All Hail the Gel Nail

Recently, while getting a pedicure, I was reading one of the fabulously trashy celeb gossip magazines and for once learned something that was beneficial to my life. Well, in a superficial kind of way. There was an article on how Katy Perry does her nails and she mentioned that she loves doing the new gel color because it lasts for weeks! Weeks?

Weeks indeed. I decided to do a little research on this gel color, because who wouldn't love to have a perfect manicure for more than 24 hours? What I found is called OPI Axxium Gel Lacquer. It's a long lasting gel color that is set with UV light and is supposed to last up to two weeks. As a bonus, it comes in most of the OPI's more popular shades [including Lincoln Park After Dark, Russian Navy, and Cajun Shrimp]. I decided that I MUST have this done.

I did a little research and found 3 salons in the Nashville area that offer this service [but it seems as though it's a trend thats catching on, so there may be many more now that offer it]: Cashmere Salon in the Gulch, Venetian Nails and Signature Nails, both in Green Hills. Prices ranged from $35-$60 for the color, so naturally I went with the cheapest one [which happened to be Signatures]. While I was in New York, I noticed this service was being offered for $20-$25 so prices might be based on location.

Now let me tell you- this is not your mama's in and out polish change. It takes a bit of time [they told me 45 minutes, but it took much longer for me]. You essentially are given a normal manicure [nail filing, hand massage, hot towels, etc etc], but the color process is way more intense. There is a base coat on each hand that must be set with the UV light for at least 5 minutes [one hand at a time], then coat one of color that must be set with the UV light for at least 5 minutes, then a second coat, then a top coat, then additional UV light time. Mine took longer than it should have because I was not given this special piece of information: you need to stick your hand in, then stick your thumb in separately with the nail straight up. If you stick your entire hand in, the color will likely not set on the corner of your thumb that isn't getting directly hit by UV light. The process ends by spraying the nails with alcohol and wiping them. When they did that to mine, the color on the outer edges of my thumb came completely off. As a sidenote, I will say that I might have been the first person that Signatures had ever done. There was only one person who knew the process of the gel nail and all the other manicurists were gathered around trying to learn. They were all very surprised when the color came off, but happy to do my thumbs over, hence the 2 hour nail salon visit.

I must say, I was and still am extremely happy with how my nails turned out. My only complaint is that the alcohol removed the shine, but again, I cut a little slack since they all seemed new to the proceedure. It has now been exactly 3 weeks and my color is still going strong [although my nails are growing out, so I'll probably need to get the color removed soon. Don't wanna look too janky!], and my nails actually feel stronger and more thick. I just had my very first chip on Saturday, over two weeks after getting the color, and it was perfectly fixed with just a little bit of filing. I documented the grow out with the photos below.

I accidentally deleted my "immediately after the manicure" photo, but imagine a perfect manicure after leaving the salon.

Week 1

There's obviously a bit of grow out, but not a chip in sight.

Week 2

Again, some growth [thanks to the Biotin I'm taking], but no chips

Week 3 [Today]

It is just about time to get the color soaked off, which is the only other downfall- you have to go back to the salon to have the color removed. Don't try to chip it off or you can seriously damage your nails. I have not looked into whether or not they can do a color fill, but I imagine that they could [I just dont want to have the same nail color for the entire winter!].

Overall, I would highly recommend the gel lacquer for all you ladies, especially those whose nails grow at a snails pace. If you happen to check it out, let me know what you think!

Love,

Your Friend Lela