Dipping nails

[luvprada]

Hi, need your advice about dipping nails.

I had acrylic nails for 8 1/2 years and just loved them. The salon I went to ‘hand filed’. I started acrylics as my nails were terrible- would split or break.

Once the acrylics were removed (in February) my nails were a little soft but not damaged. The only reason I decided to stop getting acrylics was the cost issue due to a change in my situation. I had to fill approximately every 3 weeks.

2 weeks ago I tried dipping nails for the first time. They are harder than acrylics, look amazing and much better price than acrylics even with changing every 3 weeks,

My hesitation is that I have read that dipping nails is very hard on your nail beds, worse than acrylics.

If you have used dipping nails could you please share your experience with wear and the affect on your nail beds? Any help is appreciated.

TIA!

 

[gillianna]

Three good friends have been having nail dip done for the past 12++ months and they all love it with no problems. They all say their nails are in better condition versus with acrylic tips or gel nails. But they all go to a local salon and take care of their nails between visits. The biggest problem will be removal if it is not done right.

You need to have top gloss taken off with a drill or file and only the top so you can break th seal and then do the cotton balls with acetone removal wrapped in tinfoil which is better than soaking your nails in acetone. This can take 20-30 minutes. If a nail tech wants to drill or scrape your nails to remove the remaining polish this will destroy your nails. Removal process would be the thing that will harm your nails if not done right.

My friends polish have lasted 3-4 weeks. Lighter colors such as pink do not show nail grow out in the cuticle area as noticeable as dark colors.

My daughter who is 20 just had this done 8 days ago and I sat next to her and watched the procedure since I felt a I could do it myself at home with my own kit. Nail prep and cuticles really need to be clean and cuticles in excellent condition to have the dip look good. I have seen salons apply gel polish with not pushing back cuticles so if this happened with a dip nail to me that would look bad.

I bought a starter kit online called RevelNails that came with what one needs and one Jar of dip polish and then bought two more jars of dip polish. I will apply this to my nails myself once I am done gardening in about two weeks. My daughter had SNS dip nails at ththe salon and I was pretty impressed with the procedure and how easy the process was. I would have probably bought this brand if I didn’t already place a order for the RevelNails but to me they probably are all pretty much the same in many ways.

I have been doing shellac gel nails at home and bought their professional salon kit before most salons even knew what they were so I am confident in doing my own nails and trying new things. Removal would be the same with gel or dip.

Another thing my friends and daughter does is to use a good cuticle oil each day and put a rich hand cream on your fingers, hands before bed and during the day to keep your hands looking good. Voesh collagen gloves 1-2 times a week at night are a fantastic treat for hands. I buy from beauty supply stores online.

As with anything I am sure there are both pros and cons with this process. Some people may hate it. Gels are still the big thing at the salons here. I watched so many you tube videos before I decided to tell my daughter to try Dip from her regular gel polishes and so far she is very happy. No chips and the color looks stunning. But the nail tech was very good in her application process, so to me this can make a difference between between it looking good or bad.

When I was doing her shellac gel polishes her nails were in excellent condition but when she is away at college and goes to salons for gel polish they always push the drill in taking off the polish versus soaking and I can see many salons doing this with dip nails too because it is quicker and less work for them. This has been the number one complaint of friends who have gone to many salons versus a regular person for manicures. If a client does not know better they will let a tech use the drill and end up with destroyed nails.

 

[luvprada]

Thank you! This helps so very much. I was watching a removal when I was having mine applied and the technician soaks nails in acetone with minor drilling afterward. Looks like I might need to find a different salon. Thanks again!