CGBE Mini Cordless UV/LED Lamp 36W

One nail at a time under the CGBE 36W gooseneck

Twelve beads at 365 and 405 nm sit in a small head on a gooseneck, so you bring the light to one nail, flash it and move on. That suits tacking soft gel tips one by one before a full cure, and touch-ups on a single finger. Four timers cover the work: 10, 30 and 60 seconds, plus a 45 second mode the lamp starts in.

No cord crosses the table. A charge runs up to 2 hours, the LCD shows the time and the battery left, and a sensor switches the light on as a finger comes near and off again past about 5 cm. At 8.3 ounces it moves easily between a client table and a home vanity, in four colors.

Every curing lamp gives off UV, including lamps sold as LED, as the Skin Cancer Foundation points out, though it rates the risk as moderate. The American Academy of Dermatology advises a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher on the hands before curing, or dark, opaque gloves with the fingertips cut off. Sunscreen goes on about 20 minutes ahead, the foundation suggests.

It fits under the half moon arch lights in the CGBE catalog without crowding the table.

How to use it

1. Apply broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher to the hands about 20 minutes before curing.
2. Bend the gooseneck so the head sits just above the nail, within about 5 cm.
3. Use 10 seconds to tack a tip, and follow your gel label for full cure times.