Reddit mentions of Gel UV Nail Lamp, SUNUV 48W UV LED Nail Dryer Light for Gel Nails Polish Manicure Professional Salon Curing Lamp with 4 Timer Setting Sensor SUN2C

Thank you so much!! Yes, I just bought this lamp on Amazon after reading about it on here. It works great and was way easier than expected!

Hi, OP :)

*Disclaimer - I'm not a licensed nail tech. I'm a self taught hobbyist who learned how to do her own nails, and occasionally friends' nails.*

So, I've been doing this for about 5 years and my old reliable lamp from amazon (a random brand called youspicy - which is no longer available, sadly) just gave out. It was a beast. 48 watts, UV bulb in the top AND LEDs around the sides, mirrored bottom that was removable, etc. After it finally gave up and died I was using a strictly UV light lamp that a friend had gotten me last year, and I HATED it! Not only did it take 2-3 times as long (90-120 seconds vs. 30-60 seconds in my old lamp), but it got really hot inside - like a tanning bed does. I ended up setting that one aside in case of emergency and was hoping I could find something similar to my old lamp.

As one does, I hopped on amazon and found that in the 5 years since I'd bought my old lamp LITERALLY everything has changed. Now nobody really uses the combo lamps with UV bulbs AND LED - I mean they exist, but aren't particularly good/well priced - all I was seeing was lamps lined with only LED lights. After a day or 2 of research I realized that it really does come down to wattage. LEDs are much more energy efficient and get the job done just as well as anything. Basically, you find one that fits your needs (i.e. I knew I wanted a lamp that had a pad on top for your hand, at least 48 watts, and 10, 30, 60 sec timer), read the reviews, and go from there. Absolutely no need to spend hundreds on a branded lamp that is essentially the same thing.

Here's the one I got recently on amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0BCN9B/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_q4r4DbRXKW8Y2

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The products you use will make a difference, though!! Definitely splash out on quality base/top coats if nothing else. Hope this helps :)

I have this one and it's awesome for a few reasons. It's a good size and you can do a full hand at once. It doesn't throw light everywhere so you don't accidentally cure an open bottle. It comes apart for easy cleaning or doing toes or holding upside down if you're doing building gel work or something that makes you need to hold your hand upside down...

It's plenty powerful. It's only LED, not CFL-UV, but most polishes and systems work fine and faster with LED. Depending on the brand and consistency, nearly all polishes will cure in 30 seconds to 1 minute. Even builder gel and such will cure that fast.

SUNUV SUN2C 48W LED UV nail Lamp with 4 Timer Setting,Senor For Gel Nails and Toe Nail Curing https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0BCN9B/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_2lFWzbSYJS4RN

I do! The low heat is really helpful since the high heat can be a little too hot for me. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0BCN9B/ref=as_at?creativeASIN=B01N0BCN9B&linkCode=w61&imprToken=wwbNFMXgsqrqDPEK5aYI9A&slotNum=7&tag=lighttherapydev-20

WOW this needs to be made into a sidebar link or something! Thank you so much for the incredibly informative response, I was hoping you would stop by with another science break :) I'll definitely look into Doug Schoon.

A few follow-up questions:

1. I'm assuming there's no way to know for sure if a random lamp will fully cure a gel? This is the one that I have; I chose it because (1) it has a higher wattage and (2) it claims to cure UV and LED polishes (which I see now is probably an erroneous claim).
   
   
2. If you have a lamp that is mismatched with the brand of polish you're using, will a longer cure time result in a more cured gel? Say the polish brand recommends 30s; if I cure for 60s with an off-brand lamp, is that safer?
   
   
3. Is there anything known about the contact time required for an exposure to contribute to allergy development? As in, if I accidentally get a small amount of gel on my finger, do I need to rush to immediately remove it, or is the risk with longer-duration contact?
   
   
4. Say a gel is improperly cured with the wrong brand of lamp. Will you be constantly exposed to the allergens until the gel is removed? Should I be avoiding touching my nails, since I currently can't be certain that my gels are fully cured (they're hard, but the lamp is not matched to the brand)?
   
   
5. I have a few polishes by Fingerpaints which claim to be "1-step," where a top coat is not needed and there's no tacky inhibition layer to remove. I apply a top coat anyway to make the nails shiny and glassy-looking, but are these polishes safer because they don't
   
   
6. I had no idea that there are lamps associated with different brands of gels. When I looked on Amazon for lamps, they're generally all random names like "MelodySusie" or whatever. Unfortunately, I've amassed a collection of random brands of gel polishes including Fingerpaints, Gelish, Sally Hansen, and Red Carpet Manicure. If I want to avoid developing an allergy, are there any courses of action I can take besides choosing one brand and buying their lamp? I know it varies from person to person, but if I cure for extra time, be careful not to get any on my skin, and use a new wipe for each finger when removing the inhibition layer, can I be reasonably confident in using mismatched gels and lamp? Or will there still always be a danger?
   
   (As a sidenote, I was just perusing the sidebar to see if there's a mod I can tag or something and suggest this to be saved as an informative writeup, and I see you're a mod! That explains a lot, lol. I would definitely nominate this post to be saved for future reference!)

This is the lamp that I got. I highly recommend it, not only because it works really well, but because the shape of it makes it so you can paint your nails on top of it. Which makes a much bigger difference than I would have thought. It has motion sensor, so you can just stick your hand in to turn it on. Being able to stick your hand in makes it easy to flash cure (not as big of a deal for polish, but I use hard gel).

SUNUV SUN2C 48W LED UV nail Lamp with 4 Timer Setting https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0BCN9B/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_LtLQBbS1H6PNS

Gelish is a great brand.

The other set you got, I've not tried the brand but it's a great price. Just be prepared for the colors you see on your screen to be different in real life. The quality probably won't be as good as gelish, either.

My personal advice is to skip the cluvaz gels and just get the gelish sets for now. Gel Manis last so long, you've got months worth of Manis just with the gelish sets. My experience is that the lower quality products end up being a waste of money because I never use them when I have better options available. Especially because these will be on your nails for 2-3 weeks. But you do you. Some people love having a huge collection.

SUNUV SUN2C 48W LED UV nail Lamp... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0BCN9B?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

This is the LED lamp I use to cure my nail polish and it works well so far! I just buy beetles brand gel nail polish off amazon as well it’s very inexpensive.

I recommend this lamp and this post is a really great step-by-step. At home gel is a complete game-changer.

I've been using this lamp (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0BCN9B) for almost a year now and absolutely love it.

For the polygel, I went with this one (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076B9CBVZ) because it had excellent reviews and it was great to have everything I needed to do my nails, except slip solution and dehydrator. I used alcohol (100%) as slip and I had my own dehydrator.

I just bought this kit (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RY99LXY/) to try next as it was a bit cheaper and I wanted to see if it's easier to work with the slip solution or not (kit comes with everything).

Happy to answer any questions you may have if it helps you save some time and not make the mistakes I made as a first timer. I'm still happy as heck with the results and can't stop staring at my nails. Lol

I got this lamp.

As far as colors and top/base coat, I just bought stuff from nail suppliers and on ebay. I went with the nail supplier for some colors because I couldn't find them on ebay. I think Sally's sells Gelish minis. My preference is OPI polish, with Gelish top/base coats. Gelish colors are a close second for me.

All said and done, I got the lamp, 3 colors, top/base coats, and a "nail prep" for $115. So a little more expensive than going out and buying like the Gelish Harmony kit, but not a bad deal.

The one downside I can see to doing full size polishes is that since it would take you so long to go through a bottle, I'm betting they're going to thicken.

I use this one and really like it!