Ladies today can choose from a variety of nail polishes, with gel paint being one of the most popular. Acrylic oligomers and monomers make gel polish, which links together when exposed to UV radiation. The curing procedure, which turns the gel into a chemical-resistant and tough coating in a couple of seconds, takes only a few seconds. While gel paint can keep your nails looking fabulous for weeks, using a UV light to cure the lacquer might be harmful to your health. Here’s where LED lighting comes in handy!
How Does The Process Of Curing Gel Nail Polish Work?
Curing is the most suitable phrase to use when drying your gel nail paint. You can’t just hope for the best by flapping your hands in the air. Instead, gel polishes need curing. Curing is a phrase that refers to the chemistry involved in toughening or hardening a substance, in this example, the gel polish. You can use an LED light to cure gel nail paint.
UV wavelengths have traditionally been employed to cure gel nail polish. The light that will compound in the gel emits various UV wavelengths known as photoinitiators. It is subsequently transformed into the required energy, allowing the polymerization process to commence. When molecules inside the gel are drawn together, the gel becomes firmer, and all women are familiar with the coating.
What about LED lights? They do, however, function similarly. The main difference is that the wavelengths they emit are smaller and contain more energy, so an LED light may speed up the drying process.
How To Cure Gel Nail Polish With An LED Lamp?
Step 1: Use fingerless gloves or sunscreen
Protect the skin of your hands by wearing fingerless gloves or sunscreen before painting your nails and curing the lacquer with an LED light. LED bulbs generate some potentially dangerous rays; however, they are less toxic than UV lights. As a result, it’s critical to take steps to avoid skin harm while your polish dries.
Step 2: Apply a slight coating of gel base coat
Dip the brush into the gel base polish and apply it to the nails. To remove any excess polish, wipe the brush down the sides of the top of the polish. Then, paint a thin layer on each nail on one of your hands. Ensure the polish is applied evenly and that no drips or clumps appear.
Step 3: Allow the base coat to cure
Place your fingers inside the LED lamp hand slot once each nail has been painted. Make sure your thumb is also beneath the light. Then, set the timer on the light to 30 seconds and turn it on. Hold your hands there until the indicator light turns off. The operating instructions for your LED bulb will vary depending on the model, so make sure you read them carefully. If your lamp has no timer, you may use your smartphone to set a timer to aid you in keeping track of time.
Step 4: Apply the color gel paint
Dip the polish brush into the color gel polish once the base coat has dried and wiped on the sides to avoid clumping. Then, gently paint a layer of color polish over the cured base coat on each of your nails. Avoid getting the polish on your cuticles because this can slow down the curing process and make your polish peel.
Step 5: Cure a second time
Set your LED lamp’s timer to 30 seconds and insert your hand into the hand slot with the painted nails. Then, turn the lamp on and place your fingers under it until the timer goes off and the polish dries.
Step 6: Apply additional coats (If necessary)
Apply another thin layer of gel paint to each of your nails if you want your gel polish color to be more opaque. After each successive coat, cure the gel under the LED lamp once again. You can skip this step if the gel polish gives you the color you want after one application.
Step 7: Use a gel topcoat to finish the look
Apply a thin coating of a gel top coat to seal and preserve the color polish after applying and curing any further gel color polish layers. To complete, cure the topcoat for another 30 seconds under the LED lamp.
Conclusion
Because you can only use certain gel polishes with UV nail lights, an LED lamp will not function in those situations. The type of light you can use with the product will be indicated on the bottle. Some gel polish firms recommend that you use their own specifically produced light for their specific formulae – this is usually to guarantee that you’re using the correct wattage and not over-curing the polish. Hence, you should always triple-check whether the gel polish you’re using is suitable with a LED lamp.
More Articles On Gel Nails:
- Are My Nails Extremely Short For Gel Nails?
- How To Dry Soak Off Gel Polish Without UV Light?
- Can You Dry Or Cure Gel Nail Polish With A Hair Dryer?
- How To Dry Soak Off Gel Polish?
- What Is UV LED Soak Off Gel Polish?
- What Is Soak Off Base Coat And Top Coat?
- How To Use Soak Off UV Gel Polish?
- What Is An UV LED Nail Lamp & How to Use it Correctly?
- Can You Use Any UV Light For Gel Nails?
- Can You Use Gel Polish For Stamping?
- Can You Use Acrylic Paints On Gel Manicured Nails?
- Can You Use Black Light For Gel Nails?
- Is UV Light Necessary For Gel Nails?
- Right Way of Curing Gel Nails
