Sugar Lips Lifestyle Tips: Are You Jellish? The Life Cycle of Gel Nail Polish

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Are You Jellish? The Life Cycle of Gel Nail Polish

I love a beautiful manicure but they never lasted past the first two days without chipping. My polish job at home never stood up to the job at the salon and the maintenance was brutal. I have my hands in water all of the time at work and in my dated little apartment, I AM the dishwasher. I found that I would make the time nor take the time to keep my nails polished. I have never been one for fake nails so when I heard about gel nail polish, I almost did back flips out of my chair.

I had a client come in with beautifully polished nails and I made a comment about how pretty they looked and that she must have just had them done across the street. To my surprise, she replied "No, these are from last week."

Last week?

What?! How could that be? They were perfectly manicured and as shiny as the first day of a fresh manicure. really? Are you sure? Yes, she was sure. It is gel nail polish that is applied in layers using a UV light to dry in between coats. It lasts 7-10 business days and is removed by soaking it with acetone. You may have seen advertisements for various brands of gel nail polish at your local salon as there are quite a few brands on the market now. The cost is a bit higher than a regular manicure and it takes longer to remove.

Knowing me, I wanted to do a little more research before hand to find out more about it. Finally, I made the commitment last week and was completely surprised at the results. Most of you know that we cook big meals on Sunday and often times there are a lot of dishes that go with that. Last Sunday, I did five loads of dishes throughout the day and my nails remained flawless. I banged them on a keyboard all week, knocked into things, I even accidentally microplaned my nail while grading cheese and still, they remained shiny and new looking. I was astonished.

I took some pictures to show you the life of the gel polish manicure and in my opinion, I think that it looks best for about seven days. It begins to look a bit duller and starts to grow out at that point. I have had mine on for eleven days and am ready to have it removed.

After seeking the perfect manicure for the past 15 years, I have finally found a product that I really like. I am not sure that I will try the Jellish by Glamour Queen brand again as I can't confirm if it is a trusted non-toxic company; I will however, seek out OPI's Axxium gel polish to try that next. This works with my lifestyle instead of against it. What a relief! The photos below are not as perfect as I would like. I took them one handed with my iPhone and had a hard time focusing the camera with my one finger!

Day three after hand washing five loads of dishes in very hot water. No chips and still shiny!

Day 5: Still glossy small chip on the very tip of my middle nail where I microplaned my nail on accident. Hardly noticeable and completely my fault. You can see that the edges are still in tact and gloss is still high.

Day 10: Grown out, slightly dull, edges are beginning to become inconsistent and uneven looking. You can see it better in this next picture. Not bad for DAY 10!