I don’t get manicures that often; why am I going to spend $10 or more on something that won’t even last me a week? There is nothing to ruin your day like looking down at your 3-day-old manicure and seeing a chip on your right index finger. Crap.
Pedicures are something I do get pretty often, though. I was at my regular salon getting my pedicure when I decided I would splurge and get a manicure as well. As my nail technician was preparing my nails, she asked me if I wanted to try a gel manicure. She brought over a display stand that read “Free manicure – $25.00” and had an array of different colors of gel polish.
Acting on instinct, I said, “No, no. I’ll just get the manicure.”
But as the display was sitting in front of me, I contemplated the idea.
“So, if I spend $25, I get a free gel manicure?” I asked, obviously confused.
I figured they were trying to get people to try the gel polish, and I was spending $25 on my pedicure, so why not get a free gel manicure instead of paying $10 for a regular one?
Needless to say, when I went to pay for my mani/pedi I was horrified to see that it was $50 instead of my anticipated $25-$35. I soon realized that it was, in fact, $25 for a gel manicure. I left the nail salon slightly perturbed, feeling I had learned my lesson and vowing not to do that again.
Little did I know, I fell in love with my gel manicure, and have gotten 4 more since.
The best way I can describe a gel manicure is a compromise between a regular manicure and acrylics. It is your real nail, but the gel polish is thicker, so it makes your nail appear thicker, creating the look of possibly having acrylics. I received immediate compliments on my nails from the color, to the shininess, and to the amazement that it was my real nail.
But perhaps my absolute favorite part of the gel polish – it doesn’t chip. Like, it literally doesn’t chip for 3 whole weeks. And even after 3 weeks it’s only on that one right index finger, and it’s grown out enough to where they need to be repainted anyways. It is such a wonderful feeling to have a normal looking manicure (not acrylics) and not having to worry about it chipping from the second you walk out of the salon.
In my opinion, if you can afford the $25 per 3 weeks cost and you love you some hot, painted nails, opt for the gel manicure. For those who get weekly manicures at $10 each, you’ll be saving yourself $5 and a cumulative hour of stressing over chips and broken nails.
The only downside to a gel manicure is that once you have the gel polish on, it takes a little bit of time to get it all off, and then it takes more time to have the polish applied due to having to put your nails under a UV light for a few minutes 3 to 4 times.
But for me, it’s totally worth it. I hope you ladies love your new nails as much as I’ve enjoyed mine!