Beauty Debate: Dip Powder vs. Gel Polish Nails — Which Do You Swear By?

The world of nails is full of innovation, and manicure enthusiasts are always searching for the best salon-grade manicure. Of course, acrylics are a salon classic, but gel nails &mdash; which use a UV or LED light to cure and lock a gel-based polish onto your nails &mdash; are just as popular. In fact, people love gel manicures so much here are even spin-off options perfect for at-home manis like the Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish Pattern Play Collection, which don&rsquo;t require a UV lamp. Dip powder nails (also commonly referred to as SNS nails), a nail technique that involves dipping the nail into a colored powder and then using a clear sealant on top, is another popular option gaining traction at salons. With these two types of manicures reigning supreme, which is truly the best? Below, two editors make a case for why their preferred mani should hold the title of best mani of them all.The Case for Dip Powder Nails&ldquo;I rarely go to a salon to have my hair done, and have mastered a few go-to makeup looks so I don&rsquo;t need to book time with a makeup artist. But every month I schedule a dip powder manicure like clockwork because it&rsquo;s just that good. Those other beauty services last for a day, maybe two if you've gotten a secure hairstyle and slept super still, but my dip powder nails can sometimes last up to six weeks without a chip or a crack in sight while living my life carefree. I&rsquo;ve tried acrylics &mdash; they hurt and just weren&rsquo;t for me. Gel nails were my go-to throughout college, but I noticed that because the gel consistency wasn&rsquo;t thick like acrylics, my nails would bend easily and cracks would happen in the polish and sometimes even my actual nails. Basically, another painful situation.Then I discovered dip powder, which has a thickness similar to acrylics so my nails are durable. For $45, without any of the bells or whistles, I&rsquo;m set for the next few weeks. The only con? If you don&rsquo;t go to a nail tech skilled in smoothing out the powder, your mani can look bulky. I&rsquo;ve only experienced this once or twice, when my usual nail tech wasn&rsquo;t available to take me. To close my argument, I&rsquo;m currently typing this wearing a set I got done just before Christmas. It&rsquo;s mid-February. I don&rsquo;t recommend this, but an unexpected trip has left me with limited access to nail salons. And while my nails are insanely grown out, they&rsquo;re strong AF.&rdquo; &mdash; Jazmine A. Ortiz, Senior Editor The Case for Gel Polish Nails&ldquo;For years, I was a basic manicure gal. Like skincare, healthy eating and hair care, the health of my nails is very important to me. My nails are long and strong, and I&rsquo;d like to keep them this way forever. I was afraid to try gel for that reason, but after growing frustrated with chipped nails &mdash; sometimes as soon as the day after my appointment &mdash; I decided to give gel nails a try, and I never looked back. I tried dip powder once, but again, nail health. The damage my nails suffered after removing the manicure wasn&rsquo;t worth me giving it another try. Sure, I could have gone to a different salon, but I was too traumatized.Another reason I wasn&rsquo;t a fan of the dip powder manicure is because of my obsession with nail art. Maybe I&rsquo;m not aware that this can be done using dip, but I have yet to see it. I recently discovered hard gel, which is when a manicurist uses a thicker base. There&rsquo;s no splitting or chipping, and the removal is just as smooth as removing regular gel, so there&rsquo;s no damage either. Another benefit to using hard gel is that you can add extensions, so if one of my nails breaks, I can allow it to grow out without cutting the rest of my nails down (a win!). Being able to have perfectly manicured nails that last for three weeks at a time (sometimes four depending on the nail art chosen) is the reason why gel manicures are my go-to.&rdquo; &mdash; DaMonica Boone, Web Producer

Beauty Debate: Dip Powder vs. Gel Polish Nails — Which Do You Swear By?

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