kind that you get in a salon is better than the kind you do at home, in my opinion, though I'm not sure if they have stronger UV lights or better application, or what the difference really is. Your nails will feel stronger while the polish is on, but the solution to remove the gel polish makes them actually very weak underneath. I quit painting my nails at all recently, and they're the strongest they've ever been. When I was consistently getting gel manicures, they'd break very easily if they weren't painted with gel polish. I'm not sure that "normal" polish was all that much better for my nails, since you have to re-apply much more often. But gel is definitely more pricey / time consuming (if you're making time to go to a salon.) I'd say the cost is worth it for the convenience of having perfect nails for two weeks, if you're painting your nails at all.

 

[denice]

It has been years since I got my nails done regularly and that was the acrylic nails. The acrylics are definitely very hard on your nails. I have heard about a powder dip now that is supposed to be easy to take off and is supposed to do the least damage to nails. They actually claim that they strengthen the natural nail but I don't know if that is true or not.

 

[muffy]

I have never had my fingernails done and probably never will. But I do need to have someone cut my toenails. I'm too old and decrepit to do them myself. I probably should also have them polished because I also have toenail fungus. But going every two weeks for that is out of the question.

Will anyone tell me how much it cost?

 

[Norachan]

I've never had this done myself, but a couple of my (very glamorous) friends get their nails done in a salon regularly. The gel polish looks good, but when you have it taken off the nail underneath is a little scuffed up and damaged. This means that you either have to have another gel manicure done right away or hide your nails while you wait for them to grow out and recover.

Too many litter boxes to scoop, dishes to wash and floors to clean for me to bother with all that.

 

[denice]

It is the same with acrylic nails. When they are taken off the nails underneath look horrible. With the acrylics over time the nails thin and get to the point of being paper thin. One of my thumbnails got to the point that it started to hurt so I took them off and I had a really hard time getting that thumbnail off because it kept trying to take that natural thumbnail off with it. I just left them alone after that and let the natural nails grow out and didn't go back to them. I had used them continuously for several years though. With the acrylics you are supposed to take a break from them at least annually and let the natural nails grow out but they do look really bad.

 

[Kat0121]

It is the same with acrylic nails. When they are taken off the nails underneath look horrible. With the acrylics over time the nails thin and get to the point of being paper thin. One of my thumbnails got to the point that it started to hurt so I took them off and I had a really hard time getting that thumbnail off because it kept trying to take that natural thumbnail off with it. I just left them alone after that and let the natural nails grow out and didn't go back to them. I had used them continuously for several years though. With the acrylics you are supposed to take a break from them at least annually and let the natural nails grow out but they do look really bad.

I used to get acrylics a long time ago and yeah, they are not good for your natural nails. When I would take them off, my nails were so soft I could bend them.

I also used the Lee press on nails many years ago. Anyone remember those? They always popped off. I used to put them on with Krazy glue.

 

[Winchester]

Many years ago, I was a customer service rep for a local company. The woman in charge had such pretty nails and she wore the prettiest nail polishes. One morning, she was in my office, pointing something out to me in the catalog and when she pressed her finger down on the picture, her nail popped off. I was shocked; I guess I just assumed her nails were real.

I've never worn fake nails. I only ever went to a professional nail salon one time, for our son's wedding. And honestly, I wasn't overly impressed. I'm so used to doing my own that I don't even think about a salon. People have asked me if my fingernails were real and they are. I do gardening (with gloves), when I work with certain things in the kitchen (cutting chicken or breading chicken, chopping hot peppers, for example), I wear plastic gloves. I tend to keep my nails fairly long (maybe it's because I always bit my nails to the quick, to the point of drawing blood, when I was in my teens) and I don't want chicken goop down in my nails. I try to keep them clean.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I'm pretty sure my cousin gets gels done. She works in an OR; so she has to follow their rules about that kind of thing.

I've never had my nails done with any artificial nails. One of the best genes I inherited has been good nails. I don't grow them out like I used to. I had my nails painted at a salon once before a wedding I was in. They buffed the top of my nails and I didn't care for the feeling. I think it helps the polish hold on though.

I don't paint mine at home anymore either. My hands are too busy and washed too often. Now a pedicure; that I would enjoy! It lasts longer on my toes. The 2 times I've had a pedicure done; they sat me under a light to cure it. I don't know that either kind was a gel polish.

 

[neely]

Will anyone tell me how much it cost?

You peeked my curiosity so I looked up the average cost: $35-$45 and $10 to remove it. Since it only lasts 14 days it doesn't seem worth it to me.