With the right products and a little patience, you can achieve a long-lasting gel manicure at home. To help you get started, we tested 20 gel polishes for a two-week period and evaluated them on application, overall look, longevity, and ease of removal. Using Gatlin&#;s expert advice and our testing results, we compiled a list of the best gel nail polishes to give you a salon-level mani in the comfort of your own home.
With competitive price and timely delivery, RONIKI sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.
&#;Gel polish lasts longer than a traditional polish and dries instantly,&#; says Abby Gatlin , a nail artist at Poppy & Monroe in Nashville. &#;People prefer gel polish because they can wear it for weeks and it gives the nails a sturdy finish.&#;
It can be tricky to give yourself the perfect at-home manicure . In addition to time and a steady hand, you also need a long-lasting polish. Traditional nail polish may seem like the simple answer, but it&#;s known for chipping within a few days. Why put in the time and effort for a mani that won&#;t last? That&#;s where gel nail polish comes into play.
The base and gel require two coats each, so you&#;re looking at a six-step process with this pick. It doesn&#;t have a UV lamp to help with dry time, but we found that each coat fully dried within two minutes.
If you&#;re looking for a healthy alternative to gel polish, you&#;ll love this pick. It&#;s formulated without 20+ chemicals that are found in traditional nail polishes, plus it comes in over 150 shades. Make sure you dedicate time and patience to get the best results with this polish. It&#;s sold in a kit that comes with a nail prep scrub, base coat, gel polish, top coat, and revive drops to thin out the consistency of the polish if needed.
We are big fans of this Dazzle Dry polish&#;s longevity; it lasted over two weeks during our testing with no chipping, just some minimal wear at the tip of the nail. This is pretty rare for non-UV light polishes, but we think it&#;s partially due to all the prep work that goes into the manicure. We also love that it can be removed just like normal nail polish and doesn't leave our nails feeling dry or damaged.
Overall, we enjoyed the shine and durability this polish brought to our nails. We noticed that some of our nails with thicker coats began lifting off after a few days, but with thin coats and proper curing, the gel polish lasted almost a full week with very minimal chipping.
This is the perfect pick for those who want to protect their nails. Its formula has vitamin A and E to promote nail health and vitamin B5 to protect nail structure. We love the Orly gel lamp because it automatically turns on and starts the timer once you insert your hand. The countdown is displayed on top of the machine, and the lamp automatically turns off after two minutes when your nails are fully cured.
This vegan and cruelty-free polish is relatively easy to apply, though it&#;s especially important to apply thin, even coats with this pick. It requires a base coat, a few gel coats, and a top coat, which can add up quickly. We also noticed that the polish&#;s consistency is a bit thicker than normal nail polish, so expect a bit of a learning curve when applying. Beginners will appreciate the brand&#;s clear step-by-step instructions to help you along the way. We love that the instructions even mention how the polish will feel on your nails throughout the process, explaining that it&#;s normal to feel a bit of tackiness until the top coat is applied and cured.
We loved that the accompanying UV lamp turns on automatically when you put your hand underneath and shuts off when the timer is up. It&#;s important to note that the lamp is a bit bulky and can be difficult to store. We also noticed that the lamp&#;s timer and buttons are located on the back of the machine, which can make it difficult to operate by yourself. This is likely because OPI gel polish is a salon-grade product, and the UV lamp is mainly operated by professionals sitting across from you at the salon.
Once the polish was fully dry, it appeared smooth and wearable. It lasted for a week and a half, standing up to baking, washing dishes, and gift wrapping . This product was simple to remove and required very little scraping. We loved that it did not leave our nails feeling damaged; in fact, it left them feeling stronger.
You&#;ll be able to find your perfect polish with over 250 shades. We were a fan of the short brush of the base coat which helped with applying a thin, even coat. However, we found the gel polish itself to be thick and a bit difficult to apply. It&#;s possible to adjust to this learning curve over time, but this product may not be friendly for those new to at-home gel manicures.
If you&#;re wanting the look and feel of a professional gel manicure at home, opt for OPI GelColor. It&#;s one of three picks on our list that requires a UV lamp, which adds shine, strength, and durability to your nails.
Since this pick isn&#;t cured with UV light, its longevity isn&#;t the best. After about five days, we noticed several chips around the edges of each nail as well as very fine cracks in the surface of the polish. We also noticed that the polish&#;s shine had diminished over the five-day period. When removing the polish, we appreciated that it was a quick process and did not require scrapping.
This pick is beginner-friendly and does not require a UV lamp or other special tools. It has a creamy consistency, so it&#;s thick enough to provide opaque coverage without being difficult to spread or looking uneven. We noticed that the brush was just the right size on the base coat, gel polish, and top coat. Keep in mind that the base coat and top coat are sold separately .
For those willing to spend a little more, we recommend Deborah Lippmann&#;s Gel Lab Pro. Though it&#;s on the pricier side, keep in mind that the formula was created with nail health in mind. This vegan polish is 21-free, which means it&#;s free from 21 chemicals commonly found in nail polish. Instead, it has ingredients including keratin, biotin, bamboo, and nylon to promote health, wear, and shine.
During our testing, we found that the gel polish can be removed similarly to regular nail polish; no scraping or soaking was required. However, our nails were deeply stained after removal and needed buffing to remove the color. Essie does not recommend a base coat, but we found it to be necessary to protect our nails.
We love the tapered brush that helps create a clean application along your cuticles. As for longevity, the polish held up well. We noticed very minimal chipping by the end of week one, and the polish retained most of its shine. Though most gel polishes last longer when cured with a UV lamp, we were impressed by this pick.
Those looking for quick-drying gel polish that does not require a UV lamp will love the Essie Gel Couture. It has a thin yet full coverage formula that goes on smoothly when applying. Some may prefer two coats of gel color for full coverage, but one coat is enough for certain shades.
The thin and smooth consistency makes this polish easy to apply and quick to dry, and it doesn&#;t require a UV light.
Gatlin says that Madam Glam is a favorite at Poppy & Monroe. This brand stands out from the rest because of its 21-free formula, which means it&#;s free from 21 of chemicals commonly found in nail polish. It&#;s also vegan, cruelty-free, and palm oil-free. We love that it&#;s available in both mini and full size options so you can test out several colors. We think the brush could benefit from a more curved tip to perfectly line up with the cuticle, but it wasn&#;t a dealbreaker for this polish.
This pick requires a UV lamp, but that ensures that your nails will be durable and long-lasting. The polish remained perfect for nearly two weeks with no chips or dullness. The only giveaway that it wasn&#;t a fresh manicure was the new nail growth. We also loved that this polish is easy to remove unlike some cured gel polish. We simply applied acetone cotton balls to each nail and wrapped them in tin foil; after 15 minutes, the gel peeled away with minimal scraping.
Madam Glam&#;s Soak-Off Gel Polish had one of the best consistencies of all the gel nail polishes we tested. Although it appears thick and jelly-like at first glance, we actually found that it&#;s the perfect thickness to avoid runoff and a streaky finish. We also love the thick base coat, which creates a smooth, solid foundation for the colored gel.
The Bottom Line
Of all the gel nail polishes we tested, the Madam Glam Soak-Off Gel Polish is our top choice. The consistency is creamy enough to give you full color payoff with a few coats and won&#;t leave a streaky finish. If you&#;re looking for a non-UV light option, go with the Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish. We love the tapered brush which helps create a clean application along your cuticles, plus we found the shine to last for several days.
Our Testing Process
We evaluated all products based on their application, overall look, longevity, and ease of removal. Our Lab process was split into two categories, UV and non-UV light polishes.
We started with clean nails that were prepped and ready for polish. For gel polish that requires a UV light, we first applied a dehydrator, primer, and thin base coat when applicable. Each coat was fully air dried or cured before moving to the next step. We then applied a thin layer of gel polish and cured it under a lamp for the recommended time on the label. Finally, we applied a thin layer of top coat and cured it under the UV lamp.
For gel polish that doesn&#;t require a UV light, we applied a thin layer of a base coat, when applicable, and allowed our nails to fully dry. Next, we added a thin layer of gel polish and allowed it to fully dry before adding a second coat. Finally, we added a thin layer of top coat and left it to dry.
For both UV and non-UV gel polish, we took a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol across the nail bed if the nails felt sticky or tacky. We also applied nail oil to the cuticles and moisturizer to our hands. After the application process was complete, we took the products home and continued to use them for two weeks to evaluate the products&#; longevity and ease of removal. A second application took place to test previous findings.
Southern Living / Jhett Thompson
Tips for Choosing the Right Gel Nail Polish
Color Range
Like traditional polish, gel nail polish comes in hundreds of different shades. Certain brands are known to have more shades than others, such as the OPI GelColor, which is available in more than 250 shades. Most brands average 80+ shades, so you&#;re sure to find the perfect color.
Finish
A gel polish&#;s finish determines how it&#;ll appear on your nail and how many coats you&#;ll need. Creme is one of the most popular finishes and has a classic, glossy shine. Though it&#;s easy to apply, keep in mind that it typically requires two coats for full coverage. Glitter and shimmer finishes can require multiple coats but leave you with a shiny, elevated look. Other popular finishes include matte, metallic, milky, opaque, pearl, and sheer.
UV Lamp
Unlike salon gel polish, not all at-home gel polish needs a UV lamp to dry. In fact, three out of six of the gel polishes on our list do not require a UV lamp. Gel polishes that need to be cured with a UV lamp are typically more durable and have a stronger finish. Non-UV light gel polish requires less prep work and is more beginner-friendly; just keep in mind that you&#;ll have a longer dry time.
Top Coat
A top coat isn&#;t always required for at-home gel polish, but it&#;s always recommended. When you finish with a top coat, you&#;re adding an extra layer of protection to your nails. A thin layer of top coat will protect against chips and add longevity to your manicure. Some products, including the Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish, recommend adding another top coat after one week to further protect your color. Though it can be a pain to add yet another step to your gel polish routine, top coats can take your nails to the next level with added shine and a professional-looking finish.
Southern Living / Jhett Thompson
More Gel Nail Polish to Consider
Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Nail Polish: We noticed very minimal chipping over the two-week testing period. The polish retained its shine and continued to have a professional look. We also liked that this polish does not need a base coat or a UV lamp. However, we found the application process to be a bit tedious due to the polish&#;s thick consistency. It&#;s important to apply this polish in thin, even coats to avoid a messy look, so it&#;s not ideal for those in a hurry or people who are new to gel polish.
Essence Gel Nail Color: This polish has an easy three-step application process, fast dry time, and does not require a UV lamp. It wasn&#;t runny or streaky and provided full color payoff with one coat. However, it chipped within two days, and by one week, the polish was almost completely gone. Overall, its longevity does not compete with gel polishes that have been cured with UV light.
Southern Living / Jhett Thompson
Questions and Answers
What is the difference between gel and traditional manicures?
Each type of manicure has its pros and cons. Traditional manicures are easy to do at home and don&#;t require a UV lamp. However, normal nail polish isn&#;t durable and typically chips within a few days. Gel manicures were once a salon specialty but can now be done at home with the right products.
Most gel polishes require a base and top coat, and some require a UV lamp to cure the polish. These extra steps may take longer than a traditional manicure, but they help make your polish last longer. In addition, most gel polish that has been cured needs to be soaked in acetone to remove. This along with the occasional scraping can be harsh on your nails. Gatlin also points out the difference in dry times, saying that gel is completely dry after the manicure with the help of UV lamps, while traditional polish can take a few hours to completely dry.
How long do gel manicures last?
Gel manicures typically last two to three weeks before they start to chip. This is a major improvement from traditional manicures that are prone to chipping within the first week. Keep in mind that people who use their hands more often or have fast-growing nails will likely need a fresh set before three weeks.
Want more information on ink gel nail polish supplier? Feel free to contact us.
What is the most common gel polish used in salons?
OPI GelColor is common in salons. Funny Bunny and Bubble Bath are two of the brand&#;s most popular shades, but there are over 250 colors to choose from. Gatlin shares that Poppy & Monroe favors our best overall pick, Madam Glam. This option is great because of its 21-free formula, which means it&#;s free from 21 chemicals found in nail polish.
How do you remove gel nail polish?
Gel polishes that haven&#;t been cured with a UV lamp can be removed with regular nail polish removal and a cotton ball. However, gel polishes that have been cured with a UV lamp require a few extra steps.
To remove your gel polish like the salons, Gatlin recommends starting by buffing off the shiny layer of polish. &#;Next, we get a cotton ball with acetone and place it on top of the polish and secure the cotton with clips. Lastly, we push the remaining gel off of the nail plate with a gel removing pusher.&#; It&#;s important to remove cured gel polish the right way to protect your nails&#; health.
Why Trust Southern Living
Addie Morton is a contributing writer for Southern Living who specializes in home decor and lifestyle content. To compile this list, we tested 20 gel nail polishes in our Lab and at home over a two-week period, evaluating them on application, overall look, longevity, and ease of removal. Morton spent several hours sifting through the results of our testing and researching products that made the cut. She also spoke with Abby Gatlin, a professional nail artist at Poppy & Monroe in Nashville.
Gel Nail Polish lovers, Rejoice!! I&#;ve found the Best Non Toxic Gel Nail Polish and its no-damage formula easily removes in 1 minute! Read my Full Manucurist Green Flash LED Gel Polish Review HERE!
Gel polish is used during manicure service that uses a gel-based polish and requires a UV light to cure the polish and lock it onto your nails, similar, but different from acrylic nail enhancements. Gel polish is more durable than regular polish where regular polish can chip as quickly as two to three days, gel manicures typically stays chip-free for up to 2 weeks.
Gel nails seem like a good idea, because they are long lasting but did you know that virtually all gel nail polish formulas and most traditional nail polishes available at your local salon are chock full of extremely toxic chemicals? (AKA they contain the toxic trio)
Gel nail polishes are notoriously loaded with more toxic chemicals and know carcinogen ingredients than regular polishes, that&#;s what gives them the staying power that you are willing to pay extra for. Not only do they contain harmful chemicals, conventional nail polishes, use solvent and ingredients known to cause eye irritation, skin irritation, allergic reactions, kidney issues, nausea, etc. These are all reasons why you need to pick nail polish brand with health in mind, natural nail polish and nail polish brands without toxic preservative. this is why I&#;m sharing the best non toxic nail gel polish with you today!!
As someone who&#;s done my own manicures at home for most of my adult life, I&#;ve tried nearly every type of nail polish; traditional polish, gel polish, dip powder, etc.
And since I am passionate about finding better options that are both eco-friendly AND are non-toxic (or less toxic) formulas to help us all lead healthier lives as a part of my own clean beauty movement, of course I&#;ve spent significant time and money testing products calming to be free from controversial ingredients as a part of my beauty routine. Have you read my The Best Non Toxic Nail Polish post, yet?!
You may already know that for the past several years I&#;ve been primarily focused on non-toxic traditional style nail polishes BECAUSE there were no truly non-toxic gel polishes systems available AND every other brand of gel polish I&#;ve tried over the years ultimately left my nails very damaged.
Wait, let me clarify&#;.. I feel like that is a little vague. Gel polishes (as applied at spas & salons) start with roughly buffing your natural nail surface with a drill then with the application process you are exposed to UV light to cure the polish that contains harsh chemical (ever notice the toxic odors and burning sensation, yeah that&#;s not healthy) then after +/- 2 weeks you return to the nail salon have the gel removed by soaking your nails in 100% pure acetone for 20 minutes to start breaking down the gel polish that ALSO needs forcefully scraped (or drilled) off, which is very damaging to your natural nails.
So the toxic exposure comes from not only the gel polish itself BUT also in the removal process. AND the damage comes from the scraping/drilling involved in removal. Is that clearer??
When Manucurist &#;Green Flash&#; LED Gel Polish started popping up on my Instagram feed, I assumed it was just another &#;better&#; brand of non-toxic nail polish. I have a favorite traditional nail polish brand, that offers a healthy 15-free formula AND a week+ chip free wear, so why would I need to try another brand?!?!
I had written gel polish off something I didn&#;t need in my life but secretly I wanted an even longer lasting and more durable nail polish option than traditional style polish. Apparently instagram knew what I wanted even though I wasn&#;t looking for it!
Green Flash, is the green GEL nail polish solution that you have been searching for! Green Flash has been formulated using natural ingredients with no known endocrine disruptor or allergenic molecules. It is guaranteed to contain no sensitising monomers or hydroquinone. Unlike other brands, being a 3-free nail polish formula isn&#;t enough; Green Flash is 12-free! As it&#;s up to 84% bio-sourced, Green Flash has minimal impact on the environment.
Here are the blacklisted toxic ingredients you will NOT find in Green Flash nail polishes or nail polish removers:
And as a bonus you Green Flash is a vegan and cruelty-free brand, with no animal-derived ingredients, animal products nor animal testing. Unlike other vegan polishes and non-toxic nail polishes, In addition to avoiding animal ingredients, harmful ingredients, carcinogen and toxins, their formulas are also gluten-free and free of other harsh chemicals like dibutyl phthalate, parabens, tphp!
I realized Green Flash is something entirely different! It&#;s a Gel Polish, that instead of being cured with a UV light and using toxic chemicals & damaging techniques for removal, it&#;s formulated with healthy living in mind AND takes only 1 minute to remove with ZERO damage.
Take My Money!
Yes, I purchased my own starter kit, with my own money and did tons of experimenting on my own. And I researched other brands of less-toxic gel polishes, again spending more of my own money, to test them head to head.
SHOCK is the only word I can use to describe my experience with Green Flash LED Cured Gel Polish. I was totally shocked that a non toxic gel polish could last so long but even more shocked at how easy it was to remove!
Does a truly damage free, non toxic Gel Manicure exist? yes it does, and its called Green Flash!
Green Flash offers 60+ shades of their non toxic gel polish; which includes a variety of both classic colors, brights/neon and glitter polishes, for both solid manicures and fun nail art options!
Their chip-resistant formula applies smoothly and has a round brush that makes it easy get that professional manicure (sans the messy polish all over your nail bed!) The only down fall for some of you may be that the green flash nail polish remover does contain fragrances however, it dissipates quickly and I&#;ve not heard any complaints of headaches or dizziness by those with fragrance sensitivities in other beauty products.
Applying Green Flash Gel Polish is nearly identical to applying any other gel polish that is cured with a light. The only differences are that (a) you must use a LED light instead of a UV light and (b) the curing times are slightly longer. For the base coat and color coats, you will cure each coat for 2 minutes and for the top coat you will cure it for 3 minutes.
Step 1: To prep your nails for Green Flash Gel polish by very very lightly buffing to remove any surface shine. This is the ONLY part of a non toxic gel manicure with Green Flash Polish that has the potential to do any damage to your natural nails. I want to stress that you need to just barely buff the nail surface to give the gel polish something to grab onto. Use the finest grit buffer you can find.
If your nails are naturally ridged, like mine, it&#;s actually a good thing (for once) because your nails are already textured and may not need any buffing at all!
Step 2: Use Green Flash Dissolvant Doux (aka their nail polish remover) on a lint free nail wipe and wipe each nail surface to clean and remove any debris.
Step 3: Apply a 1 thin coat of Base Coat, being careful to avoid contact with your cuticle or skin. Use an orange wood stick to clean up your edges as needed. (Don&#;t forget to cap the free edge of your nail, to avoid chipping)
Step 4: Cure your base coat (using the base/color setting on your LED lamp) for 2 minutes.
Step 5: Apply a thin coat of Green Flash Color, again being careful to avoid your cuticle and skin. Use the Nail Polish Corrector Pen, as needed. All clean up must be done before curing!! (Don&#;t forget to cap the free edge of your nail, to avoid chipping)
Step 6: Cure your color (using the base/color setting on your LED lamp) for 2 minutes.
Step 7: Apply a 2nd thin coat of Green Flash Color, if desired. Again being careful to avoid your cuticle and skin. Use the Nail Polish Corrector Pen, as needed. All clean up must be done before curing!! (Don&#;t forget to cap the free edge of your nail, to avoid chipping)
Step 8: Cure your color (using the base/color setting on your LED lamp) for 2 minutes.
Step 9: Apply a 1 thin coat of Green Flash Top Coat, being careful to avoid contact with your cuticle or skin. Use an orange wood stick to clean up your edges as needed. (Don&#;t forget to cap the free edge of your nail, to avoid chipping)
Step 10: Cure your Green Flash Top Coat (using the top setting on your LED lamp) for 3 minutes.
Step 11: Apply cuticle oil for the ultimate spa-like experience and reapply daily for healthy & strong nails!
Perhaps the best part of choosing to wear a non toxic gel polish from Manucurits&#; Green Flash line is that their formula is designed to be removed in 1 minute with NO DAMAGE.
While it SEEMS like the removal will be as disastrous as traditional/conventional gel polish removal, trust the process. You will still start by saturating a cotton pad or removal sponge with Manicurist Remover then secure them in place with clips.
After 1-2 minutes the Manicurist polish will completely lift from your nail and can be wiped away.
Manicurist LED Gel Polish lasts up to 10 days but to be completely honest there are many factors to getting your non toxic gel mani to last long and be chip-free, beyond simply choosing a brand of nontoxic nail polish!
In my experience with Green Flash, I have found with NORMAL wear I can easily & consistently go 7-10 days with a non toxic gel mani at home. If you find that you are NOT getting at least a week out of your mani here are a few tips:
Unfortunately for the vast majority of us, we can&#;t just grab some Green Flash from the shelves at our local store so you&#;ll have to place an order online. (which most of us who&#;ve tried all the popular non-toxic polish brands like Zoya and dazzle dry are already familiar with, right?!?)
I got started with the Green Flash Starter Kit that came with all the essentials (base, top, remover, LED light and removal clips) PLUS 5 colors of your choosing! Since this was a seasonal offering, it may not be available when you are looking to get started&#; don&#;t worry there are other starter kits to choose from
Although you CAN purchase each item individually, it&#;s not going to save you money. The starter kit bundles are the best deal!!!
In conclusion, I want to remind you that although it might seem like a simple task, doing a professional style manicure at home takes practice. Most often if you are experiencing peeling or chipping, there is room for improvement in your prep routine. When in doubt always feel free to reach out, I&#;m glad to help!
For more Roniki Base Gelinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.