Are you a nail artist or a salon? List your business on Papalocal →

Nail polish: regular and long-wear

Regular nail polish, or lacquer, dries in the air. There is no lamp and no special top coat, and ordinary polish remover takes it off.

How it goes on

A base coat, one to three coats of color, then a top coat, Who What Wear’s guide says.

How long regular polish lasts

None of the medical sources we read gives a number for plain polish, so we don’t give one either.

Long-wear, gel-like polish

Between regular polish and gel sit long-wear polishes that still air-dry but are made to last longer. Who What Wear names CND Vinylux, Dazzle Dry and Essie Gel Couture, with up to a week of wear.

Gel by essie: a two-step color and top coat with no UV lamp needed. Essie claims up to 15 days if the top coat goes on again on day 7, and says ordinary remover takes it off.
Sally Hansen Miracle Gel: no UV lamp needed and up to 16 days, again with a fresh top coat on the 7th day, by the brand’s own claim.

So the numbers disagree: about a week by the magazine’s measure, 15 to 16 days by the brands’, each with an extra coat halfway.

What dermatologists say

Cleveland Clinic says nails see the fewest side effects with ordinary polish, because there is no harsh buffing and no UV. Who What Wear recommends it for anyone who wants a short-term, non-damaging manicure, and dermatologists suggest it in place of gel for people whose nail problems keep coming back.

Polish on Polishpedia

Years of polish reviews and swatches live here: the reviews, the swatches, polish by color, base coats and a well-known quick-dry top coat.

Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

Try a polish on a drawn hand: the designer’s shelf takes its shades from Polishpedia’s own reviews. Or find a nail salon near you.

✦ Try a look on a hand

Find a nail salon near you

Nail types

Every nail type, explained.

Gel, builder gel, Gel-X, dip, acrylic: what each one is, how it goes on and how it comes off.

Gel polishThe everyday salon manicure: color that sets hard under a lamp.

Adds length: No
Lamp: Yes
Comes off: Acetone soak

ShellacCND’s own brand of gel polish, the name many people still use for gel.

Adds length: No
Lamp: Yes
Comes off: Acetone soak

Builder gel (BIAB)A thicker gel that strengthens your own nail and gets filled in.

Adds length: Mostly no
Lamp: Yes
Comes off: Usually soaked off

Hard gelGel from a pot for sculpted length or a tough overlay.

Adds length: Yes
Lamp: Yes
Comes off: Filed off

Gel-XReady-made soft gel tips put on with gel: length in one visit.

Adds length: Yes
Lamp: Yes
Comes off: Acetone soak

PolygelA putty-like gel shaped by hand, then cured.

Adds length: Yes
Lamp: Yes
Comes off: Filed down

AcrylicLiquid and powder built into a hard nail; the classic for length.

Adds length: Yes
Lamp: No
Comes off: Filed or soaked off

Dip powderColored powder set with an activator instead of a lamp.

Adds length: No
Lamp: Usually no
Comes off: 100% acetone

Press-onsReady-made nails you put on at home, or salon-made custom sets.

Adds length: Yes
Lamp: No
Comes off: Acetone soak

Strips & wrapsPeel-and-stick polish, semi-cured gel strips, salon silk wraps.

Adds length: No
Lamp: Gel only
Comes off: Lifted off

Nail polishRegular and long-wear lacquer that air-dries.

Adds length: No
Lamp: No
Comes off: Polish remover

Compare every type