Pros and Cons of Dip Powder

The Pros and Cons of Dip Powder

Dip Powder is a popular way to get a great, long-lasting manicure, so what are some of the pros and cons of Dip Powder?

Pros:

Long Lasting - Dip Powder is extremely long lasting – when applied right, it will last until you decide to remove it because your nails have grown out – it won’t chip or peel on you. That should be about 2-3 weeks of wear that you are able to get from a Dip Powder manicure!

Great Styles – Dip Powders come in just about every color possible and allow you to incorporate nail art into your manicures, so it’s a fun way to allow you to express your creative side! You can try fun nail trends such as a classic French Manicure, Glitter Accents, Mood (Temperature)/Sun (UV) Color Changers – really any nail art technique can be done with Dip Powder!

No Light Needed – No UV Light is needed to cure Dip Powder, so if you don’t want to put your hand into a powerful UV lamp, you don’t have to in order to complete your Dip Powder Manicure. The Step 2 Activator is what cures the powder and causes it to harden – just like the light does to Gel Polish – so there is no UV/LED light needed in the Dip Powder Application process!

No Strong Odor – Unlike acrylics, Dip Powder doesn’t have a very strong odor. The strong odor you smell during Acrylic application is monomer, and that is not used in Dip Powder application!

Do At Home – While some people do Acrylic nails at home, most people don’t, but Dip Powder is easy to do at home, with many kits like this available that have everything you need to do your own Dip Powder Manicure at home. You can get the durability of Acrylics at home.

No Damage – A properly applied and removed Dip Powder manicure will not damage your nails at all. It’s important to follow the directions to remove – a kit like this has everything you need: https://www.revelnail.com/products/dip-gel-removal-kit?_pos=1&_sid=0ffc118c4&_ss=r. It’s important to not pick at your manicure or try to remove it by peeling it off. This can damage the top layer of your nail. It’s often not the Dip Powder damaging your nail, but the improper removal that is causing the damage.

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Cons:

Sensitivity – Some people have a sensitivity to some of the ingredients in Dip Powder liquids. It can cause congestion, runny nose, and headache. There are a few ways to deal with this. First, make sure that you are doing your nails in a well-ventilated area. Don’t lean over your nails with your face a few inches away from the liquids and the bottles or you will inhale more of the liquid odor and have a stronger reaction, if you are sensitive. The other option is to use liquids designed for people with Dip Powder liquid sensitivity like this: https://www.revelnail.com/products/sensitive-dip-powder-liquid-set?_pos=1&_sid=e8e517a11&_ss=r These liquids will cause less of a reaction due to a different formulation that makes it easier to avoid breathing in the ingredients that cause the reaction. This, combined with the techniques above to avoid breathing in the ingredients, helps most people avoid a reaction while providing the same durable manicure that regular liquids provides! Of course, if the issue persists or if your reaction is severe enough, you should not continue to use Dip Powder. At Revel Nail, if you purchase one of our kits and you are not able to use it due to a reaction, we will offer you a 100% refund, so you can feel confident in trying Dip Powder if it is not something you’ve done before.

There is also another option for people who are sensitive to the Dip Powder Liqiuds - its called the Gel Method by most people, and you can learn about it here: https://support.revelnail.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500007531922-How-to-Use-the-Gel-Method-with-Dip-Powder . This will allow you to use Gel Polish base and top coat to use Dip Powder, so you can not worry about having to use the liquids. For people who are familiar with Gel Polish, it makes the learning curve easier, as well.

Learning Curve – If you can apply nail polish to your nails then you have all the skills you need to apply Dip Powder, but there is a bit of a learning curve to learn how to do it properly and get the look you want. You can watch a video like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drGr4-31kRo to help you learn the steps. Most people have an issue with their first application, but by the time they do their second or third application it comes out looking the way they want!

Liquid Care – The Liquid sets come with three liquids, Step 1 Pro Base (Base Coat), Step 2 Activator, and Step 3 Finish Gel (Top Coat). Step 2 Activator is designed to cause Step 1 and Step 3 to harden – that’s its job. It’s like the UV light in a Gel Polish manicure – it’s the ingredient that causes the powder to become hard. The issue is, if you get any Step 2 into your Step 1 bottle or your Step 3 bottle, it will cause them to thicken. A common issue for new users is to not wipe their brush before putting it back in the Step 1 bottle and they get some Step 2 Activator in their Step 1 bottle, causing it to thicken. Over time it will become goopy and unusable, if you don’t catch it. If you catch it early enough, you can put a few drops of Gel Thinner: https://www.revelnail.com/products/0-5-oz-gel-thinner?_pos=1&_sid=729d7b325&_ss=r in your bottle and it will keep it from getting spoiled.

* Edited 8/14 with suggestions from Revel Nail Customer Community.