How to choose a gel polish lamp for home use?

Today, manicure with the use of gel polishes has become quite popular, but to apply them, you need a special technique. After all, you need to not only apply sequentially layer by layer, but also then dry the coating with a lamp. Of course, this coating has a lot of advantages over ordinary nail polish. The most important thing is that it lasts for a rather long time. In particular, this is why many decide to make such a manicure for themselves. In addition to the fact that you need to purchase all the necessary tools and materials, there is another important point. You need to figure out how to choose a lamp for gel polish for home use.

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Features of applying varnishes with a gel base

The process of coating nails with gel polishes is as follows:

1. First you need to properly prepare the nails, namely, remove the remnants of the old varnish from them, remove the cuticles, and use the nail file to give the desired shape.
2. Degrease the surface of the nail plate so that the varnish holds well. This can be done using nail polish remover.
3. Then a base coat is applied to the nails of all fingers of one hand. You need to dry it for about 40 seconds in the lamp.
4. Gel polish of the required color is applied to the nails. You need to paint with a thin layer, so that it is easier to dry it later. This layer should be dried for 2 minutes.
5. A second coating layer is now applied and dried again for 2 minutes. As a result, the color will be uniform and bright.
6. Next, a top coating is applied and dried in a minute.
7. The sticky layer is removed using a special liquid or ordinary alcohol.
8. The same thing is done with the nails on the second hand.

Important! Drying time directly depends on which lamp is used, and this fact must be taken into account. The first time you may not get the perfect coverage, but everything comes with experience and you need to practice a bit. Based on this, we conclude that it is very important to understand how to choose a lamp for gel polish.

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Varieties of lamps for drying gel polishes

The modern market for nail services offers several types of lamps designed for polymerization. They can be LED and ultraviolet. To determine for yourself which lamp is best for gel polish, you need to understand how they differ from each other. Their main difference is the type and design principle. So, in LED and ultraviolet models, the light sources are LED and fluorescent lamps, and there are models with electrodes that do not have incandescent filaments. Now consider in detail each option.

Features of the work and the choice of ultraviolet lamps

It was the lamps of this type that appeared the very first, in fact, which is why they are so popular among many masters. If you intend to purchase just such a lamp, then during the selection, consider the following points:

• The case of these models can have the most diverse design appearance, so anyone can choose the right option.
• In terms of price, they are also quite diverse, and a buyer with any income level will be able to purchase such a lamp.
• Determining which UV lamp is best for gel polish, you need to take into account its power. Today they produce models with a power of 54, 36, 18 and 9 W. At the same time, one bulb has a power of 9 watts.

Important! The more light bulbs in your lamp, the more powerful it will work. In addition, the higher the power, the higher the polymerization quality, respectively - the time required for drying the varnish is reduced.

• The presence of a timer. It is better to choose a model with this important detail, so that you can independently set the timer for a certain time, and not pin it manually. Today, lamps with two timer modes are quite popular - endless and 2 minutes, constant mode. More economical is the per-second mode.
• Dimensions of the device. On sale there are very miniature and large lamps. This factor is quite important, since it is much more economical to dry two hands at the same time. But in principle, a small device is enough for home use.

Important! They have some disadvantages, in particular, they badly affect the organs of vision with their radiation. In addition, the nails and skin on the hands are slightly dry. If you often use the device, the bulbs quickly burn out, so you have to constantly change them.

Why and how should I choose LED lamps?

If you prefer more modern LED models, then you need to decide how to choose a lamp for drying this type of gel polish. Their advantages include the following:

• The most important advantage of these devices is considered to be a rather high polymerization rate. They dry gel varnishes much faster, respectively - time for manicure takes less.

Important! They cost more than ultraviolet models, but this price difference is fully compensated by the durability of the LEDs. Even in the event of a failure of one LED, the lamp will still work and is quite powerful.

• Devices can have both large and very small dimensions. More recently, compact models designed specifically for use at home have begun to appear. Such dimensions make it easy to carry.
• They have LEDs both on top and on the sides, which allows for uniform and high-quality polymerization.
• Many models are equipped with a sensor for touch on and off, which responds to a hand inside.
• During drying, the coating does not heat up and no unpleasant sensations arise. Therefore, their undoubted advantage is safety for nails and skin.
• Such lamps do not harm vision, because during operation they give a uniform stream of light, and not pulsating, as in ultraviolet models.

Important! It is very important to think about what specific coatings you will use before deciding which ice lamp to choose for gel polish, because models of this type can not be used with all types of varnishes. They emit the same ultraviolet light as the above lamps, but it has a narrower range. Gel polishes dry only under the influence of light with the desired wavelength, and if it is not enough, then nothing will work.

How do fluorescent lamps work?

Many masters who have been providing manicure services for a long time agree that the best lamp for drying gel polish is fluorescent:

• These models have a fairly wide range of waves, so they are able to dry any kind of gel polish.
• They are characterized by durability, low energy consumption and do not dry out the skin.
• They are considered the most functional and high quality.

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Stock footage

After analyzing all the above information, you can easily determine for yourself which lamp is good for drying gel polish, and which one does not suit you at all. Do not forget to pay attention to the lamp power, its size, the ability to work with certain types of coatings and the presence of auxiliary functions.