How long gel polish, base and top coats should be dried under LED lamps

How long gel polish, base and top coats should be dried under LED lamps

How long gel polish should be dried?

The contemporary industry of nail art offers a huge collection of all possible decorative, protecting, restorative and treatment materials meant for nail extension and nail design. Leading nail artists of the nail industry are always aware of advanced technologies. They constantly renew the range of employed expendables and tools that allow them to perform a perfect manicure, chiropody, and coat a nail plate on a high-quality level making it durable and without strips and splits.

Innovative decorative nail coats are distinguished from usual well-known nail polishes not only with peculiar textures but also with the technology of photopolymer coating. After a nail plate is coated with gel polish, it undergoes polymerization under a special device — a lamp-polymerizer of different types and wattage (UV), hybrids UV LED, upgraded hybrid CCFL, LED + CCFL, and so on). A correctly coated nail plate will keep its original appearance for about three weeks.

Special aspects of polymerization: what does drying of heavy-duty coatings depend on?

Drying of various types of photopolymers (acryl, gel, etc.) requires an appropriate device, a lamp that will easily manage shellac, camouflage material, and a rather consistent component applied for a nail plate extension. Moreover, such devices of certain types exist. Polymerizers are assigned for professional or home use.

In order to dry gel coat reliably and in a quality manner one should focus on the recommendations and advice of a producer and choose a certain type of polymerizer for the respective photopolymer. Correct position of a hand under a polymerizer, consistence, and pigmentation of applied materials influence on the quality of polymerization. If photopolymer is dried incorrectly or poorly, then a coat may start stripping, cracking, and so on. If the time for polymerization is exceeded then there will be nothing wrong with a coat. However, skin on hands will possibly require more diligent care.

Why is gel polish dried poorly?

Heavy-duty coating of nails with special materials requires particular skills. Even a wrong position of a hand under a device may count against the quality of drying. Photopolymer could be applied with a too thick layer, it may be set irregularly and it may bleed onto the skin of a finger — all these have an impact on the quality of polymerization (drying). In order to prevent such cases while coating nails with high-quality materials the following rules are advised:

  • Properly shape a nail and prepare a nail plate before the appliance of gel;
  • Remove cuticles and make a nail flawlessly clean;
  • Observe the order of the appliance for different materials;
  • Coat nails with a thin layer of gel polish, dry polymer to a high standard taking into consideration the power of a lamp and peculiarities of gel;
  • It happens quite often when the power of a polymerizer is not sufficient for high pigmented gel polish;
  • Look after device availability and quality of photopolymer.

For the creation of a high-quality and proper manicure, we recommend to use high-quality tools, equipment, and expendable supplies of premium class for the decoration of a nail plate that can be purchased online via GLOSS COMPANY internet resource.

Devices for drying of gel polishes: different features and power capacity of polymerizers

Choice of a polymerizer for drying of gel polish depends upon several aspects: whether a manicure is performed at a beauty studio or at home, décor is created with the help of a certain type of photopolymer, or a cross-functional polymerizer is purchased. The nail industry offers the following types of polymerizers: UV, LED, hybrids (UV/LED), and innovative devices.

Flawless drying of photopolymer is an important factor when performing a manicure with a heavy-duty coating. In order to transform photopolymer, gel, or acryl into a glossy, smooth, and rock-solid surface a polymerizer should be chosen very carefully since various features and certain power capacity of lamps must meet the requirements of different materials.

How long gel polish, base, and top coats must be dried under UV, LED, and hybrid lamp with 36W or 48W, how long should nails be held under a device, how much time (minutes, seconds) is necessary to polymerize shellac, camouflage, gel and so on. Answers to these questions depend on the polymerizer's power capacity.

Sources of light contained in these devices make photopolymers change their properties under the influence of light with a certain spectrum, that is the surface hardens (dries out). Photopolymer is transformed from a liquid state into a hard under the influence of light. The speed and quality of material drying depend on the polymerizer's power capacity.

Ultraviolet (UV) lamps

In a UV device drying of gel polish (photopolymer) is performed by way of luminescent light sources. The main advantage of this device is its low energy consumption and ability to dry gel polishes of any type (including those that are marked with “LED”). The device with the capacity of 9W will polymerize heavy-due coat optimal in consistence and volume of color for 4 — 6 minutes.

Such polymerizers are ideal for chiropody and manicure at home due to their small sizes and portability. A UV device with the capacity of 18 — 24W will polymerize the top coat, base coat, and gel polish for 3,5 minutes. And the most reliable UV lamp with 36 —48W will perform it for 2 min.

Light-emitting diodes (LED) polymerizers

In a LED device drying of photopolymers is performed by way of light-emitting diodes. Due to this, a coat will harden much quicker than it would be in a UV device. The appliance with a range of capacity from 12 up to 45W. The average duration of drying is from 10 seconds up to 1 minute. LED polymerizers are the devices of the second generation of lamps elaborated for drying of artificial material on nails. Such instrument does not require the replacement of sources of light; they will operate much longer than UV lamps and at the same time they will continue to keep initial functionality, therefore the duration of drying will not become longer.

Newcomers to the nail industry often wonder how much time is required for drying gel polishes under a LED lamp-polymerizer. LED-polymerizers have more capacity than UV lamps:

  • LED-polymerizer with 9 watts will dry photopolymer for 60 seconds;
  • A device with the capacity of 18 watts will make liquid heavy-duty coat hard for half of the minute;
  • A Polymerizer with the capacity of 36 — 45 watts will dry any material to an accomplished standard for 10 — 30 seconds.

Light-emitting diodes do not generate much volume of heat energy; therefore, even taking into account continuous running a polymerizer body does not become hot. Moreover, LED devices consume less electric energy and release several times less ultraviolet emission than UV devices do.

Devices for drying of nails (CCFL)

A polymerizer with cold cathode emission (often combined with light-emitting diodes) is an improved version of a UV lamp and is maximally safe and convenient at work. The process of photopolymer polymerization in the device is performed with the help of fluorescent tubes. Neutral gas is contained inside the sources of light. Such polymerizers will be appropriate for different types of nail coats. These devices do not generate heat energy and were designed as energy-saving. The time for photopolymer drying is 60 — 120 seconds.

Hybrid devices (UV/LED, CCFL/LED)

How long heavy-duty coating should be dried under hybrid polymerizers? It takes from 30 up to 60 seconds for base coat hardening and a colored coat requires about 10 — 30 seconds. Hybrid polymerizers include all benefits of existing types of devices meant for photopolymer drying:

  • Devices polymerize any nail coat since they combine the operational abilities of two types of devices at once;
  • The duration of polymerization is from 10 until 60 seconds;
  • A device does not run hot while continuous running.

Nowadays improved and hybrid polymerizers (UV/LED) are considered to be omni-purpose and therefore top requested.

The power of a polymerizer influences on the time of gel polish hardening and on the quality of drying of decorative material.

Polymerizers of the newest generation produced with the appliance of technology of ultraviolet and light-emitting diode emission with different emission bands are employed for operation with various types of decorative coats for a nail plate: bio gel, gel color, 3D coating, acryl, gel polish, etc.

Advantageous features of hybrid lamps

Hybrid devices have a number of special features that set them off from the rest devices designed for nails polymerization:

  • Ability to dry any heavy-duty coats for nail design, modeling, and nail coating;
  • Fast-drying of photopolymers;
  • Economic electric energy consumption;
  • Long life;
  • Safety in use.

In hybrid polymerizers the influence of ultraviolet emission on skin and organs of sight is essentially reduced.

A hybrid device generates less volume of heat energy, therefore a nail plate during polymerization will not undergo discomfortable feelings. Some devices are equipped with automatic control of temperatures so that a polymerizer does not overheat and does not “burn” during the process of drying.

A hybrid device allows drying of absolutely any decorative material. High-power modern polymerizers dry quickly any coating. Sometimes 9 watts are enough for drying nail coats at home. If you need a hybrid device for working in a salon with abundant attendance of customers then more powerful polymerizers with 36 — 48 watts are recommended.

Sometimes it may seem that a new powerful polymerizer dries somewhat worse than a previous device. The reason for it can be in a wrong position of fingers or a hand under the device. That is why a master is bound to dry a coat additionally in an effort to achieve high-quality polymerization. Too thick coat, heavy consistence, or highly pigmented heavy-duty coating may prevent normal drying as well. Such photopolymers are recommended to dry twice as long as it is due than less pigmented colors for nail art.

GLOSS COMPANY: buy gel polishes, equipment, and tools for manicure

GLOSS COMPANY website introduces various collections of commodities for the performance of a high-quality manicure, premium class expendables for a nail plate decoration, and lamps for drying photopolymers.

Nowadays contemporary nail industry implies the use of high-quality gel polishes, base and top coats, disinfectors, polymerizers of different types and power capacity, and other related products for a manicure. Wearability, wear life, and convenience of use directly depend on lamp power capacity, quality of photopolymers, base coat, top coat, instruments, etc. Therefore when planning the acquiring of various expendable supplies, equipment for a high-quality manicure, nifty design of a nail plate, and funky nail décor one should carefully select a shop and a reliable supplier of goods for a manicure.

TM GLOSS COMPANY offers high-quality production eagerly sought by beauty parlors and leading specialists of the nail industry. Every year the company introduces to customers the latest novelties when it comes to nail service.

GLOSS COMPANY offers to purchase online professional equipment for drying of colored coats, bio gels, powerful polymerizers, and similar commodities for the nail art industry, beauty salons, and use at home. Delivery of goods is performed all over Ukraine.

Do you have remaining questions? We recommend applying online or by phone to our consultants and you will find out how much time is required for drying gel polish under a lamp of a certain type or what power capacity is enough for the polymerization of different types of photopolymers. In addition, you will be offered information regarding forms of payment and delivery of GLOSS COMPANY production to your city, product availability and so on.