At home gel nails

[itsbetterthanabox]

I want to use gel polish at home. Some in boots don't need a uv/led light, do these work? Anyone use them and how long do they last?
I want to use the gel to strengthen my nails too. They tear so easily but gel should stop that!

I have got the Sensationail kit from Boots, its an LED light (not UV). It is great, really easy to do, looks amazing, just like a professional job. My nails really grow underneath so it has helped to strengthen them.

The downsides I find are that it only lasts about a week max before it chips, the polishes are expensive (£15) and it takes aaaaages to get the stuff off. Otherwise it is great.

i had a kit too used it a few times now i don't bother, i just found i couldn't be bothered with it anymore - took ages to apply, (although the process was simple) took ages and seemed so hard to take off, decent gel polishes are a rip off. they did last for around a week and a half.

Oh ok I'll look into that. Do you soak or file off? I'm surprised it's only a week!

i tried both soaking and filing and i don't have much patience for things like that.. i think thats why i gave up in the end. probably best results would be soaking with nails in tinfoil for like half and hour but i have better things to be doing! actually sometimes i got longer, maybe it depends what you are doing and the quality of the nail polish (i got a cheapie off amazon plus i don't take care of my nails when i am doing things)

I have ditched gel in favour of CND vinylux. It is a polish that lasts a week but you don't need to cure it with a lamp and it comes off with normal polish remover.

I 've had the boots one for 18 months and use it continuously.
I only do clear and put normal polish on top, but my nails have never looked so good,I have gone from flaking short nails that never grew beyond tip length,to having "nice nails".

I normally get 3 weeks before I need to replace - if I get a chip I just buff slightly and redo that nail.

It is a pain to remove but well worth it.

fluffy do you mean you use gel nail polish and put a normal clear nail polish over that? why do you need the normal polish as well?

jan I do the gel polish in clear as I'm not supposed to wear nail varnish for work,the clear gel strengthens my really crap nails and makes them look 'done'.
I'll put a colored(normal) nail polish over the top of the clear gel when not working- I find that It lasts really well,instead of chipping with in hours.

I had never managed to grow my nails before getting the sensationail kit and really can't believe how good my nails look now.

I now buy the gelish brand stuff from ebay and get it from america as its loads cheaper andit works great with the sensationail lamp.

The sensationail starter kit is down to £45 on the boots website at the mo (only the ruby red)

I will say that You do need to be careful when removing, as this is when you'll damage your nails if you aren't careful - I wrap tin foil round small pads of cotton wool soaked in acetone over each finger & wait until it rubs off - no picking !!!

thats interesting, i might try that its a good idea as my normal nail polish always chips soon after i wear it and its so frustrating. i have a nice base and top coat gel so i could try those and then put the normal one over the top, just to try it out! :)

plus i bit all my nails off so they could do with a helping hand to grow back

Crutchlow does the vinylux protect the nail like gel. I want to grow my bendy ones and having gel on them stops breakage. Does it do the same?

I know, don't flame me, but I actually find it less damaging to my nails to pick it off then soak them in acetone for half an hour.

I meant pick it off rather than rather soak them.

I pick the Shellac off. It usually comes off in 1 go and is quite satisfying!

Yeah I find once you buff it down a bit, sections of it tend to lift up so I pick those off and then soak the stubborn bits. Doesn't seem to do any damage so far...

fluffy just to update you i tried using the normal nail polish on top of gel last night and im so pleased with the results its fantastic. also, i don't need to worry about it looking as bad when its picking off as i can remove the colour with nail polish! thanks!

Jan can you let us know if the gel makes the polish last longer. I know it just doesn't chip on acrylics but hoes about gel.

jan glad you are pleased. I'm actually mnetting one handed whilst soaking off my gel.

I have actually read that its possible to 'sandwich' normal polish between the gel thus giving you more of a colour choice.
Personally i think i'll stick to a clear gel and use normal colour on the top - if i get any chipping of the gel, the clear is so much less noticeable.

Don't forget to use acetone free remover for the normal stuff or you'll ruin the gel.

so far, it has lasted longer - usually this polish would have chipped by now and it still looks great, and ive been doing quite a lot of stuff and cleaning etc. i will keep you posted!

fluffy i have a glitter gel polish. maybe next time i might try normal on top of gel, and then glitter gel on top of normal and see how it is.

its funny to think of you mumsnetting while soaking the gel off. i get so impatient when im waiting for mine to come off :)

nails lasted 3 days:) still looked almost good enough to wear much better than without gel underneath.

Don't bother with the stuff that doesn't need a UV light, it's rubbish. It lasted about 3 days before it was chipped. It's as time consuming to remove as gel too.

I got the sensationail kit recently and I'm really impressed with it. No chips and my nails are protected and have grown over the edge of my finger tips for the first time ever!

Removal is pretty easy. I just bought a cheap false nail remover acetone polish for a couple of pounds, soak cotton wool pads in it and wrap around my fingertips with foil. 15-20 mins and the polish just lifts off. I remove any that's left with the orange stick.

I really wanted Vinylux to work for me as I'd heard brilliant things but it chipped as easily as normal polish on my problem nails.

I normally take the sticky residue off at the end with nail varnish remover although this sometimes takes all of the varnish off usually one nail. Does anyone know why this is?