Nowadays, more and more women are taking care of their nails as part of their daily beauty routine. If you are blessed with strong, long, perfectly shaped nails then this won't take too much effort, just the odd manicure here and there. But if you are not lucky enough to have natural beautiful nails then you may need a little help of the artificial kind. If you are new to the wonderful world of artificial nails it can be hard to know where to start. The most popular types of fake nails fall into two categories: acrylic and gel. But what are the differences and which are the best to get?
Acrylic nails are currently more popular than gels, but this popularity is largely due to the fact that they have been on the market for longer. Acrylics can be whole or partial, and can be placed over the entire nail or as tips. The acrylic process uses a mixture of liquid acrylic (monomer) and polymer, which is an acrylic powder that is applied to the nail. This hardens on its own without any heat in minutes. If the acrylics are applied properly and professionally then they could actually make your nails stronger because the cracks and splits are allowed to grow out and heal. Acrylics can transform weak, split or ridged nails in to beautiful, long nails that look perfectly natural.
Some women choose to have an acrylic overlay on top of their own nails. This tends to hold the polish longer. Others favour a sculpted acrylic nail which is an extension of your own nail. This goes underneath the nail bed with acrylic powder and liquid and you can create any length that you need. This method avoids any damaging types of glue and it slightly less abrasive than other methods. You should expect to have your acrylics filled between every two to three weeks. The longer that you leave it, the more likely it is that they could lift off and damage your own natural nails. Acrylics are removed by soaking your nails in acetone remover; this should be done by a professional nail technician. You must not clip the acrylic off with clippers as this can pull layers of your nail bed and leave them weak.
Acrylics may be the most popular type of artificial nails, but there are some disadvantages that you may experience with acrylics. Some nail technicians use a drill on your nail bed which can break down your nail plate. This is very painful and can leave ridges and bruising. If the acrylic is not applied properly or if they are left too long without being filled then the acrylic could lift and this can lead to mould and all sorts of nails funguses.
A gel nail is typically a pre-mixed polymer and monomer gel that is first applied to the nails and then later the mixture is cured under ultra-violet lights. There are two mains of gels: light cured and no-light gels. It is thought that light cured gel nails are the most common type of gels, LCN (light console nails) for example, have recently become very popular. The advantage of no-light gel nails is that there is less time spent under the lights, and there is no need for special lighting equipment. The no-light gel nails still need to be cured but they use a special gel activator that is brushed or sprayed on. Other gel nails are cured by being dipped in plain water.
Gel nails tend to look more natural and glossy than acrylic nails and the curing time is faster than acrylics. The gel used in the application process is completely odourless unlike the chemicals used in acrylic application. There is also less filling involved in the application process for gel nails than acrylics, which means that there is less damage to the natural nail.
Gel nails tend not to last as long or be as durable as acrylic nails, even though they tend to cost more. And if a gel nail breaks then it can cause problems as the break can often be more of a shatter than a clean break, so you won't be able to fix the problem yourself. To remove gel nails they must be filed off, they can not just be soaked off like acrylics.
The overall effect of both gel and acrylic nails are pretty similar as they both can lengthen and strengthen your existing nails. It is important to consider the pros and cons of both types of artificial nails so that you can decide which is best for you.
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