it’s hard enough picking from the toffey gel polish range let alone weighing up the differences between LED or UV when it comes to your lamp of choice.
we have done the hard work for you and put together a bit of a summary that won’t leave you losing sleep.
both UV and LED lamps are wonderful products and will cure your toffey gel polish, but it is good to know the differing features of the two. toffey likes to think an informed decision is the best decision.
watch toffey's UV v 's LED lamp video below
UV lamps are great. they’re affordable, they’re compact, and most importantly they will cure your toffey gel polish. but there are a couple of reasons that may leave you thinking UV lamps aren't for you. if you’re a ‘too-busy clock-watcher’ like most of us, then the speed of your manicure is important to you. UV nail lamps will usually take double the time to cure your nails when compared to an LED lamp. now you’re listening!?
here are some more points on uv lamps:
- cheaper
- 90-120 seconds curing time
- use more energy than LED lamp
- bulbs need to be replaced
LED lamps are slightly more expensive, however they will also last much longer than any UV lamp will. most UV lamps have a life of about 1000 hours, whereas an LED lamp will have you covered for up to 50,000 hours. which means in the long run the LED lamp is going to get you a lot more manicures for your dollar. here are some more points on LED lamps:
- more expensive, however prices are coming down (check out our LED lamp starter kits here)
- 30-60 seconds curing time
- use less energy than UV lamp
- bulbs will last the life of the lamp
to ensure you have the right lamp/gel polish combination, check the label of your gel polish. for example, toffey gel polish labels have the text 'uv & led gel polish'. this means toffey gel polish can be used with both UV lamps and LED lamps.
safety
there is a lot of information out in the media around the safety of UV (and to an extent, LED) lamps. are they safe?
both types of lamps emit UV light and one type of lamp is not “safer” than the other in terms of UV exposure. however, using an LED lamp will halve the amount of time your skin is exposed to the UV light. an 2013 independent study* found "UV nail lamps exceeded safety expectations. These lamps were found to be significantly less hazardous than expected based on the initial concerns raised by others. The researchers found that UV exposure is so low that a person could put her hands under a nail lamp for 25 minutes a day without exceeding the internationally accepted safe limits for daily workplace UV exposure." "The data showed that UV nail lamps were safer than both natural sunlight and sunlamps." if you are still uneasy, you can always use a small about of sunscreen on your hands and fingers before applying your gel polish manicure. so what do you think?
toffey only stocks LED lamps for her beauties but she’d like to know what your thoughts are on this hot topic. head to her facebook page to join the conversation.
chat soon,
toffey girls xx
*http://probeauty.org/nmc/
