Review on 💅 SHANY 36W UV Nail Dryer Lamp/Light for Acrylic, Gel Polish, and Nail Curing with Sliding Tray, Timer Setting, and SPA Equipment by Lori Hubbard

I am really very satisfied with this product. I've been doing manicures at home for a long time, but I've never done gel/shellac. But after paying $35 to a "pro" who tore my cuticles, removed my previous manicure, and generally did a poor job of application, I figured I could do better for less money. A quick read of my favorite online nail forums led me to this lamp and Gelish Base/Top Coat. I was careful putting the bulbs in because it takes a lot of effort to get them into place. I quickly figured out why the instructions recommend wearing protective gloves - if you're not careful, lightbulbs can shatter under pressure. I used a cardboard protective liner wrapped around the bottle and luckily everything was fine. If you've never used gel products before, you should know that it's COMPLETELY NORMAL for many gel products to remain sticky after they've set. The process should go something like this: primer, cure, first coat of polish, cure, second coat of polish, cure, top coat, cure, then remove the tacky surface with isopropyl alcohol. However, the polish up to the top coat is still prone to lint/dents etc. So make sure you allow enough time and a suitable preparation area to complete the process. Having over 400 non-gel nail polishes but now needing the gel hold to keep my nails from cracking (hopefully) I decided to just apply a gel base coat and top it off with regular nail polish. I will use an acetone free remover to change the color when the mood hits me. I ended up applying 2 coats of Gelish Base and 2 coats of Gelish Top Coat (curing after each coat), then 2 coats of polish and 1 coat of Essence the Gel top coat. It's one of the "gel type" top coats, not real gel, but I've had great results in extending the wear and I knew it wouldn't dull the holographic effect of the polish I was using. This top coat tends to dry fairly quickly, but on a whim I went out one last time. It definitely helped. I undressed immediately, including my bra, and I had no stains or dents when I was done. Other users have said their timer isn't working, but mine is working great. With your hand hole facing you, the power button is on the back right and the timer on button is on the back left. To use the timer, slide the power switch DOWN. The light should NOT come on at this point. Then turn the timer up on the switch and the light should come on and stay on for 2 minutes. With the products I've used, 2 minutes per layer has worked great. I didn't check the interlayers for stickiness; I simply applied, cured and finally wiped the top coat off with an alcohol wipe. The end result was smooth and shiny. I would 100% recommend this product to anyone who is patient and relatively experienced with nail polish. The cost of this plus the Gelish products was less than the cost of two visits to the salon I used so it paid for itself in no time.