What is the best gel polish?

• 3 min reading time

What is gel polish?

Let's start with the question of what gel polish actually is? There is sometimes some confusion about this. This is because different names are used interchangeably. On some nail polish you sometimes see the term gel nail polish, which can wrongly give the impression that it is gel polish, while it is actually regular nail polish. Nice marketing, but very confusing of course.

In the past, there was only normal nail polish. After applying it, you had to let it dry and that could sometimes take quite a while. Often you suffered damage because you hit your nail while the nail polish was not completely dry yet. And after a day or two it often became ugly because it became dull or chipped. Removing it was very easy with a cotton pad and remover.

Gel polish

At some point, the so-called semi-permanent gel polish was invented. A nail polish that stays on for a few weeks and that you can also remove, in short... gel polish. Gel polish does not dry by itself like traditional nail polish. You have to harden it in a UV or LED lamp and you usually also need a separate base and top coat. After hardening, you can do everything right away and just bump your nails without damaging them. Gel polish stays beautiful on your nails for at least 2 weeks and can even last much longer if it is applied correctly. Removing gel polish is a bit more difficult.

>How do you tell the difference between nail polish and gel polish?

For a layman, especially if you are just starting out, it is difficult to know what the difference is. As we wrote earlier, some bottles of nail polish have texts such as Gel Nail Polish or Gel Look etc. However, this is regular nail polish but often with a bit more shine, so that it looks like gel polish in appearance. Or they call it gel polish without a lamp. This is misleading, because if you do not need a lamp to harden it, it is not gel polish but regular nail polish.

A handy tip: if it is in a transparent bottle, it is definitely regular nail polish. Gel polish would harden under the influence of sunlight. Gel polish always comes in a bottle that you cannot see through. They are often black bottles, but you can also see them in white or even in all kinds of different colors. But the easiest way to determine what kind of polish it is, is to see if it needs to be hardened in a lamp. If it does not need to be hardened in a nail lamp, it is not gel polish, no matter what fancy name is on the bottle.

>What is the best gel polish?

Just like with nail polish, there is also a difference in quality with gel polish. But good quality gel polish certainly does not have to be expensive. At Pretty Polish you will find various Polish brands of gel polish that are competitively priced and of good quality. The brands Victoria Vynn, Makear and Molly Lac are all very good quality and are also easy to use by private individuals. With 2 thin layers these brands already cover very nicely. And they have a lot of choice in colors and different base coats and top coats.

The best gel polish is that of By Djess. This brand is specially made for professionals. It is a somewhat thicker, creamy gel polish that must be painted extremely thinly because of the high pigmentation. It is less suitable for private individuals.

What is the most famous brand of gel polish?

The most famous brand of gel polish is Victoria Vynn. It is suitable for both private individuals and nail stylists. There are approx. 500 different colours and the brand is very popular in our webshop and now also in several other countries.