Gel nails

[nickymitch]

Hi i had gel tips put on whilst in the US recently and i was wandering how long they will last and how do i get the gel bit off?

[klou15]

They tend to last quite a long time. The easiest way to get them off is to soak ur hands in warm water and it comes off quite easily.

[LindyLouLou]

Hi nicky
When I had gel nails - I used to have them soaked off with acetone. The technician used to soak cotton wool in acetone, then put them on my nails then foil wrapped round. This softened them and then they were scraped off. It may be better to go to a salon to have them removed properly.
They wont come off in water easily (or else they would fall off in the bath etc...)
PS I stopped having them done cos my nails ended up so thin cos the gel doesn't let them breathe (even tho gel s'posed to be better than acrylic)
Lynne x

[nickymitch]

Thank you both, i had them put on and didn't think to ask at the time!!!

[sue11]

Hi Nicky, I wore gel nails for some months without any ill effects to my natural nails which are very brittle and slow growing. As Lindy says you need to get them off by soaking with acetate, but you need to do this for at least half and hour and then they go all pulpy and you can wipe them off with tissue. Any residue comes off with gentle filing.
Dependant on how fast your nails grow, you should be able to go about 3 to 4 weeks before needing infills. If you decide not to get them filled, then after about 5 weeks the gel nail starts to get brittle and will be more likely to break in the course of a normal days wear and tear.
In the meantime, the false nail should be hard wearing and can take quite a bit of rough treatment, although occaisionly one of mine cracked across the nail which spoilt the natural look!
Things to be wary of:
If your own nails are naturally short it takes a time to get used to having long nails and it is easy to forget and stick a 'dagger' in your eye or any other tender place if you have an itch. When doing housework remember you have long nails, I broke a few of mine briskly cleaning surfaces with cloths and sweeping too deep into corners which the nails do not like!
Pulling off things like lids, if you catch or yank the nail it hurts like hell as it does not simply give way and break like your normal nail would! Your nail will then be sore for at least two days and I still cringe to think of the times I did it!
Apart from that they are great!
Cheers Sue

[nickymitch]

Thanks Sue, i've heard so much bad stuff about them it makes a change to have something positive, do the infills cost much?? As i said i had them done in the US it only cost �17 and i'm guessing it will cost more here. I was lucky to have a good nails before but i never seemed to get a full set, though i know what you mean about used to them - i've managed to "stab" my daughter a few times!!!

[sue11]

I think I paid about �15 for the set of infills, the gel nails cost about �35 to �40 originally, so it certainly was a lot cheaper in the US! Sometimes I used to go for the airbrush varnish as well, not the full works, just a pattern over the natural nail which was a lot more subtle!
I think I came to a natural stop after a while as it was not cheap to continually have them infilled on a regular basis, but I have been thinking about getting them done again.
Hope your daughters stab wounds are not too serious!!