Gel Nail Manicure

I'm not a fan. They look pretty at first, but grow out and look awful. They also do a lot of damage.

Did it once. Never again. Don't do it. You will ruin your nice nails.

Anyone I've ever known who tried gel was really sorry they did.

Don't do it! They do ruin your nails. It takes a ton of remover (we're talking soaking and scraping) to get it off. It took a good six months for my nails to look healthy again after I had gel polish. The gel polish really does last a long time, but there's a big price to pay.

Nope... They do so much damage as does the acrylic.

My daughter (19) found some press on nails from Target she bought on a fluke and they work beautifully for special events and no bail damage . $5 and yiur time is all it takes.

I would have sworn she had fake nails from a salon. They last about s week.

I get the shellac manicures, where they cure it under the uv light but it's not a fake nail. I like getting the french manicures. My nails are not very strong, but the shellac actually seems to make them stronger. I especially like the french manicure because the outgrowth at the bottom isn't as obvious so I feel like it lasts longer.

Since your nails are in great shape, I would go for a regular manicure with shellac polish. It's more durable than the regular stuff and won't ruin your natural nail. Gel will ruin your nails and is much harder to remove than acrylic.

i do. i got acrylics for years, and yeah, my nails became paper-thin. but then, they were only like TWO layers of paper beforehand. i was not blessed with good nails.
i like the gels better, although i doubt they're any better for you than acrylics. but my natural nails are useless, and i have a job (although it's a little one) and like my hands to look nice. i keep my nails very very short, as short as they can reasonably be kept.
if at some point i can't do 'em any more, i'll figure out how to revert to my crappy natural nails, but as long as i can get gels (or whatever comes next) i'm going to enhance what nature gave me.
:) khairete
S.

My daughter wanted to get them because her friend did. Well, her friend could not get the stuff off. Looked great for a week but then got blah and when she tried to take it off the usual way, it would not come off. Her mom actually had to "scrub" it off using a rough pad and a LOT of remover. Her nails ended up really dry afterwards. Now they split if she tries to grow them out just a bit. She's 15 so hopefully her youth will work to her advantage in healing her nails quickly.

I used to get them all the time, but the time and money gets old.

I do still get them for vacations or major events though. They looks great only because I get French...so it looks good for up to 3 weeks. Color will grow out and when it starts to peel at the base of your nail it will look bad.

My nails did get messed up with them because I did it every 2-3 weeks for 4 years or so...but they have recovered. So I think doing it SOMETIMES is okay, but don't do it all the time. And depending on what kind of vacation it is would depend on if I did it or not. Our cruise, yes. The beach with just family, no.