Remember
Blue Valentine
? OK, maybe it’s better if you don’t remember, so as to avoid spontaneously crying at your desk or crouched over your phone. But remember how Ryan Gosling sings “You Always Hurt the One You Love” to Michelle Williams and she tap-dances? That song pretty much sums up our relationship with gel nails. We love them, and they love us back by lasting for weeks on end without so much as a chip—until they start to teeter over the three-week mark, or we absentmindedly start picking at one that’s growing out...and they proceed to zap any hint of life or vibrancy out of our nail beds. That eventually leaves us with a set of dry, splitting nails and a pile of gel polish chips (gross, we know).
The saga doesn’t stop there—by now it’s impossible to go back to regular nail polish, despite hoarding approximately five million bottles in your vanity. So how does one break the cycle, remove gel nails in the least damaging way,
and
continue the relationship in a
healthy
way? We tasked two of the biggest manicurists in the entire industry—Jin Soon Choi, a fashion favorite who counts Steven Meisel and Marc Jacobs among her collaborators, and
Deborah Lippmann
, who’s manicured practically everyone in Hollywood (and can usually be found at the hands of whoever goes on to win big every Oscar night)—with answering just that.
[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650783212 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: First things first: How much damage are gel manicures actually doing to your nails?]
[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650783212 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: How to protect your skin from those UV lights:]
[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650783212 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: What are the dos and don’ts of frequent gel manicures?]
[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650783212 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: The products every gel enthusiast should stock in their beauty cabinet:]
[Listicle particle error: Unhandled HTML element 'big' in post 2650783212 (context: Element not in supported or skip lists) Element HTML: The DIY intensive treatment that’s like a spa day for your hands:]