Wedding nails advice

[raspberrytipple]

hello, I'm getting married in 4 weeks. On Friday I had a French polish to see how my nails would look. The woman did an amazing job but suggested that for the wedding I have gel nails as they are stronger and better for your nails. My nails are extremely weak, even the lady doing them couldn't believe how poor they were. I'm just wondering if anyone has some advice on:
A. How I can get them stronger (I was given some advice but I've now forgotten it
B. Has anyone had gel nails and are they any good.

I've booked to have them done 48 hrs before the wedding. I bumped the French polished nails within hrs of having them so does anyone know if the gel will fair any better?

Thank you in advance

[flowery]

I have gel nails and they are fabulous. Within a couple of days of having my first set, at least 10 things happened which would normally result in chipped polish, torn nail or both. They stayed pristine and always are. I have a 4yo and a 20mo so car seats, seat belts, pushchairs, toys...

Highly recommend.

[LuckyMrsT]

Gel nails are definitely the way to go. It's hard to explain but they can't really chip as it's not polish as such. They will be the smoothest and glossiest nails you've ever had. If you're not sure ask the manicurist to quickly do one nail for you to see what it's like for a couple of days. She shouldn't charge you - she'll know you'll be back

[LuckyMrsT]

BTW you know you can have gel French polished right?

48 hours before will be fine. I bet they'll still be immaculate 2 weeks later (really).

[raspberrytipple]

Thank you both, that's really helpful. I'm getting married at 330 on a Friday and having them done at 430 p.m. on the Wednesday. The Thursday will be mostly spent being pampered and prancing around talking about wedding stuff, no heavy handling which might result in bumps or scrapes but by the sound of it gel shouldn't be prone to that anyway :)

I think the effect they said they would give me is as a french polish, just more durable.

[sprinkles77]

I have rubbish nails and shabby hands due to lots of hand washing at work and horsey stuff. As I decided that riding and mucking out was essential on the morning I got married my "manicure" consisted of a nail brush to get the poo from under the nails and a quick swipe of clear polish while waiting for taxi. No one commented and my hands look fine in the few photos they can be seen in. So IMO don't bother!

[prolificwillybreeder]

I like the sound of these gel nails!
How do you remove it? 2 weeks it's lasts you say?
Have a newborn and a toddler so durable is a must.

[LuckyMrsT]

They'll last about 4 weeks if you're lucky. Toes last even longer, perhaps they don't grow as fast or get as much wear and tear?

You have to soak them off in acetone though, which is a pain. The lady who does mine doesn't charge for removal if you're having them redone. Otherwise it's £25 for the nails and £10 for removal. You can DIY though and buy some remover.

[whoneedssleepanyway]

Gel nails set immediately so when you leave the salon you won't have to worry about chipping them. They will look fab on the day still and for weeks afterwards as everyone else says.

The only thing I would say is that your nails will probably be worse afterwards, I had two lots of gel nails back to back over last christmas and new year so had about 8 weeks with gels on and afterwards my nails were a dreadful state...as a result I decided I would only have them for really special occasions or something like holiday where I wanted nice nails for the duration.

[raspberrytipple]

The gel sound about right for me then, the salon said they set in about 10 minutes and they give you coffee and chocolate while you wait for drying nails too :) Im paying £45 though! I know its a posh place but if it wasn't my wedding I wouldn't be going back. It's then £6 for removal apparently. My nails as I say are dreadful so it wont matter too much if they get wrecked, cant be worse than what they are now!

I know what you mean though sprinkles. I thought about getting a friend to tidy them in the morning but fancied a pamper seeing just for the experience really! Gel nails it is then :)

[louloubellamozzarella]

Personally I would never have gel nails as I've heard too many stories of wrecked, peeling, chipped and weak nails when they are removed. However, if you're desperate, for a last minute short term solution they might not be too bad.

I would really recommend shellac or gel polish (not the same as gel nails) to get your nails stronger. Had mine done over a month ago and kept the polish on for three weeks (fingers). It was nearly immaculate when I took it off.

My nails usually chip, peel and bend really easily but the polish seems to have given them a really good chance to grow and now they are the longest they've ever been and pretty strong :) You just leave a cotton pad soaked in acetone polish remover on for 10 mins to remove and the polish falls off (don't peel it off as this removes nail layers - ew).

If you have four weeks and had one of these nowish then you'd probably see an improvement in your nails for the big day. You could then get it done again with french polish the day before the wedding. Once set (set during manicure with a UV light) it is hardcore so you wouldn't need to worry about messing it up before wedding at all.

Hope you sort it out anyway whatever you go for - it is lovely having nice polished nails .