How to Use a UV Gel Top Coat with Regular Nail Polishes

Can You Use Regular Nail Polish with a Gel Base & Top Coat
Can You Use Regular Nail Polish with a Gel Base & Top Coat

Gel Polishes are more durable and look more glossy when compared to regular nail polishes. But Gel Polishes also tend to be more pricey and have less variety of colors available.

Now if you are reading this you might be wondering how you can get the durability and glossiness of a gel manicure with regular nail polishes.

So in this article, we are gonna be exploring;

  • What happens when you use a UV gel top coat with regular nail polishes
  • Explain how to make your regular nail polishes more durable by using a UV gel top coat.
  • And finally, explain why you should never use a UV gel base coat with regular nail polishes

Can You Use a Regular Nail Polish with a Gel Top Coat

A UV gel top coat can be used over your regular nail polish to make them last longer, and look more glossy.

You see UV gel top coats are not easily damaged and are very resistant to peeling and chipping making them very durable. This means that they can potentially allow your regular manicure to last for 10-12 days depending on the brand that you use. Citation.

How to Apply a Gel Top Coat Over Regular Polish

  1. The first thing that you need to do is prep your nails.
  2. I usually prep by pushing back my cuticles, filing my nails, and then cleaning them with a cotton pad soaked with rubbing alcohol.
  3. Next, apply your regular nail polish as you usually do, I usually apply them in two thin coats.
  4. But before you apply your gel top coat you need to allow your polish to dry completely. I recommend leaving your polish to dry for 4-6 hours before applying the gel top coat.
  5. If your nail polish isn’t dried properly before you apply the gel top coat, your nail polish will shrink and wrinkle up.
  6. Now once your nail polish has dried you can apply a thin coat of gel top coat over your nail polish, just ensure you cap the edges
  7. Finally, let it cure under your UV or Led Lamps as recommended by your brand of gel top coat, once cured don’t forget to wipe away that tacky or sticky layer with rubbing alcohol.
  8. If you want you can check out the video below for a step-by-step guide.

Related Article – Pros and Cons of a Gel Manicure

Video of How to Apply a UV Gel Top Coat to Regular Nail Polishes

Benefits of a UV Gel Top Coat with Regular Nail Polish

A gel top coat allows your regular nail polishes to:

  1. Be more durable and long lasting
  2. Look more glossy
  3. Have smoother texture

You see Gel polishes are amazing they look nice and glossy. And, more importantly, they are super durable allowing them to last for a long time, with some brands lasting for 3 weeks without chipping, peeling, or fading. Citation.

In comparison, regular nail polishes and top coat are less durable and only can last on average of 5-6 days depending on how much activity you do.

But gel polishes also have some drawbacks, Gel Polishes:

  • Are expensive in comparison to regular nail polish,
  • They don’t have such a wide variety of colors to choose from.
  • They are also more difficult to remove.

Now by using a gel top coat with regular nail polishes you can get the durability and glossiness of gel polish, without all of its drawbacks.

Best Gel Top coat for regular nail polish

I recommend and use Gelish Top Coat, they are a premium brand that is amazingly durable and should give you 2 weeks of wear when used with regular nail polishes.

You can click here to see the current price for Gelish Top Coat on Amazon.

Or you can click here to learn more about it, in my article about the 5 Best Gel Base & Top Coats For Any Brand of Gel Polish

Can You use a UV Gel Base Coat with a Regular Nail Polish

You shouldn’t use a UV gel base coat with regular nail polishes. This is because regular nail polishes won’t adhere so well to a gel base coat.

You see the function of a base coat is to act as glue to hold your nail polish onto the nail plate. What happens is the base coat will form a strong bond to your nail plate and the nail polish will anchor onto the base coat.

But because gel base coats have a completely different chemical composition from regular nail polishes they wouldn’t anchor or bond properly with the gel base coat.

And since the nail polish isn’t bonded properly it can lead to the polish peeling and flaking more easily.

UV Gel Base Coat & Regular Nail Polish

I have seen some people recommend using a gel sandwich technique where you sandwich a regular nail polish between a gel base coat and a gel top coat.

I have tried this before and I didn’t get great results my manicures only lasted 6 days before they started to peel. Whilst when I used just a gel top coat and a regular nail polish I got a full 2 weeks.

You see at its core a gel base coat is designed with a formula to work with gel polish and not with regular nail polish. This is why I suspect I didn’t get good results using a gel base coat and regular nail polish. Citation.

So I recommend sticking with a regular base coat or just apply the regular nail polish directly onto your nails.

For a really durable base coat, I recommend Seche Base Coat, you can click here to see the current price on Amazon.

Citation and References

Gel Base Coat Patent.

How to Use Gel Polish with Regular Nail Polish.

The Science of Gel Polishes