Trust us—we know the feeling all too well. You’ve had a gel manicure, your colourful nails look amazing for two to three weeks, and you’re sworn off regular nail polish for the rest of your life. Gel manicures really do go above and beyond, so it’s easy to see why so many more people are turning to gels. “Unlike regular polish that air-dries, gel polish hardens when cured under UV/LED light,” explains nail artist and session manicurist Millie Horton. “This makes it much more durable and less easy to remove than regular polish, so the main benefit of gel polish for clients is that it is much harder wearing than standard nail varnish.” If you want to embrace the latest nail art trends, then a gel manicure is definitely the route to go down. “For us techs, it gives us significantly more scope when it comes to nail art, we can layer designs and be creative without worrying about drying time,” adds Horton. “It’s also easier to achieve a crisp and professional finish using gel polish.”
But what about when it comes to gel nail polish removal? It can be all too tempting to pick your polish off when you notice it start to lift around the edges, but according to Horton, this should be avoided at all costs. “When we say ‘don’t pick off your gel polish’, we mean ‘peeling off your gel manicure yourself can result in small layers of your natural nail peeling off with it’,” she explains. “The common misconception that gel manicures are more damaging to your nails than standard polish often comes from clients choosing to pick or peel off their mani rather than having a proper removal – which can cause unnecessary trauma to the natural nail.”