I’m addicted to my gel manicure. There’s gorgeous colours and sparkles, the polish makes my nails stronger and it lasts for so much longer than a normal manicure, so it really pains me to hear that they could be ruining my nails. Nail polish in general is not great for your nails.
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Covering them up from sunlight and stripping them of essential nutrients, it’s always good to give them a rest, but to give up my gel manis for good?! How could I even?!
Well, after hearing about how weak it actually makes your nails when all the polish is off, I might just have to.
Gel nail polish has gained popularity for it’s amazing looks and how hard wearing it is. Dried by UV light, the polish binds very close to your nails, making them feel strong and look lovely. But when the polish actually comes off, your nails are weak and brittle. Leaving your gel nail polish on for extended periods, as many of us do, can also hide problems that our nails show us, like iron deficiency or a fungus.
The UV light is also cause for concern as the hands are the place that receive the most UV light from the sun anyway. Many uses of UV light to dry your nails can cause a risk of skin cancer on your hands, so SPF needs to be worn when getting a manicure.
Thinning the nails, gel polish also dehydrates the nail and when the polish starts to peel and the wearer peels it back off the nail (guilty), you’re ripping off multiple nail layers that can take months to repair. Continuous use of gel nail polish is just constantly wearing down the nails until you are left with weak and brittle nails. So to answer the question, gel manicures are not good for your nails, more so than a usual manicure.
Not actually knowing why this happens, scientists just know for sure that it does. So maybe, like me, you will have to rethink your gel mani next time you go to the nail shop. **cries**
Image via gelnaildesigns.com
