#NakedNails – Week 6

Here’s my final natural nail refresh progress photo, taken at week 6.  This is a good length for most people – long enough for nail art but short enough that they’re not in the way.

Removal of the polish I was testing damaged the acrylic a little, and you can see some leftover bits of red polish at the edges… That’s the down side to using traditional polish on acrylic.

All in all, 6 weeks of regrowth flew by. I spent the weeks testing some products on short natural nails, which made it worthwhile. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series! If you have any questions or opinions to share about Sally Hansen Miracle Gel, maintaining short natural nails, or a natural nail refresh, please leave a comment below!

#NakedNails Week 4

Once again I’m late posting this photo, but these are my nails at the end of the week 4 natural nail refresh.  By the time this photo was taken I’d had Gelish Dip on them for three or four days, to protect them from breakage. I’m glad I did that, because whatever I did to injure my fingers (I really have no idea) could have broken the nails, too.

As a follow-up to my previous post about possibly using Sally Hansen Miracle Gel (SHMG) for a pedicure – I have been wearing ShockWave on my toes for over a week and it’s holding up just fine. There’s a bit of wear on the tip of my big toe from wearing socks, so I imagine the polish would hold up even better during sandal season. Based on this I can recommend SHMG for pedicures!

Stay tuned for next week’s post to see what the Gelish Dip looks like after about two weeks!

#NakedNails – Week 2

This week you can definitely see some growth! I’m a little late posting this photo, but this is about two weeks of growth.  My nails are getting long enough that soon I’ll want to apply some Gelish Dip to protect them from breakage.

In the meantime, I’ve been testing Sally Hansen Miracle Gel (SH MG).

As you saw in the photo in my last post, I used the color called Shock Wave, a perfect spring color. I had heard good things about this product and had high expectations for it. However, my results weren’t so good. Here are my nails after three days, right before I couldn’t stand it any longer and removed the polish.

I had really bad chipping and cracking on my nails, and I wasn’t even that hard on them! Take a look at the cracking close up:

Needless to say, I was not impressed with this product and would not recommend it for natural nails. It does not flex or bend with the natural nail, like a gel polish would.  It is not thick enough to provide the natural nail with any protection, like gel would. It also does not smooth nail imperfections like gel polish would. For these and other reasons, I actually believe that the name of this product is misleading.  And apparently, I’m not the only one! In early 2017 the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus recommended that the manufacturer discontinue its claims that this is the equivalent of a gel polish product. Yikes! I will reserve my final judgement on the best usage for this product until after I test it for use on top of overlays and for pedicures.

Here are answers to some more questions often asked about SH MG:

• Does it last two weeks like a gel polish? No, not on natural nails. (I have a hunch that it will be great for pedicures, but that remains to be seen.)
• Is it like getting a gel polish manicure at the salon? No. This is a resounding no. If you’re looking for a long-lasting manicure, this is not the product for you. It lasts no longer than a professional manicure done with traditional polish.
• How do you remove it? This is essentially a traditional polish, and it is easily removed with regular nail polish remover (acetone-based polish remover will be faster).
• Does it damage the natural nail? No, this polish does not damage the natural nail. It will, however, stain your nails, as there is no base coat for this system.

#NakedNails – Week 1

This week Smoke & Mirrors is joining the movement promoting the beauty of natural nails! I decided it was time for a fresh start, and so cut my free edge away, down to the nail bed about a week ago. Here’s a photo of the growth so far.

As you can see, my natural nails are healthy overall but dinged, even pitted, in a couple spots from filing enhancements. And, thanks to the resurgence of winter, my cuticles are dry and ragged this week.

I’ll be taking advantage of this re-growing time by reviewing a new-to-me line of products called Miracle Gel by Sally Hansen.

 

The Sally Hansen brand offers a ton of interesting products for home users that I would love to test, but I’m not made of money so I chose to test the product that I’ve heard the most buzz about amongst DIYers over the past year or two.  Sally Hansen calls this “life-proof polish”, a gel polish with “No UV lamp required.” They say it’s “The next best thing to a salon gel manicure that you can do at home.” I say, let’s find out! I’ll be comparing Miracle Gel to my tried-and-true Gelish, in an effort to help you decide which is the best bang for your buck.

There are several Miracle Gel reviews available online, but here at Smoke & Mirrors you’ll find different information – I’ll not only test the product application and results from the perspective of a professional nail tech, but also analyze how well the product will protect natural nails as they grow out. Because long, healthy natural nails are what we want, right?

I’d also like to answer any questions you have about this product. So please leave me a comment or a question you’d like answered!