This summer I decided to give Nail Dip Powder a try instead of using my regular polish and wanted to you give you a review and my thoughts on it after having it done quite a few times.
I did gel manicures for about 4 years religiously, but when I had my son in August 2015 I decided I didn’t want the burden of having to go every 2 weeks so I started to do them myself. I got really good at it actually and by using Essie Gel Couture I only had to polish them twice a week (which I highly recommend and will do a post on soon). I would do them at night before I got into bed so there was no way I could smudge them. I did also go for a professional manicure every 3 weeks or so.
This summer has been really hectic and my nail salon recently got the dip powder in and after seeing so many other bloggers doing it I decided to give it a try.
So what is Nail Dip Powder?
Basically it consists of applying a polish then dipping your nail into a powder (the process is similar to doing acrylics). However they do say that the powder is actually good for your nails. They do a polish then a base powder, then polish and the color powder (they do this 2-3 times depending on how opaque it is). They then need to file them down and shape them and finish off with a couple coats of a shiny top coat. The process is pretty long and takes about an hour. (There are different brands for dip powder such as ANC and OPI and the process does vary by brand).
What are my thoughts on it?
I really, really like it. My nails are super hard and they grow so quick with it on. They look perfect and stay super shiny ALL of the time. And it is so nice to not have to worry about polishing them myself at night. However there are some definite con’s to it..
First off usually at about the 2 week mark they begin to lift up and I was really hoping to get 3 weeks out of them. I try to put some nail glue underneath and this typically holds them down a couple more days until I get to the salon. Last time they were removed I noticed one nail had a tinge of green underneath which has never happened before. I can imagine its from the nail powder lifting and air and water getting trapped underneath. I took a break for a couple weeks to let my nails breath and it did go away. Also removing them takes a long time. They are removed the same way gel polish is by soaking with an acetone cotton swab and putting foil over top, however they take much much longer to start coming off (I usually get a pedicure while I have the foils on that way by the time I am done they are off). Another downside is as I mentioned above, the process is pretty time consuming. For me to get this done and get a pedicure I am in the salon for at least an hour and half if not more. It is just so hard to find the time for that with running a business and having a toddler.
All in all I really do like it, I love the way my nails look and feel. I think I will still get it done just not all of the time. If I have a few events coming up or I am going away I will do it just so I don’t have to worry about polishing my nails but I will definitely take breaks in between.
This is the ANC color Tropical Paradise at exactly the 2 week mark and I did go 18 days with them with no big issues (only had one begin to lift a little.
Have you given it a try?
