Finally, A Manicure With Staying Power!

About two weeks ago, my mother-in-law and I treated ourselves to a manicure and pedicure. Us hard working gals wanted to do something nice for ourselves, so we scheduled our appointment at Galaxy Nails in Woodbridge. This was our second venture there as we were quite pleased with the quality of the service we received the first time, and being all of maybe a mile from home you can't beat the commute!

Before going, I had remarked to my mother-in-law that I would just like to get a pedicure as I cannot keep manicures nice for even 24 hours after leaving the salon. (Once, I hadn't even taken two steps out the door before I had horribly smudged a nail, causing me to have to sheepishly return to ask for a touch up). Nevertheless, she insisted.

Upon arriving, she saw a sign for Color Gel Nail Polish aligned with the phrases, "Tired of having your nails chip? Tired of waiting for them to dry? Try our no chip, no dry Color Gel Nail Polish!" So, she asked the owner of the shop what it was exactly and how valid were these claims. The owner assured us that it would not chip and last 2 weeks. We figured, why not give it a go. If it works, we will be able to enjoy our "treat" that much longer! Skeptical but willing to try, I picked out my color - a vibrant red/orange.

The process is a little more involved than a regular manicure but less obtrusive to your actual nails as the color gel just sits atop your natural nail - no dremmel-like tool needed to shave down your ridges and cuticles as in an acrylic manicure. Catherine Saint Louis of the New York Times provides the rest of the procedure in a nutshell:

A manicurist paints on a base coat, two color coats and top coat, as she would with regular nail lacquer. But after each coat, the soak-off gel is cured briefly under ultraviolet light, so the client leaves with impeccably dry nails.

Truly, there was very little wait time, and my salonist gave me a nice back rub while we waited the last few minutes for the final setting to occur. Both my mother-in-law and I were quite impressed with the quality of the polish's look; it was quite shiny, smooth, and gave the feel of stronger nails. We left happy and hopeful that this new product just might work for us.

The next day, I was quite impressed that I went through a whole day of work with no chipping or breakage. As was true the next day and the day after that. The true test came on Friday, our big clean and move-all-our-equipment day, and still, my nails looked as full of luster as they did when I got them done. Needless to say, I was impressed. I am very hard on my hands, and I was not getting this polish to budge.

Michelle Mismas, author of alllacqueredup.com, had a similar experience when she "test drove" the color gel polish: “When I was wearing it, I beat my hands up, and I couldn’t get a scratch...I was banging into things on purpose to see if I could trash it.” 2 weeks later, hers were still holding strong.

By the end of week 1, I, however, had lost one. It lifted and came off entirely. However, unlike acrylic nails that require plastic tips to be super glued to your real nail and, when removed, essentially leave them "torn up" and in need of another rotor rooter treament, the color gel caused little to no damage - nothing a little normal filing couldn't smooth out.

In the days that followed, a few more of my nails lifted at the corners, which of course caused me to play with them until they too fell off. But being that the color and look of the polish remained constant throughout and their removal caused far less damage than other experiences I have had, I remain a happy customer. My mother-in-law and I joked that for me to keep them nice for 1 day would be a remarkable accomplishment, and this manicure lasted 1 full week.

I would certainly get the color gel nail polish again. It is more expensive than a traditional manicure but not much different than acrylic tips - about $45 for the inital treatment, $25 to "fill," but it is worth to me it if it actually lasts. You can find more costly ones, but that generally means they are using the more high end gels. Also, a good idea to combat the growth that occurs after two weeks is to do a french manicure look with a colored tip but a more natural tone towards the cuticle.

I think for my next nail venture, I will investigate Sally Hansen's Salon Effects stick on manicure. At $8.54 + no additional tip at Target, it is worth a try in between salon visits. Plus, they have such neat colors and patterns. Looks like fun! But, I highly recommend the color gel treatment. It really does have staying power.