B-Tique, Lifestyle and Fashion Blog » Nails

What Are Gel Nails?

Daphne — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:40:30 +0000

Gel nails are just another kind of artificial nails, but they look a lot like one’s natural nails. The similarity between both gel nails and acrylic nails is what they are made of. Both of them consist of a liquid that is a monomer and a polymer powder. The two ingredients interact with one another and result in long strands of polymer. When the long strands completely dry it will result in a resin that is extremely hard and durable, which is visually similar to that of a natural fingernail. The difference between gel nails and acrylic nails is that gel nails provide individuals with a higher amount of flexibility due to the additional presence of short chained monomers within the compound that is used to create this type of nail.

Individuals can choose between two different types of gel nails to get. The first choice is a light cured gel nail and the second choice is gel nails that are no-light. More info on these two different forms of gel nails can be found at US Nail Salon Directory.

Gel nails that are light cured are applied by using a gel that has already been pre-mixed. The way the gel will be placed onto a customer will be based on the customer’s preferences. They can choose to have the gel nails shaped in a curve form, squared, or even straight. Nail technicians will harden an individual’s light cured gel nails using ultra-violet light for exactly two minutes. After the gel has completely hardened, the technician will use a file to rid the hands of any areas in which the gel has spread which may include the cuticles. Once the excess gel has been removed from the hands sealer will be placed on the nails to provide them with a shiny and smooth appearance. The last step is to add nail polish over the entire nails or just the tips of them for a French manicure.

Nails that consist of no-light gel are produced by adding gel directly to the nails. This type of gel nail does not use light in order to dry them instead activator is placed on the nail either by brushing it on or spraying it on. Another approach that can be used in order to dry this type of gel nail is by dipping the nails into water. With no-light gel individuals can request that two coats of the gel be applied to their nails due to them being subject to a lot of items that will wear them down.

Both types of the gel nails can help individuals strengthen their natural nails which may be weak or they can give their nails a longer appearance. Some individuals feel that gel nails have a more natural appearance and are shinier because they can be applied with a thinner layer than what one can get when using acrylic nails. The fact that gel nails can be applied in thinner layers than acrylic nails also means that women can go longer without having to fill them in. Another advantage of using gel nails is that the application does not cause individuals to have to deal with strong chemical smells. This makes gel nails safe for woman who are pregnant.

Letâ€™s Talk Nails

Vanessa — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:16:46 +0000

Letâ€™s talk about nails and fashion for just a bit. Having great nails depends a lot on taking care of your nails, and your hands. Having the right colors for fall is crucial if you want to keep up with the current trends. Opiâ€™s Russian Collection has all the colors we need for fall. Fall this year is about being elegant and wild, classy and flirty, and about having beautiful stop-traffic nails. These colors are dark and bold,Â Â predominantly reds, browns, and dark purples and compliment those fall outfits beautifully. Now, keep in mind that you need to take care of your nails, and if you bite (stop that now!) your nails then you can always opt for glue-ons or acrylic nails. The thing is, our nails make us look and feel more elegant and beautiful, and we really should give them some special attention for fall.

Nail Color Goes Organic

Lori Ann — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 02:00:35 +0000

Everywhere you go, you hear about organic this and organic that. It is becoming quite a buzz word. Don’t get me wrong. I like eating organic food. What is not to like about food that hasn’t been grown using pesticides or chemicals? I recently ate my first organic banana and I have to admit it tasted so good that I doubt I can ever look at old non-organic bananas again. While I am into the idea of organic food, the idea of other types of products being labeled as organic has always made me laugh. I mean really, who needs organic window cleaner? I never considered buying nonfood organic products until recently when a friend turned me on to Shades nail color by Barielle.

At first I wondered why nail polish needed to be organic, but when I heard that most nail polish contains formaldehyde, the idea of organic nail color sounded pretty good. I mean I really don’t want to coat my nails with something they preserve dead frogs in, do you? Barielle’s latest color collection is as strong as anything you would get at a salon and comes in over 4o shades.

It is worth it to visit their site, just to try out their nifty nail color preview software.