What is Color Gel Polish and Why Do We Use Them?

Most people tend to explore gel nails beyond traditional nail polish because they heard gel nails offer stronger, longer-lasting nails ' and they're right.

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This article will explain everything you need to know about gel nails and gel manicures - how they work, the process, and tips for making them last longer. You'll learn the differences between UV and LED lamps, salon versus at-home application, popular gel nail polish brands, and how to get the most out of your chip-free gel mani.

Jump to the section you're interested in:

• What are gel nails?
• What gel nails look like
• Downside of gel nails
• Gel nails vs other nail options
• How to get gel manicures done
• How much does it cost to apply and remove?
• How much time does it take to apply and remove?
• What are the most popular gel polish brands?
• How to decide which brand to begin with
• How long does a gel manicure last?
• How long should you wait between gel manicures?
• Are gel manicures safe?
• Removing gel polish
• UV vs LED lamps

What are gel nails?

Gel nails use a nail polish that can only harden on your natural nails when exposed under UV or LED light to create a hard, chip-resistant manicure. This is why gels can only be set by lamps that emit LED or UV light. 

The result of this process is a strong, flexible glossy finish that's chip-free and long-lasting. Gel manicures use only polish; no acrylic tips or other artificial nails are applied.

What gel nails are not

Gel manicures differ from acrylic nails, dip powder nails, shellac nails and regular manicures in a few key ways. With gel manis:

• No acrylic nail tips or extensions are needed, only polish on natural nails
• No powder dipping products are used to coat the nails
• The gel nail polish is cured under UV or LED lamps, not air dried like regular polish and shellac nails

What gel nails look like

Gel manicures tend to have a smooth, high-gloss shine with an even coverage and color across the nails. Compared to regular nail polish, the color of gel polish tends to appear more vivid and intense on the nails.

This comes from the fact that the gel formula allows for deeper, richer pigment saturation than your traditional polish. The gel formula also resists fading and yellowing, which allows it to maintain its color for weeks.

Downside of gel nails

Gel nails can be hard on your natural nails. If you get them often, they can make your nails weak or thin. This is because taking off the gel is tough on your nails. You have to soak your nails in acetone, which makes them dry and brittle. Also, when you file your nails to remove the gel, it can make them thinner over time.

The other aspect to consider is that the UV light used to set the gel can be harmful to your skin. This is why we recommend applying sunscreen on your hand before applying gel nails or wearing a UV protection glove that only exposes your fingernails. 

Gel nails vs other nail options:

SCROLL '' Gel Manicure Powder Dip Acrylics Regular Polish Shellac Process Thin layers of gel polish cured under UV/LED lamp Dip nails in colored powder resin on your natural nails or nail extensions. Acrylic powder and liquid solutions
sculpted into nail tips Regular nail polish air dries Shellac cures under UV/LED lamp Nail Preparation Gel base coat applied to natural nails Gel base coat or bonding base coat applied to natural nails Acrylic extensions adhered over natural nails (Optional) Dehydrator applied to natural nails Gel base coat applied to natural nails Look/Texture Smooth, shiny, glass-like Slightly textured, matte finish Thick, durable Sheer to opaque coloring Slightly muted, softer sheen Durability Very chip resistant for 2-4 weeks Decent durability, lasts 2-3 weeks Very durable but can be brittle Chips within days Lasts up to 2 weeks Cost $35-$60 salon $30-$40 salon $35-$60+ salon $15-$25 salon $25-$50 salon Removal File surface and soak in pure acetone Soak off with acetone Must be professionally removed Peels off with regular polish remover Removed with acetone DIY Friendly? Moderate, requires supplies and technique Yes, one of the easier options Not recommended Very easy Fairly easy Pros Very durable; 2-3 week wear Stronger than natural nails Thick, long-lasting for nail biters Quick; many color options Simple at-home application; 1-2 week wear Cons Expensive; requires maintenance Can damage nails over time High maintenance; expensive Chips very quickly Slightly less durable than gel

There are some notable differences between gel manicures and other popular nail options:

Gel vs powder dip nails

Powder dip manicures involves dipping your nails (or artificial nail tips glued onto your nails) into colored powder. The powder is then shaped and polished. With gel manicures, a base coat, gel nail polish and a top coat are applied in that order to the natural fingernails only.  

gel vs acrylic nails

Gel manicures use only polish and don't apply acrylic nail extensions or tips. Acrylics require skilled application of liquid and powder polymers to sculpt and extend the natural nails before polish is applied. Gel is simply painted on like regular polish but cured to be long-lasting.

gel vs regular polish

Regular nail polish is painted on and left to air dry. It can dent, smudge, and peel within days. Gel polish needs to be cured under LED or UV lamps to harden and adhere to the nails. Gels resist chips and scratches for 2-3 weeks vs regular polish lasting only 2-7 days before needing a touch up.

Gel vs Shellac

The main differences between Shellac and gel nails are in the polish formulation and polish removal process. Shellac, which is a brand by CND, combines regular polish and gel polish that cures under an LED or UV lamp. Removing both gel nails and Shellac needs acetone soaking, but Shellac comes off easier because of its unique mix. 

How to get gel manicures done

You can get your gel manicures done either at a salon, by an independent nail tech, or at home. 

At a salon

Getting your gel manicure at a nail salon provides professional service but comes with recurring costs. Salons charge $35-$60 (high-end salons, or location convenient can charge significantly more) for the initial gel application, then $10-$20 more for each removal and reapplication every 2-3 weeks. 

These costs add up over time. While nail salons aim to provide excellent service, you have less say in customizing your nail shapes or lengths.

Independent nail technicians

When you choose to visit an independent nail technician, you get the chance to experience their unique and personalized services in the cozy and welcoming atmosphere of their home-based studio.

Since independent nail techs often curate their own services and focus on their passions, they often choose to specialize in specific techniques or styles. This specialization allows them to become true experts in their chosen area with high level of skill.

Choosing to go to an independent nail tech can also mean better affordability than salons when getting gel nails done, but removal and reapplication costs are still present every few weeks. 

At home

Doing your own gel manicure allows you to have full creative agency over your own nails. Look for at-home gel nail kits that provide the tools you need to both apply and remove your gel nails. 

DIY gel manis minimize the costs of doing your nails removing them. With a gel nail kit, you can apply gel polish and remove it yourself for a significant fraction of salon prices.

You have greater control over how you want your nails done too. Keep in mind, proper technique is needed to avoid damaging nails when prepping and removing gels.

How much does it cost to apply and remove?

On average, a basic gel manicure costs between $35-$60 at a professional nail salon depending on your location. Higher end salons can cost upwards of $100.  In high cost of living cities like New York and Los Angeles, the cost of a gel manicure can range from $45 to $100, not including potential extra charges for nail art or gel removal.

While at home DIY gel manicure kits range from $30-$150 for the supplies.

To remove gel polish, most salons charge an additional $10-$20 for a gel removal service. This typically involves soaking cotton pads in acetone and placing it on the nails. then gently scraping away the polish.

At-home gel nail removal tools usually cost between $10-$25. They come with foil wrappers, remover solution, and wooden picks. 

How much time does it take to apply and remove gel nails?

The time it takes to apply and remove gel nails can vary depending on the experience of the nail tech doing it, the condition of the nails, and the complexity of the design. However, in general, it takes about:

• 30-60 minutes to apply gel nails at a salon.
• 15-30 minutes to remove gel nails at a salon.
• 5 minutes to remove gel nails at home with S&L's Easy Gel Polish Remover

What are the most popular gel polish brands?

The best selling and most reputable professional gel polish brands are:

1. S&L Beauty Company

S&L Beauty Company tops the list because they are professional grade gel polishes, but at a fraction of the cost compared to the rest. Their colors are highly pigmented and are consistent in their application, which is a key marker of high-quality gel polishes. 

2. OPI 

OPI is one of the most popular salon-quality gel polish lines with a huge color selection. They offer a wide range of colors, including both classic and trendy shades. OPI gel polishes are known for their glossy finish and easy removal.

3. Gelish

Gelish is another popular gel polish brand that is known for its high quality. Gelish polishes offer great coverage and shine, and they last for up to two weeks without chipping.

4. Bio Seaweed Gel

Bioseaweed Gel is a slightly more affordable option that promotes nail health. BSG is water-based and enriched with vitamins and minerals to promote their overall nail strengthening.

5. CND Shellac

CND Shellac is a hybrid polish that combines the best of both gel and traditional polishes. It is applied like a traditional polish, but it is cured under a UV light like a gel polish. This makes it more durable and chip-resistant than traditional polish, but it is also easier to remove than gel polish.  

How to decide which brand to begin with

The differences between various gel polish brands comes down to quality, longevity, durability, consistency and pricing. 

• Durability - Prioritize a brand whose gel polish that can stay flawless for weeks without chipping or wearing down.
• Color selection - Having a wide range of rich, highly pigmented color options to choose from is important. The more diverse the color palette, the better.
• Removal ease - Ease of soaking off or filing off the polish is considered. Brands that remove cleanly without too much effort are desirable.
• Quality - Brands that have intense pigment and aren't diluted are regarded as higher quality.
• Consistency - Aim for a brand that features an easy-to-control brush and smooth application where the  thickness is consistent.
• Shine - Consider a gel polish where the top coat is glossy and luminous that dries to a brilliant shine.
• Value - The price of a gel polish brand should reflect its quality. Cheaper brands tend to lack in certain aspects of those mentioned above.

Are gel manicures safe?

Gel manicures are generally safe for most people. They involve applying a gel-based polish to the nails, which is then hardened under a UV or LED light. However, there are some concerns:

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• UV exposure: The UV light used to cure gel polish can contribute to skin aging and potentially a risk of skin cancer implications.
• Nail damage: Frequent gel manicures can weaken nails if removing the gel often involves soaking in acetone, which can dry out nails and skin.
• Allergic reactions: Some people might be allergic to the ingredients in gel polish.

To counter or mitigate these concerns, it's generally advised to:

1. Wear UV gloves for gel manicure or apply sunscreen on your hands before placing them under a UV lamp.
2. Use a gel nail polish remover to avoid the step of soaking your nails in acetone.
3. Search for healthier ingredients used in the formulation of the gel polish.

How long does a gel manicure last?

With proper application and curing, a gel manicure typically lasts 2-3 weeks before starting to peel or chip. But there are a few factors that affect how long your gel mani lasts.

Here are a few tips on how to sustain a longer lifespan for your gel nails:

• Apply 2-3 gel polish coats for longer wear. Thinner gel polish layers can lead to a shorter lifespan of the gel nails.
• Properly cure each coat (base coat, gel polish and top coat) under the LED or UV lamp for durability. If the gel is not cured well enough, it can cause early chipping.
• Nail care: moisturize your cuticles with cuticle oil, avoiding picking at nails, and when filing your nails, do so lightly.
• Buy quality gel polishes. Higher end gel formulas last longer on nails before thinning or peeling. Read the reviews of gel polish brands to confirm if customers experience earlier than expected chipping.
• Avoid frequent exposure of your nails to water. Liquids can lift the edges of the gel polish.

Properly cared for gel nails can go 3-4 weeks without needing a fill or reapplication. 

How long should you wait between gel manicures?

You should wait about two to three weeks between getting gel manicures. This time is important because the process of putting on and taking off gel polish can be hard on your nails. If you do gel manicures too often, your nails might become thin and weak. Taking a break helps your nails get stronger again.

If you're wondering whether to take a break from gel manicures, look for these signs:

1. Weaker Nails: If your nails bend more easily or don't feel as strong as they used to.
2. White Marks: Small white spots or lines on your nails could mean they're stressed or reacting to the gel or removal process.
3. Easily Broken Nails: If your nails start to split, peel, or break more than normal.
4. Color Changes: Any new, odd colors on your nails could be a bad sign.
5. Dryness: If your nails or the skin around them feel very dry or the nails seem more fragile.

Removing gel polish

The main difference between removing gel nail polish and traditional nail polish is that gel nails requires extra steps to dissolve the bonds before it can be taken off.

While regular polish can be peeled or rubbed off with remover, gel polish is hardened under UV light, forming a hardened layer on the nail that resists chipping. To remove gel polish, acetone is needed to dissolve the bonds.

Gel nails can be removed using either acetone-soaked cotton pads wrapped around each nail to dissolve the gel, followed by gentle filing, or by directly applying gel polish remover and scrubbing it off after a certain duration.

UV vs LED Lamps

Credit: Shutterstock

Peruse the service menu at any nail salon, and you'll be confronted with a staggering array of choices for your manicure: exfoliation, extensions, a rainbow of colors, tips, intricate nail art, and more.

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If you're looking for a simple pop of color and a glossy finish, the first decision you're likely to make is what kind of nail polish to get: regular or gel. Bottles of both types of polish are often lined up next to each other, with different-colored caps denoting at a glance which is which.

The first difference you might notice between gel and regular polish is the price: gel polish is more expensive. But, your nail tech might tell you, it hardens in less than a minute with the help of a special curing lamp, and it's much less likely to chip. The downside is that gel is more difficult to remove: it has to be soaked'or in some cases filed'off, rather than coming off with a quick wipe.

All those different properties are due to regular and gel polish having very different chemistries.

Nailing the science

'Whatever we put on our nails has to behave like an industrial coating, and yet at the same time be aesthetically pleasing and come off easily,' says Frank Pagano, a cosmetic chemist who worked on nail polish formulation at Revlon for a decade. With a $2.3 billion market in the US, according to the market research firm Mintel, the nail care industry offers a multitude of products that reflect the range of things consumers might prioritize. Want something quick drying and chip resistant? Gel might be your friend. Want to be able to easily change your look at home? Maybe stick with regular.

All nail polishes are polymeric coatings applied on top of natural nails. The variation comes from which type of polymers they are. Regular nail polish is based mostly on nitrocellulose and hardens after solvent evaporation. Gel, acrylic, and powder, or 'dip,' nails are all based on acrylic polymers, and the polymerization is part of the application process. Gel refers specifically to nail coatings in which the polymerization is triggered by light.

Many drugstore companies offer polishes that have 'gel' in the name but are often just regular nitrocellulose-based polishes with fancy copolymers added to make them more chip resistant. If you don't have to stick your hand under a lamp to harden your manicure, it's not a gel.

When it comes to the details of the chemistry, 'gel nail polish is like a play,' Pagano says. 'You're gonna have certain characters; it's just a question of who's playing the characters.' The stars of the show are the monomers and the photoinitiator, which cues those monomers to link up into polymer chains.

The photoinitiator's role is to absorb ultraviolet light and split into radicals that kick-start polymerization. Two commonly used photoinitiators are benzoyl peroxide and diphenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide.

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The monomers that the photoinitiator pushes to polymerize are a mixture of various methacrylates. Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) is a major component of many gel polishes; di-HEMA trimethyl- hexyl dicarbamate, another common ingredient, has two methacrylate groups so it can function as a cross-linker between polymer chains. There may also be a couple of other small methacrylates in the formula, as well as oligomers or polymers with reactive methacrylate groups. The interconnected polymer network these compounds form gives gels their chip resistance and staying power.

By tweaking the combination of building blocks, the same light-triggered reaction can be used to create polymer coatings with a range of properties. According to Emily Nagy, a licensed nail technician in Michigan, there are two main categories: soft gels, which have a flexible polymer network and can be removed by soaking them in solvents such as acetone; and hard gels, which are rigid and impermeable to solvents and must be filed off. Gels can also vary in viscosity, from the thin polish used for color coats to thick builder gels and even thicker moldable gels used for creating 3D nail designs.

A bottle of gel polish also contains plenty of supporting actors: stabilizers, rheology modifiers, preservatives, solvents, and, of course, pigments. Formulation scientists work hard to create a base formula that functions correctly and consistently for the whole product line and makes it easy to swap out the pigments. Cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos says that 'the consumer should expect the same thing every time,' no matter what molecule or mineral provides the color.

Illuminating safety

Nagy says her training to become a certified nail tech was largely focused on hygiene and how to prevent nail infections, which is important for all manicures. So is ensuring adequate ventilation to minimize the amount of volatile organic solvents hanging around in the air. But gels raise a couple of safety questions that traditional polishes don't.

One concern is whether the ultraviolet from the lamps damages skin, as there are well-established links between UV and skin aging and cancer. Newer LED curing lamps, which deliver a narrower wavelength of light than fluorescent UV lamps, are supposed to be make the curing process faster and safer. But UV light is still essential to any gel manicure.

A study published earlier this year in Nature Communications (DOI: 10./s-023--8) found that an LED nail dryer caused DNA damage to mouse and human cells in vitro. But other studies suggest that it would probably take a lot of time under the lamp to reach a threshold for serious damage to your hands (JAMA Dermatol. , DOI: 10./jamadermatol..). Still, because UV damage is cumulative over a lifetime, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends that people who regularly get gel manicures protect their skin with sunscreen.

Some ingredients in the polish also come with safety concerns. Methacrylates are skin irritants and sensitizers'people can become seriously allergic to them over time. And if that happens, there are bigger consequences than having to switch to regular nail polish: acrylates are used in a number of medical products, such as bone cement, dental fillings, and diabetic insulin pumps, that a person with such an allergy would not be able to tolerate.

In a study performed by the British Association of Dermatologists, 2.4% of people tested at dermatology clinics showed an allergic reaction to at least one methacrylate compound.

Cosmetic Ingredient Review, a US personal care product safety nonprofit, has concluded that acrylates in nail products are safe to use as directed. Nails aren't very porous, so the short amount of time that the uncured monomer is on them is unlikely to cause harm. If there's minimal contact between uncured nail polish and the skin around your nails'which a good nail tech will ensure'gel manicures are considered safe. In the EU, regulations say products containing HEMA and di-HEMA trimethylhexyl carbamate are for professional use only.

But DIY manicures have had an uptick in popularity since the pandemic. According to a survey by Mintel, 25% of 1,412 respondents said they had used gel nail polish at home.

Most drugstore brands that sell at-home gel kits in the US make ingredient and safety information available on the packaging and on their websites, as required by the US Food and Drug Administration, but some sites make it easier than others to find that information.

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For your health and that of your nails, 'it's really important to think about . . . going to a professional' if you want a gel manicure, Dobos says.

Nagy recommends that clients find a nail tech who educates themselves on the evolving landscape of nail products and keeps an open dialogue with clients about any health or safety concerns they might have. 'The burden of information needs to be on the nail technician and not on the client.'

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