Nailed It!

Gel manicures have been all the rage in the last few years and for good reason! All of us with our busy-badges on need our manicures to last and the advent of gel polish / manicure has made a two to three week manicure a reality! However, there is a right way and a wrong way to have your gel manicure removed and if your nail technician is not trained in the proper removal of your polish, you could find your nails damaged. And it’s not the gel manicure’s fault! 

The first job of a nail technician is to protect the natural nails of her clients. Anytime the nail is scraped, the natural nail is being harmed. Unfortunately, many technicians are unclear and untrained as to how much time the gel removal product requires them to soak the nails for a proper loosening of the product from the natural nail. Gel-polish should come off as easy as simply twisting off the soak-off wrap with a little pressure from the technician’s fingers! As one industry expert noted: Unlike acrylic tips, gel nail manicures “are nail enhancements not replacements.”

Even if you soak your nails the manufacturer’s recommended time, it may take a bit longer for your nails, as mine do. Mainly because I stretch my manicure a full 21 days. It really takes an educated nail tech to know that if she unwraps the fingers and begins to take off the gel-polish and sees it is holding or snagging a little, then she needs to reapply the wraps and let the removal solution or acetone sit on the gel-polish a few minutes more. 

The goal is to keep the natural nail plate firmly intact and healthy for its next application. Even a small amount of filing the nail bed “just to loosen the polish” as one is often told, or the use of an orange stick or metal plate to try to get the product off, can damage the nail bed. Nail professionals do care about their clients’ nails, but all too many are passing this problem off as being caused by the soaking acetone and that the nails are fine for another application. Not true! It’s not the acetone. Exhibit A! 

This is a damaged nail bed (magnified 3000 times) caused by “prying” residual UV gel-polish from the nail plate. A large cluster of these can create the appearance of white to off-white spots or patches on your nails. Sound familiar? 

I understand that the nail salon wants to turn the chair faster and thus does not want to have you sitting there soaking. And we, as clients, also have to take part of the blame for not listening when told how to care for our manicures. 

• Watch yourself around chemicals similar to acetone. Simple isopropyl solutions used for everyday cleaning can start to break down gel-polish. 
• Never pick your nail polish off. This pulls the nail plate keratin just as when a nail tech scrapes and pulls too hard during removal. 
  
• Use gloves when you wash the dishes and clean the house. 

We need to practice common courtesy to our nail salons as well. Don’t zoom in to the salon, push your way to the front of the line, and harass the nail tech to get your polish off and changed asap! Know that you are going to need to soak probably 15 to 20 minutes before the polish can be removed! Plan for this. You can do this without a nail tech standing over you. Or perhaps get a pedicure while you are waiting for the gel to soften on your hands. Let them proceed with another client while you are soaking so they can monetize “the chair” as they need to. I promise you that if you make sure your natural nail bed is protected, you can wear a gel manicure year round without harm.