Are Dip Nails Better Than Gel

I'm an acrylic full-set girl through and through. Every ii to three weeks, I march into my local nail salon with a collection of nail inspiration pictures, fix for my boom tech and I to create magic. But, afterwards spending hundreds of dollars each month on full sets and gel manicures, my love thing with the services left me with cracked, fragile nails.

Then, a co-worker mentioned dip pulverization nails to me. As a cocky-professed beauty lover, I pride myself on staying on top of the latest fads in the makeup, hair, and nail world but I had to admit defeat—I never heard of the trend and was eager to find out what information technology entailed.

I was riddled with questions, mainly, "Is it safe for my nails?" which were in serious recovery style mail-acrylic. I Googled the best salons in New York City that offered the procedure, and took a trip down to Snow Fairy Nail Spa to see what the hype was all about.

To start, Anna, i of the smash technicians in the salon, removed all nail polish from my nail using acetone earlier pulling out her electric buffing machine to smooth out whatsoever rugged areas on my nail and create a clean canvass for the powder to stick to. After cutting and shaping my nail—I opted for an oval shape instead of my usual squoval—and pushing back my cuticles, it was time for the fun to begin. Anna brushed on a primer, then swiped on a clear polish. While there were an assortment of powder colors to choose from (pink, nude, royal, etc.) my middle was assault the pale orangish shade I saw upon arriving at the salon and then I chose to get with that.

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My dip pulverisation nails after one calendar week.

Nerisha Penrose

To my surprise, the dip powder manicure process was fairly simple: Anna dipped each finger into the clear, finely-milled powder, brushed off the excess powder, set up it with a protective clear shine and repeated these steps until my nail was fully coated and hardened. Afterwards applying OPI'southward Freedom of Peach, Anna sealed each nail with a gel elevation glaze and placed my hands under a fan dryer. The procedure took nigh an hr and a half in full—and for $51, the manicure was still in tip-height shape subsequently a week of fumbling through my handbag for my keys, typing on my laptop, and washing my hands round the clock.

"But is information technology healthier than gel manicures?" you're probably thinking.

"They are like in that both provide an extra layer of protection to natural nails," says licensed nail technician, Harli Chiliad, the nail mastermind backside the nail art business relationship @nailsbyharlig. "Dip nails don't require UV/LED light and are typically a much quicker process to apply from outset to stop. Gel nails tend to look a chip more natural on the nails than a dip powered enhancement, so I prefer gel manicures."

Before you speed over to your nail salon to test the manicure out for yourself, Harli suggests you consider a few things:

You probably shouldn't endeavor this at-habitation.

While blast dip powder seems harmless, they all the same contain harsh chemicals that pose as a health adventure. "I would never recommend doing either of these treatments equally a DIY at domicile because for both treatments, there are chemical products that can harm skin or the smash plate if not properly applied. Even professional person class products and products marketed for at-domicile apply contain harming chemicals, so it's just safer to get to a professional for both gel and dip treatments," Harli advises. Err on the cautious side.

Dissimilar regular manicures, dip powder treatments tin last up to a month.

As a result, nail dip manicures can be both cost and time effective. "For busier clients, dip powder is a great option as they last 3 weeks or longer, depending on the level of at-home care after the manicure," Lily, a nail technician at @zilythenailbar, tells us. This is almost twice the longevity of your standard gel manicure.

Many salons don't bear the treatment due to sanitation concerns.

Check your salon before you brand an date. "A huge risk for dip blast manicures is sanitation. It is incredibly unsanitary for multiple clients to dip their fingers in the aforementioned container of pulverisation, even pouring the product over multiple clients' nails and assuasive the production pulverization to fall back into the container is an piece of cake way for boom infections to be passed between clients. If you notice techs applying the dip powder in either of those means, LEAVE and go to a dissimilar salon." Ultimately your health and prophylactic are of utmost importance, so it's disquisitional to do some research due diligence beforehand.

Brusque nails, no trouble. Dip powder blast extensions are bachelor.

For years people have gravitated towards full set acrylics to achieve long nails until now. Dip pulverisation nonetheless allows nail techs to add together nail extensions. In fact, "Dip powder is more than lightweight than acrylic, which allows it to wear and tear better and last longer," Lily shares. In one case the smash tech adds faux boom tips, they will file the nail downwards to the requested shape and so utilise the "dip" technique to employ a thin layer of colored powder to the nail.

To protect your nails, have a professional person remove your manicure.

Manicures can exist harsh on your nails—to minimize its impact, don't try to remove your manicure yourself. "With all nail enhancements, in that location's a risk of your nail plates becoming dehydrated and brittle. The removal process is crucial. In my experience, most problems with poor natural nail health are a consequence of nail enhancements, especially dip nails, and stalk from attempts at a DIY removal at dwelling house. It is always safest to go back to the salon and have a licensed professional remove any product for yous," Harli emphasizes. We know picking at a manicure is tempting, just it's just not worth the health consequences.

Lastly, after-intendance is extremely helpful to restoring your smash'south health.

Outside of your manicure, being thoughtful and gentle towards your easily goes a long way. "Excess exposure to chemicals such every bit those found in household cleaners tin lead to weakened enhancements or brittle natural nails. I ever recommend wearing protective gloves to protect both the enhancement, your natural nails and the surrounding pare from weakening, which could lead to painful breakage. Restoring hydration later on the treatment and during the wear time will help a lot of the issues that can arise from the dip powder enhancements. Try to apply cuticle oils and high quality moisturizers multiple times a day," Harli suggests. Nosotros all know how important moisturizing is, and so ensure your easily are getting the aforementioned treatment. Here we've done the research for y'all, the best cuticle serums on the market: