OPI Gelcolor

[Vudu]

The Sally Hansen light is the exact same light, but at half the price. The Sally Hansen Gel polishes are the same formula as the OPI gelcolor.

Hi long time lurker and catching up on gel polish information. So far I have only used Shellac and Gelish, love the removal of Shellac compared to Gelish. Gelish is more time consuming removal, but the top coat seems shiner than Shellac. I've read about the OPI gel polish and see that you lovely ladies are using it, but if I am reading right, it uses an LED light to cure? The Sally Hansen also uses LED? I can't see trying them if they can't be cured with a UV light.

 

[karenh1996]

Any polish that is cured by LED can be cured by UV. Saying this ALL polishes cure under UV but not all under LED.

 

[artiemd]

LED is a type of UV light. Polishes like Gelish and OPI gelcolor/gelshine that can use LED can also be cured using UV lamps, although the cure times are longer. Cure times with UV lamps are around 2 minutes per layer. With LED the cure time might be 30-60 seconds.

All of the LED cured polishes can be cured using a UV lamp, but there are some UV gels (like Shellac) that cannot be cured using LED.

 

[artiemd]

Sorry karen for duplicating karen's response

 

[Vudu]

Sorry karen for duplicating karen's response

Ahhh cool thats great info! Does the OPI gel polish remove as easily as Shellac? Has anyone tried the Sally Hansen gel polish yet? I mostly use Sally Hansen polishes for water marble nail art and thats about it, but willing to be open minded since I ran out of Shellac base coat and my right hand is showing a visible gap! :cry:

 

[artiemd]

OPI Gelcolor removes just about as easily as Shellac. I haven't tried Sephora by OPI or Sally Hansen

 

[Bunny1212]

Hi long time lurker and catching up on gel polish information. So far I have only used Shellac and Gelish, love the removal of Shellac compared to Gelish. Gelish is more time consuming removal, but the top coat seems shiner than Shellac. I've read about the OPI gel polish and see that you lovely ladies are using it, but if I am reading right, it uses an LED light to cure? The Sally Hansen also uses LED? I can't see trying them if they can't be cured with a UV light.

Any LED polish can be cured with a flourescent bulb UV light, it just takes longer. However, because most "UV" light polishes need a shorter wave length, they cannot be cured with an LED light which only emits the longest wavelengths of UV light. Your Shellac lamp will cure any LED gel.

Coty Cosmetics group owns both OPI and Sally Hansen, their gel polishes share the same formulation, and probably are made in the same facility. The Sephora by OPI GelShine color is also identical. The Sephora LED light is identical (except for the color and branding) as the Sally Hansen LED lamp.

 

[CrackBerryCream]

Any LED polish can be cured with a flourescent bulb UV light, it just takes longer. However, because most "UV" light polishes need a shorter wave length, they cannot be cured with an LED light which only emits the longest wavelengths of UV light. Your Shellac lamp will cure any LED gel.

Coty Cosmetics group owns both OPI and Sally Hansen, their gel polishes share the same formulation, and probably are made in the same facility. The Sephora by OPI GelShine color is also identical. The Sephora LED light is identical (except for the color and branding) as the Sally Hansen LED lamp.

Great to know, thanks! But it seems one cannot buy single Sally Hansen Gel polishes?! At least I can't find any on ebay

 

[ferretkingdom]

Ahhh cool thats great info! Does the OPI gel polish remove as easily as Shellac? Has anyone tried the Sally Hansen gel polish yet? I mostly use Sally Hansen polishes for water marble nail art and thats about it, but willing to be open minded since I ran out of Shellac base coat and my right hand is showing a visible gap! :cry:

I use many brands of polish, but always with gelish base/top so I can't say how the opi base and top remove, but with my gelish the colors remove easily. The sally Hansen gel polish wore well for me and applied easily, though I had a difficult removal. I can't swear that the SH gel polish was the culprit though. I had another brand of glitter polish that I'd applied over it after a week, so I had a lot if layers AND two previously unused brands on. The long difficult soak of could've been for many reasons. I'll report back after I remove moms mani next this week as she has on a sally Hansen color also.

...
Coty Cosmetics group owns both OPI and Sally Hansen, their gel polishes share the same formulation, and probably are made in the same facility. The Sephora by OPI GelShine color is also identical. The Sephora LED light is identical (except for the color and branding) as the Sally Hansen LED lamp.

They may be owned by the same parent company but I disagree that the formula is the same. I find the consistency of the opi polishes to be thicker than the sally Hansen ones by little bit and the sephora one I have us downright thin and runny. It's very hard to work with while the other two are not, though I think OPI's colors are more pigmented than the sally Hansen ones. Just like gelish and ACG are owned by the same people ultimately, they may not be actually made together.

I've never seen the sephora light in person, only photos. I see slight differences though to the sally Hansen lamp sitting next to me now. Many of these companies lamps look the same/similar. Even ones not linked by the same parent company. It's likely the lamps are made and sold by a couple manufacturers and rebranded for the companies, not actually made by those companies.

Great to know, thanks! But it seems one cannot buy single Sally Hansen Gel polishes?! At least I can't find any on ebay

Check your local Walgreens and targets. You can even order online at target. My targets displays are usually pretty bare but one of my local Walgreens now has a large wall display they just put up of SH, SensatioNail and kiss gels.

 

[artiemd]

I would agree with you that the one Sephora polish I own seems very different(much thinner) from the OPI polishes I own.

 

[Bunny1212]

Great to know, thanks! But it seems one cannot buy single Sally Hansen Gel polishes?! At least I can't find any on ebay

Sally Hansen Pro Gel colors can be found on Target's website, so try Target. They are also at some Walgreen's.

 

[Bunny1212]

They may be owned by the same parent company but I disagree that the formula is the same. I find the consistency of the opi polishes to be thicker than the sally Hansen ones by little bit and the sephora one I have us downright thin and runny. It's very hard to work with while the other two are not, though I think OPI's colors are more pigmented than the sally Hansen ones. Just like gelish and ACG are owned by the same people ultimately, they may not be actually made together.

I've never seen the sephora light in person, only photos. I see slight differences though to the sally Hansen lamp sitting next to me now. Many of these companies lamps look the same/similar. Even ones not linked by the same parent company. It's likely the lamps are made and sold by a couple manufacturers and rebranded for the companies, not actually made by those companies.

You are correct in discerning some subtle differences between the polishes. Depending on the color, the Sephora colors can be thinner or thicker than the OPI colors. My newer OPI colors have a different feel from the original ones I bought as well as different opacity. If you look at the ingredients, they are the same for the Sally Hansen, OPI, and SOPI gels. There are two LED lamps sold by Sally Hansen: one for their gel polish and one to be used with their Insta Gel kits. The Salon Pro Gel lamp lists the same 30 second cure time as the SOPI lamp. They are the same shape, have the same style wall cord, and the same LED lights, but are different colors. Also, the cost per ounce of the polishes is about the same: Sally Hansen is $11.99 for 1/8 ounce. SOPI is $17.95 for 1/4 ounce. OPI lists its gels at $34.00 per 1/2 ounce -- although it can be found for much, much lower prices. Broken down to a per ounce price, the Sally Hansen colors are the most expensive! All three formulations need to be well shaken before use. The biggest differences are in the packaging and brushes, which is a function of branding. Btw, I find that the IBD Just Gel polishes are similar to the OPI polishes in texture and use as well, but I haven't had any staining or shrinkage problems with IBD, which I have had with certain OPI colors.

I suspect that there aren't many places making gel polishes and that all of the gels originate in the same few facilities. So far, there seem to be three main differences in formulation: whether the polish needs to be shaken; whether it is LED/UV light curable; whether it is only UV (fluorescent bulb) curable.

All the lamps are made in China, and are all very similar as well. Curing times also seem the same, only differing by the power of the lamp. The Red Carpet Professional lamp uses a 45 second cycle, which is the same as the Gelish Mini Pro 45 Lamp. From personal experience, I know it cures OPI and IBD Just Gel as well. The Gelish 18G lamp has the same cure times for the gel colors as the OPI professional lamp. Gelish Foundation and Top It Off cure more rapidly using that lamp, but they list faster cure times for other lamps as well. The biggest difference I have found is whether it cures the whole hand or just four fingers. That is a function of design and size, not power.

 

[ferretkingdom]

You are correct in discerning some subtle differences between the polishes. Depending on the color, the Sephora colors can be thinner or thicker than the OPI colors. My newer OPI colors have a different feel from the original ones I bought as well as different opacity. If you look at the ingredients, they are the same for the Sally Hansen, OPI, and SOPI gels. There are two LED lamps sold by Sally Hansen: one for their gel polish and one to be used with their Insta Gel kits. The Salon Pro Gel lamp lists the same 30 second cure time as the SOPI lamp. They are the same shape, have the same style wall cord, and the same LED lights, but are different colors. Also, the cost per ounce of the polishes is about the same: Sally Hansen is $11.99 for 1/8 ounce. SOPI is $17.95 for 1/4 ounce. OPI lists its gels at $34.00 per 1/2 ounce -- although it can be found for much, much lower prices. Broken down to a per ounce price, the Sally Hansen colors are the most expensive! All three formulations need to be well shaken before use. The biggest differences are in the packaging and brushes, which is a function of branding. Btw, I find that the IBD Just Gel polishes are similar to the OPI polishes in texture and use as well, but I haven't had any staining or shrinkage problems with IBD, which I have had with certain OPI colors.

I suspect that there aren't many places making gel polishes and that all of the gels originate in the same few facilities. So far, there seem to be three main differences in formulation: whether the polish needs to be shaken; whether it is LED/UV light curable; whether it is only UV (fluorescent bulb) curable.

All the lamps are made in China, and are all very similar as well. Curing times also seem the same, only differing by the power of the lamp. The Red Carpet Professional lamp uses a 45 second cycle, which is the same as the Gelish Mini Pro 45 Lamp. From personal experience, I know it cures OPI and IBD Just Gel as well. The Gelish 18G lamp has the same cure times for the gel colors as the OPI professional lamp. Gelish Foundation and Top It Off cure more rapidly using that lamp, but they list faster cure times for other lamps as well. The biggest difference I have found is whether it cures the whole hand or just four fingers. That is a function of design and size, not power.

I'm pretty well versed in gels, lamps, etc. and I've been doing this myself for over two years. Diesnt mean I know everything about it all, but I'm no newbie here. My new gelish colors, newer ACG colors, even newer IBD colors also all have different consistencies and are thicker than the originals I have. I've never compared ingredients on all the gels, but I bet lots if them are the same. Same for RNP - it takes the same basic ingredients to make them regardless of the company doing it.

I actually don't find the IBD gels I have to be much like the OPI's I have in terms of consistency, but you are entitled to your opinion there. I have a ton of gels in MANY brands and have regularly compared them here and on my other group.

I'm also aware of the different sally Hansen lamps. I have the one intended for the gels and yes they are similar to the SOPI ones, but not exactly the same (and not just in color). There are differences in the body of the lamp too. The sides are slightly different - two pieces it appears for the SOPI one, instead of one piece that wraps around the back for the SH one. The on button is slightly recessed on the SOPI lamp as well. Does that mean they aren't made in the same place or have the same wattage or number of lights, cure times, etc? No, but that alone doesn't mean they are the same either. The entity one lamp looks just like the gelish 6g and the ACG lamp. So far as I know entity one is not a related company, but that brings me back to my original point that most of the lamps are likely made in the same places and just rebranded for companies willing to pay for them.

The gels may very well be the same, with just a few factories making them for the various companies, but I haven't seen any info that supports that theory over another. I'm not disputing that opi gelcolor, SOPI and Sally Hansen are all owned by the same company, but I disagree that that fact alone makes them "all the same". I also know several people who've not gotten very good wear with SOPI but get great wear with gelcolor.

 

[artiemd]

All the lamps are made in China, and are all very similar as well. Curing times also seem the same, only differing by the power of the lamp. The Red Carpet Professional lamp uses a 45 second cycle, which is the same as the Gelish Mini Pro 45 Lamp. From personal experience, I know it cures OPI and IBD Just Gel as well.

My experience is different. For me, the Gelish Mini Pro 45 Lamp did NOT cure my OPI Gelcolors. Even when I ran the cycle twice.

 

[Bunny1212]

My experience is different. For me, the Gelish Mini Pro 45 Lamp did NOT cure my OPI Gelcolors. Even when I ran the cycle twice.

When I used the mini pro lamp, I had no problem curing my OPI colors except for Louvre me Louvre me not. That color didn't cure with either lamp, and it stained my nails! I later bought Vampsterdam which is almost identical to Louvre. That cured perfectly, and didn't stain. Sometimes dark colors don't cure well. And I shake those OPI gels till my wrists complain. Btw, one of the Lomasi reds wouldn't cure either, no matter which led lamp I used. At least that one didn't stain my nails.

Has anyone else had problems with OPI colors staining? So far, Louvre and Pink Flamenco have really given me problems with staining. It's really a pity because Pink Flamenco looks so good on me.