WHY GEL NAILS?
japanese gel:
healthy nail care
Gel nails are nails finished by coating a thickened, syrup-like liquid and hardened by curing under a LED or UV light.
Until a decade ago, having nails done meant mainly using acrylic nail polish. With the introduction of soft gel about 10 years ago, gel nails saw a big rise in popularity and have become mainstream.
Gel nails have taken the main spot for treatment in nail salons in Japan, pushing away acrylic.
*Acrylic creates lengthy nails by placing a mix of acrylic liquid and acrylic power. During treatment, there is usually an acrylic-specific irritating odor (depending on the individual).
Gel nails have crystal clear, brilliant transparency, and a natural finish complementing real nails. There are many varieties of colors that produce great coloring, and they have beautiful luster with transparent feeling for a longer lasting finish (2 to 4 weeks, average 3 weeks depending on the individual).
Not needing to be reapplied frequently and less wearing from the nail tips like nail polish (as the nails are cured through coating) are the main benefits of gel nails. Also, gels are cured by light so you don’t have to wait like nail polish to dry. You can quickly continue your daily routines after curing gel nails.
As our salon uses LED lights, making curing times drastically faster compared to UV lights. Also, with previous UV lights, there were chances of sun burns to the fingertips. However this is not an issue with LED lights.
As the nails become strengthened for a fixed time due to the coating of the gel, those with thin or brittle nails can apply to protect and reinforce the nails; not only as fashion but for professions that use fingernails (guitarist, pianist, baseball pitchers etc…).
If you have small nails due to nail biting or cutting too deep, you can still re-gain healthy nails by protecting your nails for a certain period of time with the gel nails, while monitoring the growth of your nails. (Consider about 3-6 months on an ongoing basis with the pace of once every 2 week to 3 weeks).
We are also able to grow the nail bed (the pink portion which covers most of your nails). It’s never too late; please contact us before giving up.
TYPES OF GEL WE USE:
gel polish
Gel polish is the softest or weakest of all the gels available on the market. You may know it as "Shellac". CND Shellac is actually just one brand in the genre of gel polish as is OPI, Gelish, Perfect Match & Gel II. Gel polish can be applied to natural nails or on top of nail enhancements.
Gel polish is best applied on healthy/strong nails and is intended to last about 14 days. However, contrary to popular belief, it is not an indestructible substitute for regular polish and on most people it lasts about 8-10 days
soft gel
Soft gel is porous gel that can be soaked off with remover. It is slightly more heavy duty than regular gel polish and it is much more flexible than acrylics or hard gels. A little length can be added to the natural nail if desired and it is much more natural looking and light. Famous brands are Akzentz, Bio Sculpture, Presto, etc.
The gel usually lasts about 21-28 days but on certain clients can last about 4-6 weeks before it has grown out, lost its luster, chipped, etc. and needs to be removed/replaced and/or filled.