The single thing that makes gel nails last is prep. Not the brand, not the lamp, not the colour. Everything that determines whether your manicure holds for three weeks or lifts by day eight happens in the ten minutes before you open the bottle, in steps most people skip.

To remove gel nail paint, you need to file off the top coat, soak your nails in acetone, and gently push the softened gel away with a cuticle pusher. What most guides skip is why so many people end up with thin, weak, or peeling nails afterwards, and it almost never comes down to the gel itself.