Best Professional UV/LED Nail Lamp 2024
Are you searching for the best professional UV LED nail lamp? We want to help you find what you need today. Let's talk about what makes a nail lamp suitable for professional use. Then, we'll discuss the pros and cons of the different types of nail lamps and how to choose between them.
Features of a Professional Nail Lamp
A salon-quality nail lamp has to be able to cure different types of polish and adhesives. Just as important, it needs to be able to perform consistently over and over throughout the day.
The features that professionals look for in nail lamps include:
- Versatility
- Power
- Ease of use
- Durability
- Efficiency
Versatility has to do with the fact that some polishes and adhesives require UV light only and others can cure with either UV or LED light. If you want to save money, look for a hybrid nail lamp.
Power means the ability to cure gels properly so that they don’t look cloudy or bubble and peel. But it’s also nice if the lamp has safety settings like low heat to prevent burns and overexposure.
Ease-of-use includes aspects like one-touch timer settings, a motion sensor to activate the light, and an opening large enough to cure an entire hand or foot at a time.
Durability has to do with how long before the lamp needs to be replaced and how easy it is to clean and maintain.
Efficiency is an indication of not only how much electricity the lamp uses but also how long it takes to use.
Now, let’s go over the pros and cons of UV versus LED nail lamps.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Different Types of Nail Lamps
Which is better: a UV or LED nail lamp? What do salons use?
Your local nail salon may have different types of professional gel nail lights. Then they use the best nail lamps for the job. Here’s an example:
Lavis UV/LED Nail Lamp
When you want a professional finish, this nail lamp performs equally well in the salon or at home. It can cure gels perfectly in seconds.
There are 42 LEDs strategically embedded in the interior which has a mirror surface that reflects the UV light for even curing across every finger or toe.
The built-in timer has 4 settings for 10, 30, 60, and 90 seconds. Set it and forget it because the motion sensor will activate the light when you need it.
Finally, the lamp is portable and rechargeable. The battery has a 15600mAh capacity for hours of run-time before it needs a recharge. It comes with an AC adapter and a user manual.
UV Nail Lamps
The biggest benefit of a UV nail lamp is that it can cure all nail polishes that require UV light. It’s very effective at curing clear gels, too.
But it’s getting harder to find UV nail lamps these days. The drawbacks outweigh the benefits and most manufacturers are switching to polishes that cure with LED UV light.
The cons of a UV lamp include the shorter bulb life, greater electrical consumption, and the length of time it takes to cure gels. They also feel hotter on the skin.
LED Nail Lamps
LED lamps emit ultraviolet light but they do it more efficiently than UV lamps. The UV rays trigger a chemical reaction to turn the liquid polish into a solid plastic.
The rays they emit come in specific bandwidths like 365nm + 405nm. That’s why it’s important to check with the brand of polish you be using to make sure it’s compatible with LED light curing.
Furthermore, LEDs don’t create as much heat, don’t use as much electricity, and cure polish much faster than a regular UV lamp can. What a UV lamp takes 3 minutes to cure, an LED lamp can do in 30 to 60 seconds.
They also have a lifetime that’s up to 50 times longer than a UV bulb. You could run the nail lamp 24 hours a day for 5 years or more before the LEDs burn out.
How Long to Cure Gels with a Professional Nail Lamp?
When you use a professional LED nail lamp, a color gel polish might take as little as 30 seconds or as long as 90 seconds per layer to cure.
If you’re putting on nail tips, the gel adhesive might need 10 seconds to adhere, then up to 60 seconds to cure completely once all the extensions are in place.
SNS Cordless UV/LED Nail Lamp
Here's a 54W professional nail lamp that's described as hybrid. It has a timer with 3 settings: 30, 45, and a low-heat 60-second option.
What’s nice is the removable tray for easy cleaning. There’s also a motion sensor to turn the light on and off when needed.
Kiara Sky Beyond pro Rechargeable Led Lamp Volume II
This LED nail lamp has a replaceable lithium battery. Still, you probably won’t need to swap it for a few years.
The maximum power rating is 48W – more than enough to cure all sorts of gels. It has a LCD with a countdown timer. The settings include 15, 30, 60, and 90 seconds. The latter is of long duration but with low heat.
Like all the best nail lamps, it has a motion sensor. It’s also highly reflective inside with no dead zones so that polish cures evenly.
You can pull out the stainless steel tray to sanitize it between manicures and pedicures. The casing of the lamp is also acetone-resistant for easy cleaning.
Which Type of Nail Lamp Is Safest for Professional Use?
Nail lamps in general may raise the risk of skin cancer from UV radiation. Nevertheless, the danger can be mitigated. The person getting their nails done can treat their skin with sunscreen or wear UV-protective gloves to cut down on exposure. Plus, the nail tech can follow the directions regarding how long to cure the polish or adhesive.
Conclusion
We hope you found what you needed to know about nail lamps because we enjoyed showing off our best models. You can view our other top picks on our nail light page. If you’re doing manicures at home, a professional-quality nail lamp quickly pays for itself. And a high-quality LED nail lamp offers even more savings down the road.
