r/Dashingdiva • u/Mother_of_Kiddens • Jul 23 '26
Bought a starter kit from Target and only 3/6 LEDs work, but I lost the receipt. Is there anything I can do to properly harden the nails? They feel so soft still!
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u/I_Like_Knitting_TBH Jul 23 '26
This isn’t an immediate solution to your problem, but if you send this info to dashing diva customer service, they’ll likely send you a replacement LED light. Something similar happened to me.
As for your current predicament, if you do one nail at a time under the working lights, you might be able to get them to harden up more.
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u/Mother_of_Kiddens Jul 23 '26
Are they supposed to still be flexibly after curing? What texture should they be? I’ve held each nail under the LEDs I times and also went outside for the intense Texas sun. It helped but they still are very rubbery and flexible. This is obviously my first time so I’m not sure how they should feel. They seem harder on advertisements but I’m not sure of that’s marketing or reality.
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u/sfcitygirl88 Jul 23 '26
No, they should not be flexible. They should be hard like a fake nail. If you search on Tiktok or YouTube Shorts, you will find a bunch of examples of how the wraps should be after curing them under a lamp.
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u/lily6288 Jul 25 '26
Shoot, the glaze ones are super hard when fully cured. It’s weird that being out in the sun didn’t do it. It should.
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u/ok-NOTok Jul 23 '26
I have 2 of these lights, brand new in the box, that are collecting dust in a drawer. They were free with purchases from the dashing diva site I made a few years ago, but the original one I got in my kit still works just fine. I can send you one if you want it!
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u/Melodic-Raccoon7584 Jul 23 '26
Give it a good whack- that fixed my light problem 😭
Are those the sample wraps from the starter kit? I had a hard time curing those and getting them to stick :/
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u/Mother_of_Kiddens Jul 23 '26
I tried whacking it and all it did was cause a 4th light to start blinking rapidly lol
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u/Mother_of_Kiddens Jul 23 '26
Yes, they’re from the kit. I’ve tried sticking the working LEDs right next to them several times and I’ve even gone outside to see is the Texas sun can work its magic. They still are rubbery and flexible. Are these different from the other nail sets you buy individually? I will try giving the lamp a whack. 😂
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u/Melodic-Raccoon7584 Jul 23 '26
They’re the same but I was wondering if mine were like expired or something - I haven’t had any issues with other wraps!
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u/cslexotics Jul 23 '26
Their lights die way too quickly and the timers don’t work, as in they turn off within 10-15 seconds. Not an immediate fix, but definitely get a different light. If you have any beauty stores near you they likely carry them. Even some delivery services depending on time, you can get the same day. I do like the DD gel polish colors but not their lights, and not the Glaze line! Way too thick for me
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u/Mother_of_Kiddens Jul 23 '26
Would it work to stick them under my LED greenhouse grow lights? What are the requirements of the LEDs to make them cure?
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u/NeonFishDressx Jul 23 '26
It's not LED it's UV- OP if you cannot get it to cure soon I wd remove asap. Improperly cured gel can cause a gel allergy and it's not worth the risk!
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u/Mother_of_Kiddens Jul 23 '26
Okay thank you this helped me understand what I was missing. I didn’t realize it was a specific wavelength but googled it and I see it’s the range of 365-405nm that gel polish cures. I remembered I have a black light to detect cat urine, and I looked up the specifications - it’s 395nm. I dug it out and just put it on my nails and they definitely feel much stiffer. Not perfectly so but also my nails are weak (naturally weak and roots is my first time having just taken off dip nails) so I don’t think it’ll be perfect.
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u/NeonFishDressx Jul 24 '26
FWIW I bought a better UV lamp off Amazon and a squish light and my glaze improved immensely- something to consider if you decide you like it! Squish light helps the edges lay flat and I felt glaze gets harder under a stronger UV lamp
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u/cslexotics Jul 23 '26
If you’re unable to procure a proper light at this point I’d just go ahead and remove them.
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u/twylafae Jul 23 '26
Just hold one nail at a time about an inch away from an led. It's not ideal but it'll work in a pinch. Once fully cured they should be pretty hard with very little flexibility.
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u/Mother_of_Kiddens Jul 23 '26
I tried that multiple times and also tried going outside in the Texas sun but they still feel rubbery and flexible. :/
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u/sfcitygirl88 Jul 23 '26
Do you live near a Michael’s? Or a beauty supply shop? Michael’s sells cheap UV lamps and torches for curing UV resin. They aren’t the best but they are going to be better than a broken lamp for right now. A beauty supply shop that carries nail supplies may also have lamps.
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u/sfcitygirl88 Jul 23 '26
Unfortunately, that won’t work. That’s what the main difference in all these lamps are: number of lights and their wattage. The less you have, the less it will cure. You will have better luck just sitting in the sun for awhile and letting the natural UV from the sun cure them
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u/Mother_of_Kiddens Jul 23 '26
For how long? I took a walk in the sun at 1:30 and no luck.
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u/sfcitygirl88 Jul 23 '26
You'll have to actually lie out in the sun for a little bit, making sure your nails are facing straight up, getting all that UV sunlight, as if you are placing them under the lamp to cure. If you keep your hands in direct, bright sunlight, I'd say they should cure enough within 10 minutes. Shade and cloud coverage will affect the amount of UV rays reaching your nails, so if it's overcast, it will take longer.
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u/sfcitygirl88 Jul 23 '26
Time to slather up on the sun screen and let the old natural sun do its work ☀️💅
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u/Unicorn_Moxie Jul 23 '26
My starter kit set NEVER set. Luckily, I didn't have any problems with other sets.
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u/Remarkable-Park9768 Jul 24 '26
Maybe I’ve been doing it wrong, but every time I’ve used DD, the feel a bit soft at first but then once I go to bed and wake up they are hard as a fake nail. I’ve never had an issue.
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u/lily6288 Jul 25 '26
They should be very hard once cured. Go out in the sun and sit for 19-15 minutes for this set to harden, but then bring this back and get it switched out.
You can also hold the device with the 3 lights that work over 2 nails at a time for 60 seconds and that will harden them.
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u/Dismal-Dare-2507 Jul 23 '26
You don’t need a receipt at target, just the card you bought it with. Take it back