The Facts about a Gel Polish Manicure/ Pedicure
 
There are two types of gel, hard gel and soft gel.
Hard gel gets its name because, once cured, it is tough enough to be made into a nail extension. Nail extensions are artificial nails created by using a nail product to extend the nail past the edge of the natural nail.
Soft gel refers to the gel products that are too soft to create a nail extension. This includes gel polishes and thicker gels meant for gel-overlay services. Gel polishes are used for the increasingly popular gel polish manicures. These manicures, when done by caring, experienced, and trained professionals, are gentle to the natural nail and the polish stays intact on the nail for at least a couple of weeks with high shine and no cracking, peeling or chipping.
The product used to create nail extensions using gel or gel nails is gel, not to be confused with acrylic nails which are created using liquid monomer and polymer powder. All gel nail services are performed using some form of gel, which usually comes in pots of gel or bottles of gel polish. Gel also comes in a variety of colours. All forms of gel require curing, or hardening, under a UV (ultaviolet) light, which can be either a conventional bulb or LED lamp.
Gel polish usually contain a mixture of acrylic monomers and oligomers which combine to form long, interlocking chains during the polymerization, a process known as cross linking. These long, bonded chains make the gel hard and chemically resistant. Usually, once the nail extension and/or gel manicure has been finished, there is a residual tacky layer, referred to as the "inhibition layer," that is removed by wiping with a preferably lint-free wipe soaked in high concentrate alcohol. Mojo Beauty has a lovely range of gel nail polish. We are studio based and do Gel Nails at Pamper Parties also.
Pros of gel nail

·       Gel nails can allow those allergic to acrylic or nail resin to enjoy an extension service
·       Many gel nail clients report that gel nails feel more natural and less rigid than acrylic nail extensions
·       Soft gel nails (gel polish) are easily removed with acetone when soaked or wrapped for about 8–15 minutes and do little to no damage to the natural nail
·       Gel polish manicures can last up to 3 weeks with no chipping, peeling or cracking
·       Leaves a glossier finish
·       Gel nails do not produce any odor
·       The curing time is very fast when using an L.E.D. light. This can be as low as 5–10 seconds with a 36 watt LED lamp. More powerful lamps are appearing all the time with 60 watts being available at the time of writing.
·       Gel polish nails mean nails are dry immediately upon completion of the service so no worry about smudging or ruining one's manicure [2]
·       Holds shine and does not fade like regular nail polish
Cons of gel nails

·       They are less durable than acrylic. (Gel nail extensions may not work for those who are tough on their nails, such as those who type a lot, work with their hands, etc.)
·       You need a UV light (for example, an UV LED) for the curing process.
·       They can be too complicated for people to perform on themselves.
·       The nails can increase risk for infection if not done in a professional salon.
·       They are more expensive than traditional manicures.
·       They are more difficult to remove than traditional nail polish.
Care of Wikipedia.

THINGS ALL BEAUTY THERAPISTS KNOW TO BE TRUE
- We ask you if you've been tweezing your brows purely out of politeness, because we can tell.
- Doing beauty treatments all day long ruins your nails. Although your hands are generally really soft from loads of exfoliating and special creams.
- You find wax and powder everywhere. Your hair, your handbag and all over your clothes. There's really no escape.
- Full body massages are a serious workout. (and giving your energy to others is quite exhausting)
- Many of your friends are beauty therapists, so you tag team treatments. Do my lashes, I'll do your brows? And then some.
- When you see virgin eyebrows walk in, your heart almost stops beating, because you get to transform their face. And you notice everyones eyebrows. 
- All your friends and family members (and partners) were your beauty college models. And later assume you're always keen for a free beauty sesh. It's not like this is work and this wax costs money or anything.
- A few weeks into the job and you realise you should have a psychology degree because people unload and they really need Oprah. But that is great for me, Nik, as I was a social worker for 10 years prior to this and lave chatting and getting to know each other.
- When a client asks for an extra treatment and then you don't get lunch.
- You're an absolute professional at rolling, folding, displaying towels.
- You've nailed the secret "knock, knock, are you ready?". And you've worked out the exact amount of time to leave your client to get undressed – not too long, not too short.
- When you enter the room and realise you should have explained the correct way to lie on the massage table.
- For the first few months you wear cool shoes. You then realise you're always on your feet and need to succumb to the uncool, comfortable ones your mum told you about.
- You're constantly looking down and bending over… Not great for the posture.
- Nothing beats taking clients under your wing for a makeover and improving their skin with a fabulous facial, peel or dermal needling treatment using Medik8.
- You've had to bite the bullet and be honest when someone asks you about their chin hairs. It's your duty just to pull or wax it.
- You feel like such a hypocrite talking to people about their skin problems when you are working on your own. Totally know what that was like before using Medik8 and improving my diet.
- You've definitely sung "Beauty school dropout… Go back to high school" more than once.
- You often smell like nail polish remover, spray tan and massage oil.
- You become completely desensitised to bums, boobs and body hair
- You're a pro at quickly skimming naked bodies during a spraytan 
- When people touch everything after you've performed the most meticulous manicure or pedicure ever and ruin all your hard work.
- When someone calls and books in the last appointment of the day and ruins all chances of finishing on time.
- You know the feeling of not committing to a wax rip and having to give it another go… ouch.
- You sacrifice your own beauty and self-care to beautify everyone else. I’m totally guilty of this and really need to honour my new years resolution about it.
- Giving up my eveings and Saturday mornings. Unless you're on a roll with back-to-back appointments and you're nailing every treatment.
- You have to exert serious self-control to be nice when clients run late or too early. It can throw the whole day out.
- The frustration of having to correct DIY jobs. But then feeling major satisfaction when it's all fixed.
- You feel a bit proud when someone compliments your manicure and can't believe you did it yourself. You can use your left hand to paint your right hand?
- Spending all the time and back ache creating a lash extension masterpiece that looks amazing and having the client rush off before bowing befroe you in awe or being able to take a photo of your handy work.
- In the end though, you believe you're truly making the world a much prettier, happier and more confident place. I Love my job and get huge amounts of pleasure out of making people look and feel amazing. Mojo Beauty is my small beauty and massage therapy business that I have raised from ground zero. I always strive to do the best treatment that I can do, being mindfuol of the clients needs, budget and timeframe. I love the Medik8 skincare range, the amazing results that it achieves and the confidence that it brings to the client.