What Make Normal Polish and Gel Polish Different?

Are you torn between regular nail polish and gel nail polish? Well, we’ve been there too and it’s not that simple, right? So, we have listed down some key differences between gel polish and classic polish so you’ll be able to make an informed decision.

Let’s Start Off With Normal Polish, The Good…

Normal nail polish, or nail varnish, is the most common and accessible nail polish, which can easily be found at any drugstore or beauty site. Normal polish is easy to apply and remove at a professional salon, or even at home, without any professional equipment. At The Nail Bar, with normal polish, our nail technician will lay down a base coat, 2-3 polish coats, and a top coat. To remove, simple dabbing of acetone is enough to erase the lacquer on your nails completely. Thanks to their ease of application and removal, you get a little bit more freedom in changing your nail shade to match your mood and outfit.

In comparison to gel-polish, which requires UV/LED lamp to dry, normal polish is air-dried. This makes normal polish safer, since you’re not exposing your skin to any harmful lights during the process.

In addition, normal nails is more affordable than gel manicure/pedicure. This makes them a great option if you’re on a budget. Find out our prices for normal polish appointments, HERE.

Normal Polish, The Bad…

An issue with normal polish is that it takes forever to dry, for as long as 1 hour to dry completely! During this time, many people (including us) forget it’s drying, and use our hands/feet to do other tasks, for example checking our phones, searching in our pockets, going to the restroom on our barefoot. And when we look back, our nails are nothing but smudgy.

Even if you’re patient enough for your nails to dry perfectly, your new polish can chip easily within days, making it a less ideal option for someone who looks for durable mani-pedi that offer peace-of-mind in weeks to come.

Consider Making The Switch To Gel Nail Polish, The Good…

Gel-polish, which is also referred to as Shellac, is many females’ best friend, and here’s WHY.

Firstly, gel polish dries quicker than ordinary nail polish. Curing requires placing your nails under a LED or UV light for as little as 1 minutes per coat. Thanks to its quick dry time and advance formula, when done, your gel nails will look beautiful and smudge-free.

In addition to its quick-drying feature, gel polish nails hardly chip. A set of gel nails generally last you at least two weeks, or as long as one month (depending on the level of care and maintenance).

Gel polish is also perfect for making intricate, on-sleek nail art, thanks again to its quick drying characteristic. With normal polish, painting a design can take up to hours, or nearly impossible for complicated looks.

Gel Nails, The Bad…

Compared to regular polish, gel polish is less healthy for your nails for a number of reasons, including exposure to UV lights, and incorrect removal process.

Firstly, UV rays can cause premature ageing of the skin on your hands. Therefore, we recommend our clients to wear SPF when attending their gel nail appointment, and apply our Anti-aging Hand Cream on a daily-basis to prevent dark spots, wrinkles and dryness from arising.

Besides the potential harms of UV lights, over-relying on the drill to remove gel-polish can also result in major nail damage. At our Nail Bars, we only use the drill to quickly remove the top coat of your gel nails, instead of drilling it all off from top to bottom. After drilling your top coat, we then wrap your nails in polish remover to allow natural break-down of the gel polish. Removing in this way helps avoid excessive filing, that weaken the client’s nail bed.

Have you made your decision? If you know exactly what type of manicure you want, Book Now with Us at one of our Nail Bar locations, including Murray Bridge, Norwood, Port Pirie & Edwardstown.