DAN'S PAPERS, March 12, 2010 Page 27 www.danshamptons.com
Life S tyle Raving Beauty
By Janet Flora
If you shy away from getting your nails polished a trendy deep shade of burgundy or red, or you’re reluctant to spend money on a French manicure because you’re worried it will chip and peel in a few days, you haven’t seen, heard or read about Calgel. Calgel is not an acrylic, it’s not used in conjunction with nail tips, glue or linen wraps, and Calgel is not your ordinary UV gel manicure, which is done in many salons. Calgel is done in very few salons in the New York area, but it’s worth finding where you can get one on the Calgel website, or encouraging the salon you frequent to get their techs educated in the system. Known as the organic gel, Calgel was developed 1981 in South Africa, ultimately gaining huge popularity in Europe and Japan. Unlike other gels, it requires minimal buffing to the natural nail prior to application or removal, thus does not damage your natural nails. Currently none of the salons on the East End where I often prefer to indulge in a mani/pedi and massages do Calgel manicures, but I did find a salon called Element on Third Avenue and East 10th Street, with one other location in Brooklyn. Owner Michelle Abrue, her manager Evelyn and one tech, Ako, are trained to do Calgel in the Manhattan salon. When I arrived for my appointment with Ako, I was excited to learn that in addition to clear gel,
Hands Down, the Best Gel Manicure
which can be polished with traditional nail polish, Calgel is available in colors. Therefore, you don’t need to polish in between manicures. The cost of Calgel at Element is about $60.00 for the clear gel and $70.00 for colored. The first time I had Calgel applied, I opted for the French. It was amazingly simple and took less than an hour. It was like getting a regular French manicure, except instead of polish the gel was used. Between each coat of gel I put my hand under the UV machine. Ako artfully applied each layer, with the final layers being the white tips of the nails. The fin-
The
ishing touch was a regular clear topcoat of polish. My manicure lasted three weeks. At that time I could have chosen to fill in the base of the nail where it had grown out, or remove the gel and start again. I chose to have the gel removed and get a plain nongel manicure. A cotton ball soaked in nail polish remover containing acetone was placed on each of my nails, and then the cotton ball was wrapped in aluminum foil. Minutes later the gel was scraped off like a layer of dead skin. No buffing, no filling, my own nails were in perfect condition. Two weeks later I returned and had the gel applied in a rich, deep burgundy, which also lasted three weeks. In between, at home, I took off the topcoat with a non-acetone polish remover and applied a new topcoat and my nails looked as shiny as if they were first done. Calgel is best for clients who don’t want to make their own nails longer – for that, Calgel is a bit too thin. So if you want to make your nails longer you might need an acrylic or a traditional gel nail. But when is the last time you saw someone fashionable with really long nails? Nails that are too long look fake and old fashioned. For a natural looking and lasting manicure Calgel is hands down the best product. To find a salon log onto http://www.calgelnyc.com/store.php.
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5 K Annual
nd
Potato Hampton 5K
Sunday, May 23rd Race Starts @ 9am Fellow, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery
We are asking for a donation of non-perishable food which will be contributed to the Suffolk County Coalition Against Domestic Violence BOTOX®/Dysport® and Restylane Demonstation, Computer Imaging and an opportunity to meet with representatives from Smartlipo™, Thermage®, Fraxel®, Zerona®, Perlane®, Restylane®, Dysport®, and Radiesse®
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Tuesday, March 23rd at the Islandia Marriott At 3635 Express Drive North in Islandia Presentation 6:30 pm RSVP 631-878-9200
Day of race registration from 7:00am-8:00am Coming Soon: Pre-registration will be available online. Militia Park, Bridgehampton (Ocean Road) For more information please email: ellen@danspapers.com
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