The Complete Handbook of Nail Dryers

Chapter 1: Understanding Nail Dryers

A nail dryer is a forced-drying and curing appliance for manicured nails, but calling it a "dryer" hides what it actually does. Most nail products that dry under a lamp do not dry by evaporation of a solvent. They cure: a chemical reaction that turns a liquid or semi-solid polymer into a hard, durable film. Understanding this distinction is the foundation for everything else in this book, because it determines which dryer you buy, how you use it, and how you fix it.

There are two major chemical families in nail coatings that require curing, and a nail dryer must be matched to the chemistry it is asked to cure.

UV-cured gels are the dominant type. They contain photoinitiators——chemical compounds that, when exposed to a specific wavelength of ultraviolet (UV) or violet-blue light, break apart into reactive species. These reactive species then start a chain reaction that links the resin monomers into a polymer network. The result is a hard, glossy, chip-resistant surface. The three most common gel systems are hard gels, soft (soak-off) gels, and builder gels, but they all rely on the same fundamental photoinitiator mechanism.

Dip powders are a slightly different story. Dip powder systems usually use a cyanoacrylate-based adhesive (similar to superglue) as the base layer. The adhesive cures via moisture and pressure, not light. However, many dip powder kits include a drying step or a "sealer" layer that is a UV-cured topcoat. If you use a dip powder system, you