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While I’m a beauty writer, I consider myself fairly low-maintenance. Save for special occasions, I always do my own hair, most of the beauty products I own I’ve gotten for free through work, and I rarely splurge on salon or spa treatments unless it’s for a story. I also never — literally never — get my nails done (I’d say I do them myself, but even that happens pretty infrequently). Last week, I got my first (ever!) gel manicure, using OPI’s new GelColor ProHealth Base and Top Coat, which promises healthier nails and up to 14 days of chip-free wear — and frankly, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to doing my own digits. Want the full scoop on this life- (or at least, routine-) changing new gel technology? Here's exactly how it all played out: Day OneHaving never gotten a gel manicure before, I was pretty excited to see the process for myself. I headed to Nailesthetic salon in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City for a full gel manicure ($40), and brought my own bottles of OPI’s GelColor ProHealth Base and Top Coat for my manicurist to use.
Since the basecoat and topcoat can be used with any of, I headed to the polish display to pick my shade and settled on, a deep, autumnal burgundy shade.After prepping my nails, my manicurist swiped on the OPI GelColor ProHealth basecoat and put my nails under a blue UV light for 30 seconds; immediately after, she applied two coats of my color and one of the topcoat, putting my nails under the light each round. Though I’d been told OPI’s new GelColor cures quickly, I didn’t realize just how fast — I was totally blown away when my nails emerged from the last round of the light treatment bone-dry. Point one for OPI.
Gillian Fuller Days Five Through SevenMy nails began to grow, so there was a tiny crescent of exposed bare nail peeking out below my gel manicure (fortunately, from afar, it was barely noticeable). I noticed that my nails seemed to be growing a bit faster than they normally do, although I’m not sure if that was simply because I had a manicure and was avoiding filing (or biting) them, or if the ProHealth base and topcoats were actually making my nails stronger.
They certainly felt stronger: My usually-brittle nails haven’t bent, broken, or cracked in the week since I first got my manicure in the salon (even after a longer-than-average hot soak in the tub with some music and my favorite multicolored bath bomb). I was honestly blown away: I’ve never been so impressed with a manicure before and I’m officially a gel convert.On the seventh night, I invited my best friend out for drinks to show off my apparently bulletproof manicure but ended up spending most of the night gossiping over happy hour margaritas and taking selfies (most of which I ended up deleting in the morning). Thankfully, despite the excitement and antics of the evening, my manicure remained perfectly intact.
Point three for OPI. Gillian Fuller Days Seven Through FourteenThat's right: fourteen. My gel manicure lasted 14 days — and it probably would have lasted even longer, had I not decided to get it removed to see how my nails held up.
Gel manicures, as you may or may not know, definitely last, but they can also wreak havoc on your nails (especially after removal). By day 12, I was interested to see how my natural nails would look once I got the miracle polish removed, so I booked an appointment at Local Honey, a year-old salon in my neighborhood in Bushwick, Brooklyn. I’d been told that OPI’s GelColor ProHealth manicure removes quicker than most gels (in as little as seven minutes), so when I sat in my chair at the manicurist’s table, I set the stopwatch on my phone to see if it really was as fast as I’d heard.Turns out, it was quicker. After a five-minute soak in acetone-saturated cotton balls, my gel polish peeled off my nails easily. As for my nails?
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They looked as healthy as ever, albeit far longer than I ever managed to make them grow on my own (the biggest draw of gel manicures, as far as I’m concerned). My nails were a bit dry from their acetone bath, but after a quick buff, file, and spot of cuticle oil, they looked and felt completely healthy with zero cracks or dry spots. I’ve seen my friends’ nails after gel manicure removals, and they always looked a little gnarly. To say I was impressed with the health of my nails following my gel polish removal would be an understatement — so yeah, it's safe to say that there will be way more nail salon visits in my future.
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March 2023
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