There used to be a time when you bought one shade of nail polish, you got one bottle. Now you wonder why does DND comes with two polishes of the same color?
DND comes in two packs of polishes, one is a gel polish, and the other is regular nail polish. Many other gel polish brands have these two packs for their colors because people usually use long-lasting gel polish on their hands and regular nail polish for their toenails.
To answer this question, we have to go back in time to know why the nail manufacturers sell their polishes in two packs and the nail consumers’ behaviors at the beginning of the gel polish era.
Why does DND come with two polishes?
Gel polish is a relatively new invention.
Gel polish requires a UV light source to cure in less than a minute. This fast-curing technique is different from the traditional air-dry method of regular nail polishes.
DND
was not the first gel polish brand to market two different polishes.
Gel polishes come with two polishes as a marketing campaign
Each new shade of color that a nail polish manufacturer makes is their proprietary product and pride. It is not easy to create a new shade of nail polish that will catch the eye of the majority of nail lovers. So they want to make it easy for their colors to be shown on the consumers’ nails, whether they are fingernails or toenails, as much as possible.
In the beginning, Gelish was the first company to invent gel polish. However, Gelish only sold gel polishes, no regular nail polishes. People who liked the shade of these colors had no choice but to use gel polishes, which could be a problem for those who wanted to use only traditional nail polishes.
Then came LeChat.
LeChat was the first company that filled this void. They sold their new nail polish colors in two packs, gel polish, and regular nail polish under the brand Perfect Match. This way, anybody who likes the shade of their nail polish color can use it on their nails. It made the traditional nail polish lovers happy.
Other gel polish manufacturers recognized this trend and started to sell their nail polish in two packs.
DND was a young nail polish manufacturer. They used an aggressive marketing and advertising campaign to penetrate the gel nail market to sell their gel polishes to nail salons using deep discounts and widespread distribution. And it worked well.
People who went to nail salons to get gel manicures could not help but notice large display racks of DND gel polish. If nail salons used this brand, it must be good.
So many bought this brand to use at home.
DND is now one of the most recognized gel polish brands in the industry.
That is why many young customers ask the question, “why DND come with two polishes”? Not “Why gel polish comes with two polishes”?
These young nail lovers might never have used regular nail polish before and do not understand why they have to pay extra for a polish they will never use?
This makes me feel old. As a nail technician, regular nail polishes were my bread and butter. Because of them, I was able to support my family.
Gel polish comes in two polishes because of consumers’ behaviors.
Gel polishes have been around since 2009, a short time compares with more than 100-year-old traditional nail polish.
A lot of people still like to use regular nail polishes for two reasons. They are so simple and easy to apply, and the other is they cause the least damage to the natural nails.
So these people who do their nails at home still use regular nail polishes and have an extensive nail polish collection.
A new collection of nail polishes come out each season every year. These people usually buy these new colors that they like to use at home. Some of these people are still sticking to the traditional nail polish; they are so used to it and do not want to change.
Gel polish comes in two polishes to cater to this regular nail polish crowd.
Now, if you are one among millions of people who still have an extensive collection of regular nail polish at home and want to use some of those colors. However, you do not know if gel polish and regular nail polish are together on your nails.
Can you use a gel top coat over regular nail polish?
Yes, you can do it, but you have to do a couple different things.
First, the regular nail polish must be completely dry for the gel top coat to stay on the nails. Otherwise, after you cure the gel topcoat, it becomes plasticized, thus preventing the lower regular nail polish from drying out. Also, the wet nail polish still has solvents. They will soften the gel top coat and slide off the nail in a day or two.
Secondly, to prevent the nail color polish from staining your nails and fingers, you must remove this regular nail polish and top coat on your nails by soaking them in warm water.
To know more about applying gel top coat over regular nail polish, you can find complete instructions here in this How can you use regular nail polish with gel top coat article.
Conclusion:
I hope I answer your question and hope you learned something about nail history.
Enjoy your gel polish.
Maybe in the far future, as you become a grandmother, your granddaughter would ask you a question like:
“Grandma, why did you buy all those gel polishes? It is just a waste of money and natural resources because you only use them a few times, and they just sit there doing nothing!”
“Why don’t you just stick your hands in my nail machine, tell Alexa or Siri what color you want, and they will paint your nails in less than one minute.”
“And you do not have to keep all those old colors, grandma!”
At that point, I bet your eyes would turn a little dreamy. You are getting a little nostalgic. You would remember the time not too long ago, you asked the question, “Why does DND come with two polishes?”
You then look at your granddaughter and say softly, “You don’t know what you are missing, my dear!”
Until that time comes, enjoy getting your nails done now.
I am afraid that some nail robots would take away this relaxing ritual from you in the very near future.
Alexa and Siri are trademarks of Amazon and Apple, respectively.
