Drying your artistic nail art naturally might take a long time after you’ve spent hours creating and painting them.
If you unintentionally damage or discolor your nails, it may be a tough operation. This indicates that all of your hard efforts have been in vain.
So the question arises, does UV light dry regular nail polish?
A UV or LED lamp will not considerably speed up the rate at which your regular nail polish dries. Regular nail polishes dry owing to the evaporation of the liquid portion of the polish, which consists mostly of volatile solvents such as ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, and alcohol.
Furthermore, the UV light produced by a UV or LED lamp will not appreciably accelerate the rate of evaporation of these solvents.
Now, if your lamp generates a large quantity of heat, it may help to accelerate the rate of evaporation. However, it is not recommended that you use it since the drying process might take a long time and excessive exposure to UV radiation can be hazardous.
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Why Is UV Light Used to Cure Gel Polish?
Gel polishes do not dry like regular polishes; instead, they are dried or cured by a chemical reaction produced by UV light from either a UV or LED lamp.
Photoinitiators in gel polishes react with UV light to produce a polymerization process, causing the gel polish to harden and cure.
How to Dry Regular Nail Polish More Quickly?
While you should avoid using an LED or UV lamp to speed up the drying time of your regular nail paint, there are certain things you may do to speed the process up.
Professional nail drying sprays can be purchased to assist regular nail paints to dry faster. If you wish to save money, however, consider the following less expensive alternatives:
1) Make use of hairspray
Drying your nails faster using hairspray is a cinch, and you probably already have some on hand.
Here’s how to go about it:
- Paint your nails first and let them dry for a minute.
- Then, take some hairspray and hold it about eight inches away from your hair. Spray your nails and set them aside for 1 minute.
- Then, using cold water, wash your hands.
2) Use a Hairdryer
This is an old technique, and if you haven’t done it yet, you’ve undoubtedly heard about it.
Here’s how to use a hairdryer to speed up the drying time of your nail polish:
- Set your hairdryer to the slowest, coldest setting after applying your normal nail paint.
- Keep your nails at least six inches away from the hairdryer.
- For a few minutes, blow-dry your nails.
This will not totally dry your nails, but it will considerably speed up the process. It will almost surely do more than an LED bulb, and you will not need to invest in additional equipment that you most likely already have.
3) Use Ice Water
You may even omit the hairspray entirely and instead use cold water, but you’ll do this ahead of time – before you apply any polish.
Simply follow these steps:
- Dip your unpainted nails in a cup of cold water. Make sure the water has a few ice cubes in it.
- Allow your nails to soak in the water for a few minutes.
- Then, using your favorite nail polish, color your nails.
This, believe it or not, will expedite the drying process.
4) Use Thinner Coats
This one is probably self-evident to you. Because less paint dries faster, applying it in thinner layers will ensure that each coat dries faster.
You should also allow each coat to dry somewhat between coats; otherwise, you’ll be waiting for what amounts to one giant coat to dry.
What Should You Get Instead of an LED Lamp for Regular Nail Polish?
However, if you are ready and able to invest in gear to speed up the process, here is what you can acquire instead of an LED bulb for your regular nail paint.
1) Nail Dryer
Purchasing a nail dryer for regular nail polish offers several advantages. A nail dryer functions similarly to a hairdryer, except that it is a gadget designed specifically for drying normal nail lacquer.
It blasts heated air over your nails, hastening the evaporation of the nail polish’s solvents.
There are several advantages to utilizing a nail drier versus waiting for your nails to dry by blowing air on them from your mouth or waiting.
Why should you use a nail dryer if you’re still not convinced? Take a look at the following five benefits of utilizing a nail dryer:
- Drying Time is Short: In less than 5 minutes, a nail dryer can dry all of your nails. Waiting for your nails to dry with simple air might take up to 30 minutes.
There are lots of other things you might be doing at that time.
- Efficient For Professionals: A nail dryer saves time and allows you to attend to numerous clients in a day whether you work in a salon or as a nail artist.
Your customers are also pleased since you are saving them time and giving them excellent service. In the end, more clients equals more money.
- Finishes faster and more precisely: One advantage of using a nail dryer for females who apply many layers of nail paint is that each layer dries faster and leaves a tidy professional finish when you’re through.
- Drying Shellac Nails: You can dry difficult coats of nail lacquer, such as those created with Shellac, with a UV nail dryer.
- There are no accidents: When utilizing an LED nail lamp to dry it, there is no spreading or smearing of the nail paint.
Your nails aren’t in contact with anything else, and the nail dryer works quickly.
2) Drying Spray for Nail Polish
It may appear strange to spray your nails with a liquid in order to make painting less liquid, but drying sprays are a surprisingly effective technique that allows your nail paint to dry in minutes.
The best part? Nail paint sprays aren’t expensive.
Nail polish drying sprays include chemicals that, when applied to ordinary nail polish, accelerate the evaporation of the solvents in your nail lacquer.
How Long Do Gel Nails Take to Cure Under LED Light?
You’ll need an actual LED bulb to cure gel nails. This procedure typically takes 30 seconds.
Some brands and products, however, may take a little longer. It is mostly determined by the gel used.
How are LED and UV Nail Drying Lamps Different?
The major distinction between LED and UV nail drying lights is not pricing, however, LED nail drying lamps are generally more expensive than UV. It’s the amount of time it takes to dry.
An LED bulb, for example, dries faster than a UV lamp. UV lights also require more frequent bulb replacements. Furthermore, an LED bulb will survive far longer than a UV lamp.
The majority of brands sell lamps that go well with their other items. As a result, using goods from the same company is likely to yield the greatest results.
Keep an eye on the gel polish you purchase. Make sure your UV or LED bulb can heal it. Some require both UV and LED lights to cure, while others just require UV.