SHANY UV Gel Light Nail Dryer, 36 Watts Pro Series

I'm really very pleased with this product. I'm a long-time home manicurist but hadn't ever done my own gel/shellac before. But after paying $35 to a "professional" who tore up my cuticles removing the previous manicure, and generally did a poor job with the application, I decided I could do a better job myself for less money. A quick perusal of my favorite online nail forum led me to this light, and Gelish base/top coat.I was apprehensive about inserting the bulbs, because you have to exert quite a bit of pressure to make them snap into the sockets. I quickly understood why the instructions want you to wear protective gloves - if you're not careful the bulbs could certainly shatter under the pressure. I used the cardboard protective insert that was wrapped around the bulb and luckily everything was fine.If you've never used gel products before, you should know that it is COMPLETELY NORMAL for many gel products to still be tacky after curing. The process should go something like this: base coat, cure, first coat of polish, cure, second coat of polish, cure, top coat, cure, then remove tacky surface with isopropyl alcohol. Up until the top coat, though, the polish is still susceptible to lint/dents/etc. So be sure to set aside enough time and an adequate prep area to complete the process.Because I have 400+ non-gel polishes, but now need the durability of gel to (hopefully) keep my nails from breaking, I decided to just lay down a foundation of gel and paint over it with regular polish. I'll use non-acetone remover to switch colors if the mood strikes me. So what I wound up doing was 2 coats of Gelish foundation and 2 coats of Gelish top coat (curing after each coat), followed by 2 coats of polish and 1 coat of "Essence the Gel" top coat. This is one of the "gel type" top coats rather than a true gel but I've had great results with it extending wear, and I knew it wouldn't dull the holo effect of the polish I was using. This top coat is generally pretty quick-drying, but on a whim I did one last trip through the light. It definitely helped. I immediately got undressed, including removing my bra, and didn't have a single smudge or dent when I was done.Other users have said their timer didn't work, but mine works great. When the opening for your hand is facing you, the on/off switch is located on the back right, and the timer on switch is located on the back left. To use the timer, flip the on/off switch DOWN. The light should NOT come on at this time. Then flip the timer on switch up, and the light should switch on and stay for 2 minutes. With the products I was using, 2 minutes per coat worked great. I did not test the layers in between for tackiness; I simply applied, cured, and finally wiped the top layer down with an alcohol swab. The end result was smooth and shiny.I would absolutely 100% recommend this product for someone who is patient and relatively skilled at polish application. The cost of this plus the Gelish products was less than the cost of two trips to the salon I was using, and so it will have paid for itself in no time.

I purchased the SHANY UV Gel Light because I was spending a bundle on manicures/pedicures. After doing as much research as I could , I read the reviews and decided on this one. It was relatively inexpensive in comparison to other UV gel lights and seemed to be able to perform just as well (if not better in some cases) according to other reviews. Shipping was fairly quick, and it was nicely packaged. It arrived in mint condition, not so much as a scratch or mark on the parcel box - so that was a relief. I hate when I receive parcels that look like people have drop kicked it down a football field. I've done gel nails using Gelish gel system (ph primer/foundation/polish/top coat), and have had no issues. However, I did notice a difference in performance when I used the IBD Pink Builder gel. It did not seem to cure as well. I can't attribute it to the SHANY gel nail light specifically, as it could be because I'm a newbie at doing my own nails. I just want to note that there was a difference in the curing. I found that I had to cure longer than the recommended cure times, while trying not to "over cure" the gel. I am now aware that there are differences in curing depending on the viscosity and the color of the gel. I will gain better insight as I use it and become more experienced in the gel nail application.

Just wanted to say that since everybody seems to think all these reviews are fake. I'm a normal girl who just wants to review the products I bought with my own money. And you will see about 12 Shany products I purchased because I genuinely do love SHANY and am giving honest reviews and my own opinions about them. You can even check out my YouTube blog about SHANY and other makeup lines I review. (Link will be posted soon)Alright, now for the review. I think this is an absolutely wonderful product especially considering it's $23. Most places are about $50 minimum...at least wherever I looked. It seems to be just as good as professional models and dried my nails fairly quickly. There were a few nails that didn't dry completely, but I applied like 5 coats of polish so I'm assuming that's why. Of course they would take a bit longer to dry.The only reason it gets a 4 star and not a 5 is because 1) it takes something to completely blow my mind to get a 5 & 2) it is only big enough for one hand or foot to go in at a time. :( otherwise it would have totally received 5 stars because this product is so fun to have at home. I feel like I have my own little nail spa at home with all my new nail products I ordered and this just makes me feel like even more of a professional. All my friends get jealous when they see this sitting around and think I had to throw down a good amount of cash to get one. And I didn't! Which makes me happy.I did not have a problem with the bulbs like other users did. At first I thought I did because it didn't turn on when I plugged it in but I made sure the bulbs were actually pushed in far enough and it turned on just fine and dried my nails in a snap. (At least the ones that didn't have a thick coat of polish on them) it's very light and easy to store and good quality.I want to order the gel polish from SHANY, but I can't bring myself to drop $58 on them. :( I'm super curious to know how this dryer works with those so if anyone out there has them and this dryer, let me know what you think!

board short circuited on 1st use

So far, so good. I used it for the first time last night, it was super easy to use. I used it with the Sally Hansen UV gel polish that I bought from Shoppers Drug Mart. The instructions on the polish said to cure for 30 seconds, but I used the 2 min timer on the lamp instead for the base and first coat, then I did 3 mins for the 2nd coat and 4 mins for the top coat. This worked perfectly! This was my first time ever doing this at home and the results exceeded my expectations. I am hoping for at least I0 days of flawless wear.The lamp was packaged great, came quickly, easy to assemble, lots of room to comfortably fit your entire hand inside (no need to do your thumb separately).I will update once I have used the lamp to cure CND shellacI've added my shellac photo. I absolutely love the lamp. Works like a charm! I did the same times I posted with the Sally Hansen UV gel polish. It's long lasting, looks professional. Fantastic investment. Highly recommended.

This product appears and seems to work just like the ones in the salon. Cures the cruddy Mild East shellac brand I bought (which I do not recommend buying) as well as Gelish polish (which works wonderfully).Drying time is quick, timer works, doesn't overheat.Only issue I had is that the box it came in was damaged. The actual product packaging, not the Amazon box in gets shipped in. Also, the cord is a bit questionable. At the point of attachment to the machine, it is bent towards the body of the lamp and I hope over time the casing on the cord won't crack or separate.Other than that, I recommend this. Great price, good quality. Fast shipping.

I was so happy with this Shany nail dryer... however the electric system died on me after less than 5hours of use. My local nail salon told me that it was a ''cheap machine made in China'' and that he recommended I purchase and LED nail lamp. I purchased the DND Daisy LED/UV lamp and I absolutely love it. Spend a bit more money on a good machine, it's worth it.

First time user to at home shellacFirst time user to at home UV Gel MachineSeeing what my friends have bought in-store from places like Wallmart and Target, I wanted to buy my own machine. This machine is absoulty fantastic and easy to use. It was also WELL worth the price. Please do your research when buying an at home kit for the first time. Purchase a machine that has 36 Watts or more and price shop. My friends paid $60.00 + for a 9 Watt machine that doesn't even fit their entire hand inside. This is worth your money.ProsThe machine is fairly large - can fit entire foot and hand inside machineIt's fast - nails are dry in 120 secondsAlso dries regular nail polish very fast.ConsI live in Toronto and can't find UV gel nail polish anywhere. It's LED only.It's inexpensive