How do you treat gel polish without a UV light?

Thankfully, there are alternative ways to cure gel polish with less UV exposure. While only an LED lamp can cure your polish as quickly and effectively as a UV light, using a non-UV gel polish, applying a drying agent, or soaking your nails in ice water could work as well.

Can you get gel nails without UV light?

Not only does a gel-look polish save time, but it also saves money, hassle, damage – the list goes on – and it doesn’t cause peeling and dryness every time you take it off. We’re completely hooked. Doing gel nails without a UV lamp means finding a high-shine, chip-resistant nail polish.

Is UV light necessary for gel nails?

But gel nail polish needs ultraviolet light to harden, raising concern about the risk of skin cancer when hands, cuticles and nails are regularly exposed to UV rays that can be more powerful than the sun.

Can gel polish dry on its own?

The short answer is no. Oxygen gets in the way of curing gel nails. Air prevents the gel molecules from forming together to harden, which explains why your gel polish will never dry in the air. I don’t fully understand the science, but gel nail polish will never air dry no matter how long you leave it.

Can you dry gel nails with a hair dryer?

Blow it up

Salons use fans to help speed up drying, but your hair dryer works just as well. The secret is to put it on the “cool” setting. Heat actually keeps polish from firming, so giving your digits a shot of cold air is much more helpful.

Will LED flashlight work on gel polish?

Both LED and UV nail lamps emit UV wavelengths and work in the same way. However, UV lamps emit a broader spectrum of wavelengths, while LED lamps produce a narrower, more targeted number of wavelengths. … LED lamps can cure gel polish faster than a UV light. Not all gel polishes can be cured by an LED lamp.

How long does gel polish take to dry without light?

After painting on the first coat of no-light gel polish, wait between 5 to 10 minutes for the polish to air-dry. Then proceed to paint on the second coat. Dry this coat for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Why are my gel nails not drying?

It sounds like the gel-polish is not fully cured. … It is also possible that you are applying the gel-polish too thick. When gel-polish is applied too heavy, the UV light cannot penetrate through the entire layer to cure it properly. Uncured gel-polish can cause the top coat to dull and also get wiped away with cleanser.

Can you cure gel nails in the sun?

As you probably know by now, gel polish needs UV light to cure. A UV or LED lamp speeds up this process and makes it happen in a specified amount of time, but sunlight and even light from light bulbs have UV rays. These rays can eventually cure gel polish, which is why gel polish bottles are opaque.

Does nail polish dry in cold water?

So, while the icy water may thicken the polish so it seems to dry more quickly, the only way to get a hard coat of polish is to let it dry. The cold water won’t hurt anything, but it won’t speed the process up—unless you dry your hands under an air dryer afterward.

How do you make gel nails dry faster?

How to Make Nail Polish Dry Faster
  1. Quick-dry top coat. Purchasing a clear coat of nail polish that’s been formulated specifically to cut down on drying time is an easy way to dry nails faster. …
  2. Cold water quick-dry. This trick requires a bit of prep work. …
  3. Hairdryer. …
  4. Baby oil. …
  5. Thin coats of polish. …
  6. Drying drops.

Why are my gel nails sticky?

Your gel nails are sticky because the top layer of chemicals did not properly cure. They call this the inhibition layer. The stickiness happens when oxygen prevents this portion from drying completely. The chemicals make up the top layer of gel color.

Does putting nails in ice water work?

‘Yes, you can speed up your drying time by submerging your nails in cold water,’ confirms Michelle. Hooray! She advises, ‘Simply fill a bowl, dip your nails, and wait 3-5 minutes – or however long you can spare! You can even add a few ice cubes to make the temperature cooler.

Does rubbing alcohol dry nail polish?

Does rubbing alcohol dry nail polish? No, rubbing alcohol does not dry nail polish. … You can also try spraying your nails with cooking oil, blasting them with cool air (use a hairdryer on cool or a can of compressed air) or dunking them into cold water to speed up the process.

Does Hairspray dry nails?

While hairspray doesn’t dry them completely, it absolutely speeds up the process, which is priceless when you’re trying to avoid those inevitable nail polish nicks.

How long do nails take to air dry?

But depending on how many coats of nail polish are applied (one coat will dry faster than two to three or more), it can take up to two hours for nails to completely air dry. (To be safe, if your mani or pedi is in the evening, pros advise waiting this long for your polish to dry before bed, too.)

How long does it take nails to dry?

While it’s easy to think that your nails only need a good 10 to 15 minutes to dry, your past manicure sessions have shown that your nails can still get smudged after waiting it out. The truth is, it can take one to two hours for your nail polish to set.

Does olive oil dry nail polish?

Drip Olive Oil Onto Your Nails

Well, just like quick-dry drops, using oil can help speed up drying. There’s no real rhyme or reason to why this works, but beauty lovers all over the world swear by it in a crunch.

How long should you wait between coats of nail polish?

two minutes
You can speed up the drying time.

If you’re painting your own nails, Mimi says her top piece of advice is to wait two minutes between each coat of polish and paint your nails while you’re doing something enjoyable, like watching your favorite TV show, as this will help pass the time.

Why is my nail polish sticky and won’t dry?

If your nail polish is not drying quickly, you’ve likely just painted on too thick of a layer. You should only be applying thin layers at a time and let each one dry before applying another. … Cold water can help, but be sure it isn’t a powerful flow or it could mess up your nail polish/varnish.

How long should you dry nails at salon?

Usually, yes. But to minimize the chances of that happening, Barb said, “we advise clients to hang out for a little bit, 15 minutes or so, while their nails dry.”

Does gel nail polish dry immediately?

Professional gel polish requires LED or UV lamps in order to dry. It takes 30 seconds for one layer of gel polish to dry under a LED lamp and 2 minutes under the UV lamp.