Gel Nails ~ 14 Day Update

Time to do a little update on the Gel Nails.

You can check out my "tutorial" on the gel nail system I used, here.

I have to say that they were FANTASTIC, especially for the cruise!!

Here's a quick comparison of the 14 days.

From first glance, they appear lighter, which may be true, but that could 

also be the lighting of the picture. 

I felt that the shine really held up for the two weeks.

The edges were worn a bit, but no chips.  I also thought it was great,

 that I didn't break a nail either!

My nails always seem thin and brittle, which means they tend to break a lot.

In the close up, you can see nail growth, which is normal and good! 

Growing and not breaking! 

Now that's what I'm talking about!!

So, I wanted to re-do my nails, but I got called into work and when I work

 at the school cafeteria, it's a no nail polish rule.

This would be my first attempt at removing the gel nail polish.  I did my reading up on this, and I got out the cotton balls, foil and nail polish remover.

Putting the soaked cotton ball on each nail and wrapping them with foil, was harder than I thought it would be.  Sorry, no pics here of that.  

When I removed the foil and cotton balls, the polish was still on.  It doesn't come off like regular nail polish. I got my orange wood cuticle pusher and began "scraping".  Yep, I actually had to scrape it off.  It kinda just flaked off.  It was strange.  But it worked and I didn't feel like it affected my nails at all. 

It felt like some of the base coat was still on, so I used a 3-2-1 nail buffer to smooth it all out. Then they felt fine.

I worked for 3 days at the school and no broken nails. (yay!) 

So, then I was finally was able to re-paint my nails. I bought this sweet pink color. I was in the mood for spring! I did the whole system and was extremely pleased with them.

Then 2 days later....

this happend!

Are you kidding me???

Ugh! Nail Fail!

I think I know what happened.  For one, I was working at the apartments

and was heavily sanding cabinets and walls... yada yada yada...

Second, I did one thing different when I painted them.  I "capped" them differently. (Capping is basically painting the tip of the nail edge.)   

The very first time, I capped them before I painted the nail. This time, when I painted the pink I capped after I painted the nail. 

Look, at the picture closely.  Don't the ends appear a bit thicker? The thicker the polish the less it "cures".  I think I painted them too thick in general.

So, after that peel.  I decided to re-do all of my nails.

This time I just soaked them and scraped. It definitely was easier. They peeled more than flaked, I think because of the thickness of the polish.  

This time, I painted much quicker and thinner, and capped first. The results were much better!

Even after the nail fail, I am extremely happy with my nails.  I love that the polish doesn't come off easily.  I've continued to sand, paint, do dishes, clean house, type, etc. and no chips and no breaks.

Here's the quick compare again, I love it!

This make me smile!

Blessings,
Lori