Why does my gel polish peel off?

Wrong preparation of the nail plate & gel polish application can cause your gel polish to peel off. Read what you should improve to have a long – lasting manicure.

Gel polish nails are a great option to obtain shiny, durable manicure and pedicure. You need to remember few rules that are important to keep your gel polish nails long lasting. In particular if you only starting your adventure with gel polish manicure or pedicure. You might not know that some ways of nail preparation can be wrong. We hope that our quick guide of basic advice will be helpful and interesting.

Why can gel polish manicure peel off?

If your gel polish manicure doesn’t last and peels off it means that something is or went wrong during the gel polish application. For this you have to follow the simple solutions we’ve provided to address your problems. Follow these steps, and your gel polish peeling issues should be a thing of the past!

Oily nail plate

When your nails are too oily this can mean that the surface for gel polish will be over-slippery. This will make it difficult to stick properly the gel polish to your nails, hence manicure peeling off sooner than expected. Remember to dehydrate your nails. Always wipe your nails using nail cleaner or acetone before gel polish application. If it’s not enough try Primer or Primer acid free (if you never use primer before - go with acid free option).

Thin or bad condition of the nail plate

In this case you need to be careful. If your nails are thin let say because of using nail file too strong or you just didn’t take off your last gel polish manicure properly. You can apply new set of gel polish nails but this time with gel polish base which is dedicated for weak nails for example Protect & Care or Sensitive Care. If you are not sure if your nails are thin or damaged due to any nail diseases, we recommend to not apply any gel polish manicure and contact with specialist.

Cuticles flooding

Always push back the cuticles and while painting try to not touch the cuticles area. If you did, please remove the varnish using wooden stick or pusher. If you will flood your cuticles your manicure definitely will not last as some air will get under the varnish and it will start to peel off.

Too thick layers of gel polish

When your gel polish coat is too thick, the underneath gel layers can become too soft, leading to peeling. Besides, an overly thick coating may not fully cure and in result, varnish will start to smudge.

Nails free edge not secured

Each product layer should be secured at the free edge of the nail plate. Gel polish base, color and Top coat should be painted the same way and secure the free edge.

Wrong varnish curing

Always read the recommended times of curing for each of the product. Over-curing can irritate the nails and make them sensitive. Your gel polish manicure may fail to cure properly as a result of bad positioning in the lamp, so make sure nail plate is directed to uv light. If you will cure them too short, polymers will not fully cure and the the bottom layer will be still wet and soft. This will cause nail peeling.

Expired or gel polish poor quality 

Here is another reason of poor quality manicure. Each product has expiry date and you should check it before use specially if you didn’t use this product long time. Make sure to use quality products that meet all standards. Also we recommend using all products from the same brand as they work perfectly together.

Old manicure LED lamp

If the lamp is old and the bulb is all dirty or damaged, then you will  technically be adjusting your curing times. If the light isn’t strong enough to penetrate the varnish, then the top layer will be cured but the bottom not, leading to nail chipping. Sometimes it's best to simply invest in a new LED lamp.

How long should a gel polish manicure last?

Properly applied products should last until you would like to remove them. With Semilac gel polish manicure you can enjoy beautiful nails up to 21 days. Which does not mean that you need to renew the manicure only when the varnish comes off. If product still stick to the nail plate but the nail regrowth starts scaring everyone around than you should renew your manicure.

These are just a few advice, the most important thing is experience, continuous practice, courses, and video tutorials on how to do the correct manicure. And, of course, a lot of practice to perform a quality manicure

For start, check out our video tutorials with nail preparation, correct gel polish application and removal