It’s safe to say that we are reliving a full revival of the 90s. If you needed one more argument in favor of that, you’d be happy to learn that acrylic dipped nails are back once more to rock our lives. But what is nail dipping exactly? In case you have forgotten, here’s a short reminder of what they are, when the trend emerged, and everything else you need to know.
When Did It All Start?
Contrary to widespread belief, the glue and powder dipping trend did not start in the 90s. That’s when it became fashionable. In fact, it started back in the 80s. The trend emerged in America, more specifically in a small nail salon in Illinois, if we are to believe the legend. Evidently, it’s hard to pinpoint a specific location. Not that it matters, anyway.
Why Nail Dipping?
The trend quickly became huge for a few well-constructed reasons.
- Speed – the ability to put on the glue and powder in under an hour and then simply be on your way was something that ladies all over America just could not resist.
- Endurance – unlike gel nails, which typically last you about three weeks, dips can go somewhere between four and six weeks without a chip in them.
- Simplicity – the process of applying the nails is extremely simple. All you had to do was dip your nails in the bonding agent and then in the powder. You did not need tools such as acrylic brushes, electric fans, lamps or anything else.
- Easy to remove – acetone was all you needed to get these babies off your fingers. Soak them in the liquid, and they come right off.
Therefore, to sum up, and answer the question what is nail dipping, here’s this. A technique that allows you to get perfect, hard nails with no tools required that will last you for a month, in under an hour and that you can take off with acetone.
Does that sound too good to be true? Perhaps it is.
Is Nail Dipping Even Safe?
We don’t really know how they did it in the 80s and 90s, but that’s not how nail dipping works today. The reality is that it takes much longer to apply them, and you have to literally cake layer after layer, after layer of powder and bonding agent or resin to make them stick.
Apart from that, they might not be healthy. A great deal of salons doesn’t even offer nail dipping in their menu because both the bonding agent and the powder itself are considered too toxic for human use.
While we’re on the subject, please be aware of this. If you do go to get your nails dipped, please make sure that they do not actually ask you to dip your nails in a container with powder. It is not safe for more than one person to put their fingers in the same bowl seeing as it might get contaminated.
Apart from that, they are truly a bit more difficult to remove that it was advertised back in the 80s and 90s. Please take a look at the piece we wrote on how to remove dip powder nails.
So, what is nail dipping? A nail polishing technique that will shave precious hours off your monthly routine and the answer to your every prayer or something you should actually stay away from? Write to us in the comment section below and let us know all about your experiences with nail dipping.
