Beauty

[ThinkingOutLoud]

My nails are healthy and strong so I don't do gel, acrylic or dipped.

[ID2]

I'm very new at getting my nails professionally done. I've been going every 2 weeks. I get mine with shellac, so is that gel? I've always done my own nails but my polish just doesn't last. Also I have pretty horrible nails. But since I'm having my nail tech take over, my nails look absolutely fantastic! I just love looking down at my hands and finally see pretty hands!Yay!

[We rescue cats]

I love gel polish, it lasts and lasts and it protects the nails as well. For the last few years I have gotten a pink and white - basically an acrylic french manicure, love the clean look of a french manicure, I don't normally do nail art.

[Tinkrbl44]

Years ago I used to get silk wrapped nails.  Loved it, but very time consuming.

[Snow Kitten]

I too get hard gel nails. My current nail tech is starting to charge $120, up from $100, on March 1. I'm thinking of going elsewhere. 

---

@SurferWife wrote:

I've tried all three and I prefer hard gel nails, with gel polish on top.  For me, hard gel nails last longer than acrylic and they don't lift. Dipped powder just didn't make my nails feel strong. With hard gel nails I can go 5 weeks before I need to get them filled.

---

[Goodie2shoes]

@ MissDior wrote: i  too get hard gel nails. My current nail tech is starting to charge $120, up from $100, on March 1. I'm thinking of going elsewhere.

$120 for gel nails? Oh my goodness !  That's extremely expensive IMO !  I pay $43 for my gel nails.  My total bill for my dipped nails, pedicure and polish and having my brows done was $85. 

[catwoman48]

I have nicely shaped nails, but they have never been strong. I cannot do my own manicures, or the nails will continue to split on the sides, then down to the quick, and still keep splitting. I had paper wraps for years, then acrylics on my “bad” nails, the ones that split and broke the worst. After I got to the point where I had 2-3 “bad” nails on each hand, I gave up and went full acrylic.

My nail tech, Vivi, does acrylic so thin as to be undetectable, but never a break or chip. I have a big collection of polish, but I got talked into gel polish a couple of years ago. Makes me sad that I can only use my own polish on my toes, and there is nowhere near the range of colors available in gel polish. However, I can get my nails done once a MONTH and they look perfect until I get them done again. The gel polish wears like iron; the only sign my manicure is not new is the growth from the nail bed.

Vivi’s salon does not use the soak-off method. The old polish is carefully sanded off, new acrylic applied, and then polished. I get compliments on my nails all the time. I am old, have veiny hands and sun damage from the car. But my nails are strong and beautiful. I pay $90 including tip for a fill and pedicure once a month, affordable. If I have a growth spurt or my toenails get too long (I am diabetic), I will go three weeks.

[SurferWife]

@Snow Kitten 

My nail tech isn't quite that expensive.  I think the gel refill itself is $40 but I also get cuticle care and gel design, so I think it ends up being $80ish when it's all said & done.  My gel pedicure with callous care is $65.  They have a reward points system, so that helps.  I've paid more at other salons in the general area, so I'm okay with her prices.  I have tried cheaper salons too just to see if I can find someone who does superior work, and quite frankly they ARE cheaper in their workmanship.  I'd rather spend more to get what I want.  My nail tech is meticulous & I appreciate that.

[Dazlin]

I tried the hard gel acrylics several times.  Looks beautiful 1st week,  then I see the new growth which leaves a space from the cuticle.   It just gets worse as time goes on, and I don't like seeing that.  I also feel un-tidy wearing the same polish for weeks.  Besides,  they don't even do a manicure, so hands and nails are never treated...so expensive for just acrylics.  As for myself, I have a lot of growth by the 2nd week...just doesn't work or appeal to me.  So I do a natural manicure at home..with all the hand and nail care.  I was a nail tech throughout the 80's and 90's.

[Love to Run]

---

@Shelbelle wrote:

Call me old fashioned but I still get a regular manicure with regular nail polish, I have long, strong nails and dont need or want anything going on them but polish that is free of chemicals. 

---

@Shelbelle what brand of nail polish is free of chemicals?