LED- or UV-lamps for drying nails: principle of operation, differences, price, reviews

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Acrylic nail extensions are no longer in trend. It was replaced by a new direction in manicure - shellac coating. The technology of its application is rather complicated and involves the use of a special lamp for drying gel polish.

UV (or UV) lamps for drying gel polish

A feature of gel polish, or shellac, is that it dries exclusively in the light of a lamp. They come in three types: ultraviolet (UV), light-emitting diode (LED) and gas light (CCF). Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

UV-lamps appeared earlier than others, but they are still popular among manicure masters. An important indicator of this device is power. It depends on it how quickly the shellac dries on the nails. Each fixture contains one or more fluorescent bulbs. The power of each of them is 9 watts. Accordingly, a UV fixture labeled 9W consists of one bulb, 18W two bulbs, 36W four bulbs, and so on. By the way, in the last shellac will dry in just a couple of minutes.

Professional UV (ultraviolet) lamp comes in different sizes, which allows you to dry one hand or two at once. bigthe advantage is the presence of a timer that is set for a specific drying time.

UV lamps have one significant drawback. They have a harmful effect on the eyes, as well as dry the skin of the hands and adversely affect the nail plate.

LED lamps

More modern lamps are based on ultraviolet radiation from LEDs. With their help, shellac dries in a matter of 10-30 seconds. They are more powerful than UV lamps, which saves time on a manicure.

In general, the principle of operation of both devices is identical. After processing the nail plate, including special antibacterial agents, a base layer of shellac is applied. Then, for 20 seconds, the nails are dried in a lamp. After that, a color coating is applied. At the next stage, the nails are again dried under the lamp. After that, the last layer of shellac is applied. The nails are again irradiated with a lamp, after which it is necessary to remove the remnants of shellac and treat the cuticle with oil.

LED-device does not have a harmful effect on the eyes, does not dry the skin, has a longer service life. But there is one big downside. The LED lamp does not dry all gel polishes. This must be taken into account when buying a device.

Differences between lamps. Which one to choose for work?

Each of the lamps has its own characteristics of operation, advantages and disadvantages. To choose which one is better, you need to know how these devices differ from each other.

• In the UV device inA fluorescent lamp is used as the light source, and an LED lamp is used in the LED lamp. The first type has a shorter service life, burns out quickly, and therefore requires additional costs to replace burned-out elements.
• Unlike UV, LED-lamp dries polish much faster, in seconds, but not all gel polishes harden under it. Here is its main drawback. This is because the polymer in shellac only begins to harden when it receives ultraviolet radiation. But the wavelength range of the LED lamp is much shorter, so the shellac of individual manufacturers dries unevenly in it or does not harden at all.
• UV lamps with low power (up to 18W) are very slow. Therefore, often the bottom layer does not have time to dry completely. As a result, the coating, which should stay on the nails for at least two weeks, cracks after a few days. The best option for a professional lamp is a 36W fixture.

Since UV lamps are harmful to the body, and LEDs do not dry all types of shellac, experts recommend purchasing combined lamps: LED with gas light, "2 in 1". Any polymer hardens well in it, and the drying time ranges from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. The only drawback of such a device is the high price.

UV lamp reviews

And now let's find out the opinion of novice manicure masters and professionals about this device. Reviews indicate that it dries shellac well. It takes up to 5 minutes of free time to harden one layer. But that's onlyif the lamp power is 36W or more.

For weak appliances, the drying time is several times longer. A 9 W lamp dries one layer of shellac for about 30 minutes. Thus, for a manicure at home, you will have to spend about 3 hours. In this case, one big drawback must be taken into account - the device has a negative effect on vision.