Nail advice/What's this nexgen thing?

From what I've heard, the powder will fuck up your nails as much as acrylics so I don't think that's how you want to go if you hated them so much. I would recommend gels anyway---just get them professionally removed so you don't have to do it yourself. I didn't find them hard to remove at all so maybe you just need to try a different brand of gel. I liked Vinylux,

Go with gel nails. I SWEAR by gel. Go ahead and start getting them now so your nails will be a good length/shape for what you want. Either of these can be done with gel.

I LOVE nexgen! They last me longer than gel and are not as rough on my nails as acrylic. I've never tried it with designs, so sorry I'm not much help in that regard.

I do the dip powder and my nails are stronger than ever. They used to break constantly and now they can stand up to a lot more, especially if I accidentally break off a chunk of the powder

Also, they last at least 2 weeks, I don't think they are as bad as acrylics because my nail doesn't get the surface filed, just buffed where the powder ended after they grow out where there is skin/cuticle that grew with it

2nd bonus to gel/shellac: blasting your hands with UVA rays can cause photoaging, who doesn't love skin damage?

@amw-love your avatar!! I always got them professionally removed, the process just bothered me, but I understand it's a necessary evil. I'll look out for that brand.

@lisak-as far as I've always thigh, those are the same, just shellac is a different brand

@blairwaldorf-doesn't nexgen use uv too?

Dude. I got the shellac/gel whateverthefuck the day before my wedding (12/21) and you can't chip that shit if you try. I am a rock climber, and have climbed several times since then (hence why I never get manicures) and nothing. nadda. It's grown out by now, but the polished portion is STILL not chipped lol.

Yes, that's why I loved gel. But I hated the removal and also I just couldn't afford to keep doing it like I was, and just never picked it back up

@shiny objects, not to my knowledge, I've been doing the dip powder for over a year and never have to do uv. I just let them sit for about 3 minutes and I'm done.

Also gel doesn't work the same for everyone. Anytime I've had it (from 3 different salons) it was chipped within a week

Can you do things like my pics with dip? And does it dry quickly/hold up like gel, or do you have to be careful like regular polish?

I've been getting SNS (powder) manicures for about 3 months now and I'm not kidding it's

life changing. I'm absolutely obsessed! It stays for forever, I'e never had a single chip or peel or break and the only reason I keep going in to get them redone is because the color grows out as your nails grow I always used to bite my nails and haven't once since I started doing the powder manicure.

My first time they put tips on underneath because I had stubby little nails, but they've completely grown out now! The powder is vitamin packed and really good for your nails!

No joke - look up places that do powder in your area, I'm obsessed. DH makes fun of me because I literally can not go through the day without raving about it at least once

ETA: The nail salon I go to says that gel is really bad for your nails (they still offer it, just suggest this new technique to everyone). And if the powder does chip at all - which is really hard to do - you can directly file your nail down without messing up the color or finish at all!

You cans do French with the dip, just have them use a glitter or colored powder instead of the white

Ok sorry I'm still raving, a WW co-worker turned me on to this! I'm less adventurous with my nails than she is, but you can still do really cool designs stuff! She went to vegas and they did a chrome finish on her nails with a coral powder manicure and silver gel polish on top. You can absolutely get creative with it!

FYI salons should be using LED lights now for gel, not UV.

Posting a pic! I got a gold glitter color for new years (got my nails done on 12/30, and probably won't go in for a new color for another week), and she got an awesome dark navy with gold flakes on alternating fingers (got her nails done last Saturday)!

When you get it redone is it a full, or they remove it and start over ? How do they remove it?

They'll do fill-ins the first few times ($10 cheaper for me), I'll be getting them completely redone for the first time the next time I go in (I went pale pink and sparkly, then maroon, then red, then gold glitter). They'll soak your nails in acetone and buff off the top layers of color. I haven't attempted removing the color myself, but was told that as long as you sand off the top layer of polish and then soak your nails in nail polish remover it will come off just like gels.

They suggest starting with lighter colors and progressing to darker colors for your fill-ins because that's the easiest color-wise, but they were able to almost completely remove the red from my nails for the gold color. In the right light at the right angle staring at the tip of my nails I can kind of see a little bit of red, but that's it.

Even though it is a lot of layering and dipping in the powder, your nails are still really thin! They aren't clunky at all.

LED still has UVA irradiance stronger than the sun

They also have color changing powders

I love gel, but I also take mine off at home. I've found the salons don't leave the nail polish remover tips (funky aluminum foil wraps) on long enough to completely dissolve the glue from the gel. If they did, they wouldn't need to damage the nails as much to remove. If you let them soak in a bowl of remover or in the aluminum foil for half hour ish (tv and wine night activity) the gel is pretty easy to remove. You can also ask the nail salon to give the nails a few more mins before they remove.