Get the Salon Feel at Home With Semi Cured Gel Nails – Just about everybody loves to go get their nails done. There’s no denying that. Not only is it an hour of pure pampering, foot or hand massage often included, but you also get to walk out with a flawless looking mani or pedi. However, getting your nails done can be expensive and time consuming to keep up with. If you opt for regular polish, it just about always chips too soon, and if you get gel, it’s more expensive and is a longer process to apply. So what if you could get those great salon-quality nails without the price and the hassle? And without any nail painting skills of your own?
You can. Semi cured gel nails are the DIY answer to salon grade nails, and no one will ever be able to guess the difference. They’re quick. They’re inexpensive. They last just as long. And nail art is always an option. There must be a downside, right? Not really. Read on and we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the semi cured gel nail strips that are soon to be the answer to your mani/pedi prayers.
What Are Semi Cured Gel Nails?
Let’s start with the basics: what does “semi cured” mean, and how does it all work? These at-home manicures begin with a set of nail strips and end with a simple curing process to give your nails a professional looking finish. The semi-cured nature of the nail strips means that they’ve already been partially set by a UV lamp; they usually come about 50-70 percent cured. This makes the strips hardened enough to leave liquid form, but soft enough to still be flexible and slightly gel-like, allowing you to shape them perfectly to your nail. It also affords you to spend less time with your nails under a UV lamp, which is always a bonus.
The nail strips are adhesive, so you begin the process by sticking one on each nail and trimming it down to the correct size and shape. It’s recommended that you wipe your nails off before this process to make the strips stick on longer. Once the strips have been applied, all you need is a UV nail lamp, which costs about $20 online or sometimes comes for free with a semi cured gel nail strip subscription. You’ll place your nails under the UV lamp for 60 to 120 seconds, and viola! Upon removal, you’ll have a professional-looking manicure or pedicure, all done by you at home.
How Long Do They Last?
If cured properly, a set of semi cured gel nails can last about two weeks without chipping or damage. The lasting time is one of the main reasons people opt for gel nail polish over traditional nail polish. You get significantly more time out of them without an annoying chip that’ll proceed to catch on everything until you remove the nail polish. Instead, as long as you cleaned your nails before application to maximize adhesion, and you cured them for the correct amount of time, you should have perfect nails for up to two weeks.
Semi Cured Gel Nails vs. Gel Nail Polish
You may be wondering, if you can just paint your nails with gel nail polish at home or get it done at a salon, why opt for semi cured gel nails? Unsurprisingly, there are several reasons.
- Price. First and foremost, even if you have to buy the UV lamp for your first set and a set of semi cured gel nail strips, the total cost of the two things together will still likely be less than the cost of a gel manicure or pedicure. And once you have the UV lamp, it’ll be significantly less, probably even less than half the price. A set of semi cured gel nail strips, which typically comes with about 30 (enough for each hand/foot, plus extras for mess ups), will cost somewhere between $10 and $20, compared to at least $40 to get it done at a salon. In this economy? We need that.
- Application. Whether you’re getting your nails done at a salon or painting gel nails yourself at home, the application process for semi cured gel nails is quicker and cheaper. For one, it’s simply one layer of “polish” (in this case a strip), compared to multiple layers and multiple curing sessions required to paint on gel nails. The painting process requires a primer layer, curing, a color layer, curing, and an outer coat… then more curing. When you opt for semi cured strips, most of that curing is already done, cutting the process down to a matter of minutes.
- Safety. If you’re going to get your nails done at a salon, you don’t necessarily know what kind of polish is going on your nails. In contrast, when you choose semi cured gel nails, there are brands that are vegan and cruelty free, or free of various harmful toxins and chemicals. You at least have the option to get a less harmful gel polish, which you don’t always have at a salon or which may not be as easy to find in stores.
- Smell. Some people are extremely averse to the strong scent of nail polish, gel or regular. Some people are indifferent. Either way, you won’t have to deal with the scent if you opt for semi cured gel nails, so you won’t even have to consider how you feel about it.
- Nail Art. Another major advantage is that semi cured gel nails come in numerous colors and patterns. Naturally, you can get just about any color nail polish, but a pattern takes much more time and effort if you’re getting it done at the salon, let alone if you’re attempting nail art at home on your own. Instead, you can get semi cured nail strips in different patterns, even some with gemstones, and it all takes the same minimal amount of time. Full disclosure, you may need to add an extra minute under the UV light if you’re applying nail strips with gemstones, but that minute is still nothing compared to the amount of time you’d spend at the salon or doing nail art on yourself.
Don’t get me wrong, going to get your nails done is an experience. It’s about a lot more than convenience; it’s about relaxation, about getting a little pampered, and, of course, about leaving with great looking nails. But not everybody has the time or money to keep up with regular manis and pedis. Semi cured gel nails are the answer for that, giving you professional looking gel nail polish that you can apply yourself at home in minutes. And when people compliment your nails, you can tell them you did them yourself.
