Anonymous asks…What is the difference between the polishes and why do some require UV where others require LED? If I buy an LED lamp, will that still work on Shellac polishes, which normally use a UV lamp? Or if I buy a UV lamp will this work on the ones that normally use LED? Does the wattage of the lamp make a big difference to the curing time?
The Beauty Brains respond:
To get a definitive answer to this question I spoke with a marketing coordinator for Nail Systems International, one of the top manufacturers of nail lamps. Here’s what I was told:
“UV and LED lamps are different. Generally a gel polish will cure faster in an LED lamp, and it will take a bit longer in a UV lamp. As long as the polish is labeled to work both in LED and UV lamps, the person should be OK. Just make sure the gel polish is formulated to work in both lamps. Check the cure time suggested for each of the different lamps as well (Example: Our balance UV gels only cure in UV lamps… Our NSI Polish Pro is curable in both UV and LED. The Polish pro takes about 2 minutes, per layer, to cure in a UV lamp; where as in an LED lamp it takes about 30 seconds to 1 minute.”