Getting your nails done at a salon is fun, comforting… and expensive.
The cost of getting gel manicures at a salon adds up very quickly. It may seem worth it because of how long the beautiful nail color lasts, but you can get the same effect for much cheaper.
The best LED nail lamp will allow you to bring the salon right to your home!
Read on to learn more about this innovative and must-have device for gel polishes. You will also learn what you should look for when purchasing one for yourself.
8 Best LED Nail Lamp
Below you’ll find a listing of top rated LED nail lamps currently available on the market. These nail lamps have all the fantastic features. It’s up to you to decide which one fits you perfectly based on your budget and preferences.
1. SUNUV 48W UV LED Nail Dryer Light for Gel Nails Polish
SUNUV nail lamp looks ultra modern yet minimalistic. You will get tons of options to play around, more than any traditional nail lamps. This smart nail dryer from SUNUV is ideal for home use as well as professional use by nail technicians in salon.
There are 4 timer settings, 10, 30, 60 and 90 seconds timer. This nail dryer features intergrated Smart Sensor & Painless Schema Design. There’s a power button too, but the nail lamp only turns on when the motion sensor feels you hand or foot. It does work really well.
Pros
- Performs very well for the price
- Incredibly sleek and modern appearance
- Cure all gel nail polishes from any brans
- Keeps your hands cool while curing
Cons
- No customizable functions
2. Hotrose 72W Cordless Led Nail Lamp
The Hotrose Cordless LED nail lamp boasts all of the features of a great nail lamp. There are four different timer options, ranging from 30 to 120 seconds. This rechargeable LED nail lamp comes with built in 5600mAH lithium battery that last 1-3 days of full use with 8 hours of full charging.
While the cure times vary with gel nail polish brands, cure times of only 30 seconds is common with this machine. The opening is wide enough to fit all five fingers in, but it is a bit of a squeeze.
Pros
- Portable and rechargeable cordless device
- Quick cure time
- Priced very affordably
- Nails come out looking professional
Cons
- Possibly too small for some hands
3. MelodySusie 54W UV LED Nail Lamp
The MelodySusie nail lamp is among the top rated nail lamps, and one of the cheapest. This 54 watt nail lamp comes with a smooth rounded dome filled with LED lights.
The rounded shape assures your gel nails are being hit from every angle possible. Nails bathed in light will dry evenly, every single time. Its foolproof design makes it perfect for beginners. Additionally, the round shape is unique and kind of fun.
Pros
- Motion sensor enables “Hands in, light on; hands out, light off” option for easy use
- All lamp beads are equipped with LG chips
- Energy efficient technology
- Has three timer settings
Cons
- Power cord is short
4. MiroPure 36W UV LED Nail Lamp
Pros
- Motion sensor detects hand automatically
- Automatic timer setting for easy use
- Universally compatible with gel nail polish
Cons
- Expensive price relative to other models
- The white color attracts dust
5. Gelish 18G Professional LED Light
Gelish is another illustrious gel nail polish brand with a good reputation. This particular model of nail lamp is commonly used by professional nail technicians. The Gelish 18G LED nail lamp is a high end machine and has a price to match. It’s worth the investment, especially if you’re a professional.
Pros
- Great for use with Gelish polish
- Professional level of performance
- Fits all five fingers or toes
Cons
- Heat spikes while curing
- No warranty available
6. Healthy Care UV Nail Lamp 80W LED Nail Dryer Lamp
The Healthy Care UV/LED nail lamp has a nice, girly look and cures in about 60 seconds universally. Its unique construction has a sliding cover to shield your eyes from the bright LED light.
This nail lamp also features a detachable base, which can be useful for curing toes. There are 4 time settings available, and it has a motion detector.
Pros
- Functional and fun design
- High wattage cures nails faster
- Motion detector for easy use
- Fantastic customer service
Cons
- Fairly expensive price tag
7. Gellen Professional 24W UV LED Nail Lamp for Gel Polish
Gellen is a well known brand of gel nail polish, and their own brand of nail lamp is also popular. This moderately powered LED nail lamp is produced by a tried and trusted brand. The Gellen Pro nail lamp even comes at an affordable price.
Despite its small size, there’s also enough room for all five of your nails. If you want a great nail lamp that won’t break the bank and will last you a long time, choose this one.
Pros
- Affordable price and warranty
- Very cute and stylish design
- Extremely well built and long lasting
Cons
- Overheating is common
8. JEWHITENY UV LED Nail Lamp 54W
The JEWHITENY nail lamp uses 18 LED beads to provide a safe curing experience for your gel manicure. The JEWHITENY UV LED nail lamp comes with 3 timer settings. With smart infrared sensor, this LED nail dryer turn on and off when you put your hand or toe inside the dryer.
It’s wide design is comfortable for both hands and feet.
Pros
- High wattage for fast curing
- Infrared sensor
- Covered under a one year warranty
Cons
- The timer is hit or miss
What is a LED Nail Lamp?
An LED nail lamp is a little device that cures gel nail polish.
What’s curing?
For all intents and purposes, whenever talking about gel nails, curing equals drying. To cure something is to preserve it, and an LED nail lamp really does preserve your nail polish. It does this by outputting specific UV rays. The UV rays react with the molecules in your gel nail polish to harden it.
This makes your manicure last up to two whole weeks without chipping! You simply stick your freshly painted nails under the LED light, wait a bit of time, and your nails are done. No more walking around the house with jazz hands, too careful to touch anything.
When your gel nails are done they are completely budge proof, and an LED nail lamp helps you get them done quickly. They are simple, effective, and portable!
3 Must-have Features of the Best LED Nail Lamps
A great LED nail lamp should have many different features that make the task of doing your nails easier for you.
High wattage cut: LED nail lamps that have a high wattage cut the curing times needed for your nails to dry. They will have wattage higher than 6W, which is the common wattage for ‘mini’ and beginner nail lamps. Nail lamps with anywhere from 12 to 48 watts will do the job much more quickly.
Build in timers: Another useful feature is built in timers. Sure, you could set your own timer on your phone, but with a high quality LED nail lamp you won’t have to.
Enough Room for the fingers: Finally, an often overlooked feature in the LED nail lamps: enough room for all five fingers. Why would there not be enough room for all five fingers, you ask? Who knows. But it sure is annoying to have to dry your thumb separately.
Types of Nail Lamps
The two types of nail lamps are UV and LED nail lamps. They both serve the same purpose but differ in price and efficiency.
LED Nail Lamps
LED nail lamp is a newer technology that uses LED lights instead of a UV light bulb. They are often more expensive, but work really quickly. Additionally, are are clearly taking the lead in popularity. They are much more low maintenance than UV nail lamps because your LED lights will never burn out. This article will mostly focus on LED lamps.
UV Nail Lamps
UV nail lamps came on the market first. They are the older technology, though many still swear by them because of their universal effectiveness. Some gel nail polishes will only work with UV nail lamps. Even some top gel nail polish brands like CND Shellac only work with UV nail lamps.
What’s the Difference Between UV and LED Nail Lamps?
The two types of nail lamps, UV and LED, are still both in use today. Let’s lay out the basics of the differences between them.
One way that UV and LED nail lamp differs is their usage of UV light. UV nail lamps output wide spectrum UV light. The wide spectrum UV rays provided by UV lamps are a ‘catch all’ for gel nail polish. This is why some gel nail polishes only work with UV lamps.
However, LED nail lamps also produce UV rays, but on a much smaller, and more precise scale. Because of this, an LED nail lamp works with most, but not all gel nail polishes. It’s still well worth it because this is much better for your skin, which should be shielded from strong UV rays whenever possible.
The more targeted LED nail lamps cure nail polish faster too! This is why LED nail lamps are becoming the new standard.
Another difference is maintenance. UV nail lamps require you to change the UV light bulb regularly. You never have to change the light bulb on LED lamps, because LED lasts virtually forever. LED nail lamps do have a greater base cost than UV nail lamps, but also are a one time purchase only.
How to Use LED Nail Lamps
Using an LED nail lamp is fairly simple, but can differ between manufacturer slightly. See your gel nail polish manufacturer for specific dry times. The general steps are as follows:
- Apply a base coat. Make sure the coat is even, and try not to get any on the skin around your nails. If you do color outside the lines a bit, clean it up with a cotton swab.
- Cure the base coat under the LED nail lamp for around 45 seconds.
- Apply your nail color. You may need to apply two coats of your nail color to get it completely opaque. This depends on the quality and intended sheerness of your nail color.
- Cure your nail color under the LED nail lamp for around 60 seconds. If you are applying two coats of nail color, cure each coat separately.
- Apply your topcoat.
- Cure your topcoat under the LED nail lamp for around a minute or more. Topcoats usually take more time to dry than the others. Don’t be surprised if this is the case.
- If your nails feel tacky to the touch, wipe with a cotton pad soaked in rubbing alcohol.
- All done!
This might sound like a hassle but if you think about it, how long do your nails usually take to dry completely? Without gel polish you can be delicately going about your day, stressing about messing up your new manicure. When gel nail polish is cured completely it’s 100% mess proof for up to two whole weeks!
Things to remember when using LED nail lamps
- An LED nail lamp will dry your nail polish faster than a UV lamp. To learn the specifics, always check the gel nail polish manufacturer for precise dry times.
- Remember that an LED nail lamp only works to dry gel nail polish. It won’t affect regular nail polish at all.
- Applying rubbing alcohol to your finished nail will not damage or reduce the life of your polish.
- Rubbing your dried gel polish with rubbing alcohol after curing is only necessary if the nail is tacky to the touch.
- Most gel nail polishes are ‘soak off’ and you can’t just take them off the same way as normal nail polish. When it’s time to change up your gel nails, you must soak them in acetone instead of just wiping them.
Final Thoughts
With the information in this article you should have no trouble doing your own gel manicure at home!
