How Sanitary Is Nail Dip Powder

I'm an acrylic full-set daughter through and through. Every 2 to three weeks, I march into my local nail salon with a collection of nail inspiration pictures, set up for my nail tech and I to create magic. Simply, later spending hundreds of dollars each month on full sets and gel manicures, my love affair with the services left me with cracked, fragile nails.

Then, a co-worker mentioned dip pulverisation nails to me. As a cocky-professed beauty lover, I pride myself on staying on meridian of the latest fads in the makeup, hair, and smash earth only I had to admit defeat—I never heard of the tendency and was eager to discover out what it entailed.

I was riddled with questions, mainly, "Is it rubber for my nails?" which were in serious recovery mode post-acrylic. I Googled the best salons in New York Metropolis that offered the procedure, and took a trip down to Snow Fairy Boom Spa to see what the hype was all about.

To start, Anna, i of the nail technicians in the salon, removed all nail shine from my nail using acetone before pulling out her electric buffing machine to smoothen out whatever rugged areas on my boom and create a make clean canvas for the powder to stick to. After cutting and shaping my nail—I opted for an oval shape instead of my usual squoval—and pushing back my cuticles, it was fourth dimension for the fun to begin. Anna brushed on a primer, then swiped on a articulate polish. While there were an array of powder colors to choose from (pink, nude, regal, etc.) my center was set on the pale orange shade I saw upon arriving at the salon and then I chose to get with that.

Nail, Finger, Hand, Close-up, Nail care, Joint, Nail polish, Material property, Leg, Thumb,

My dip powder nails after ane week.

Nerisha Penrose

To my surprise, the dip powder manicure process was adequately simple: Anna dipped each finger into the clear, finely-milled powder, brushed off the excess pulverisation, set up it with a protective articulate polish and repeated these steps until my nail was fully coated and hardened. Later applying OPI's Freedom of Peach, Anna sealed each nail with a gel top coat and placed my hands under a fan dryer. The procedure took about an hour and a half in full—and for $51, the manicure was still in tip-top shape after a week of fumbling through my pocketbook for my keys, typing on my laptop, and washing my hands round the clock.

"But is information technology healthier than gel manicures?" you're probably thinking.

"They are similar in that both provide an extra layer of protection to natural nails," says licensed nail technician, Harli Thou, the nail mastermind behind the nail art business relationship @nailsbyharlig. "Dip nails don't require UV/LED light and are typically a much quicker process to apply from start to finish. Gel nails tend to look a fleck more natural on the nails than a dip powered enhancement, so I prefer gel manicures."

Before y'all speed over to your nail salon to test the manicure out for yourself, Harli suggests yous consider a few things:

You probably shouldn't try this at-dwelling house.

While smash dip powder seems harmless, they nevertheless contain harsh chemicals that pose as a wellness risk. "I would never recommend doing either of these treatments as a DIY at home because for both treatments, there are chemical products that can harm skin or the nail plate if not properly applied. Even professional person course products and products marketed for calm employ incorporate harming chemicals, so it'south just safer to get to a professional for both gel and dip treatments," Harli advises. Err on the cautious side.

Unlike regular manicures, dip powder treatments can last upwards to a month.

Equally a outcome, smash dip manicures can exist both cost and time effective. "For busier clients, dip powder is a swell option equally they last 3 weeks or longer, depending on the level of at-domicile care after the manicure," Lily, a nail technician at @zilythenailbar, tells us. This is almost twice the longevity of your standard gel manicure.

Many salons don't carry the handling due to sanitation concerns.

Bank check your salon before you brand an appointment. "A huge risk for dip smash manicures is sanitation. Information technology is incredibly unsanitary for multiple clients to dip their fingers in the aforementioned container of pulverisation, even pouring the production over multiple clients' nails and assuasive the product powder to fall back into the container is an like shooting fish in a barrel manner for nail infections to be passed between clients. If y'all notice techs applying the dip powder in either of those ways, Exit and go to a different salon." Ultimately your wellness and safe are of utmost importance, so it's critical to do some research due diligence beforehand.

Short nails, no trouble. Dip powder nail extensions are available.

For years people have gravitated towards full set acrylics to achieve long nails until now. Dip powder notwithstanding allows blast techs to add together nail extensions. In fact, "Dip pulverisation is more lightweight than acrylic, which allows information technology to wearable and tear better and last longer," Lily shares. One time the nail tech adds fake nail tips, they will file the nail down to the requested shape and and so apply the "dip" technique to apply a thin layer of colored powder to the nail.

To protect your nails, accept a professional remove your manicure.

Manicures tin can be harsh on your nails—to minimize its touch on, don't try to remove your manicure yourself. "With all nail enhancements, at that place's a chance of your nail plates becoming dehydrated and breakable. The removal process is crucial. In my experience, most problems with poor natural nail health are a effect of nail enhancements, particularly dip nails, and stalk from attempts at a DIY removal at home. It is always safest to go back to the salon and have a licensed professional person remove whatsoever production for you," Harli emphasizes. We know picking at a manicure is tempting, but information technology'due south but not worth the health consequences.

Lastly, after-care is extremely helpful to restoring your nail'south health.

Outside of your manicure, being thoughtful and gentle towards your easily goes a long way. "Excess exposure to chemicals such as those found in household cleaners can lead to weakened enhancements or brittle natural nails. I always recommend wearing protective gloves to protect both the enhancement, your natural nails and the surrounding peel from weakening, which could lead to painful breakage. Restoring hydration after the handling and during the wear fourth dimension volition aid a lot of the bug that can arise from the dip pulverization enhancements. Try to utilise cuticle oils and high quality moisturizers multiple times a mean solar day," Harli suggests. We all know how important moisturizing is, then ensure your hands are getting the aforementioned handling. Here we've washed the inquiry for y'all, the best cuticle serums on the marketplace: