Gel application is undeniably a trend that most women have hopped into and truthfully, to some ladies this new train has brought its fair share of trouble.
First, let’s agree that gel application will not be history anytime soon and as much as they look like every Nairobi girl’s dream to have them on, dealing with chips is not in any way exciting.
Beyond creating and enhancing beauty, either gel application or acrylics create havoc on delicate nails and cuticles.
Except for the fact that gel or acrylics enable women to play with crazy colours and designs, these elongated nails really sustain women for quite some weeks. With this in mind, it sums up that the nails have to be removed at some point. Thus, the following is a compilation of easy ways you can bring back your nails to life. They include:
Reduce frequency
Constant application of gel especially on your natural nails without allowing for room to air out a little can cause sensitivity.
According to a nail technician on reddit, gel or acrylic application is typically heavy and can increase the chances of damaging the nail bed sometimes also caused by sensitivity.
The process involved while making these gorgeous looks on most ladies has long-lasting effects of gel manicures.
“Sometimes soaking your nails in acetone might have accidentally damaged your nails or they may have been thinner, causing them to be more sensitive to the gel heating up; which is certainly plausible as damaged nails will be more sensitive in general,” She writes.
Remove gel or acrylics properly
Sometimes a few nails might chip off and a trip to the nail technician might not be the ideal solution at a particular moment especially if you hadn’t been financially prepared for it.
According to a certified advanced nail technician, the proper nail care to remove gel or acrylics is by soaking in acetone.
“For gel nails, soaking should be for a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes. For acrylic nails, soaking can be a minimum of 45 minutes,” she adds.
This, therefore, means that choosing to remove the existing gel applications without a few considerations first, can be considered a grievous reason and that’s why gel or acrylic might not be working well for you.
Take great care of cuticles
This goes without saying that you have to embrace and love the skin you are in. Taking vitamins like cod liver oil helps greatly in growing your nails and hair often.
Another nail technician advised that it is good to understand that your nail beds and cuticles are what’s important since they’re made of living tissues. And that’s why ditching gels and acrylics applications is the best option, even though it is the removal process that causes the majority of the damage.
“You cannot save your nails while you have gel or acrylic on, but you can help restore and better your hands overall by using a strong cuticle and hand cream,” she said.
Keep your hands moisturized
There is never anything like over-moisturizing, get used to using lotions and hand creams and more so make them your best friends. A few good essential oils include lemon or jojoba oils, they are known to repair nails and hands.
Keeping hands moisturized is the key to maintaining healthy nails, and ensuring the nails are kept short until they become healthier is what technicians advise.
It is good practice to ensure that all your cuticles and hands are moisturized. Using a cuticle oil or vaseline will greatly help with this.
Go natural
In order to maintain healthy nails, you will have to resist the urge of going back to old ways since they will hardly give any good results. I know, the too good to be true gel manicures are hard to let go but consider going natural or having minimal polish as an alternative.
I agree most of you ‘acrylaholics’ will testify that having stick-ons can be another alternative just because they come with all the benefits of gels and acrylics but truthfully, without being removed properly the damage done is almost similar to having gel application done. The best option would be going natural since they are also way cheaper than salon manicures and less time-consuming.
With the above considerations in mind, it is good to understand that there are also some people whose nails, damaged or not, are just naturally thin and sensitive. If you happen to fall under that category of people, then it’s best to let your technician know in advance so they have to be a bit more careful about what products they use and how they apply them.
