How to make a gel manicure last
Small habits in the first 48 hours make the biggest difference.
Gel, soft-gel or acrylic: what is the difference
Three products, three removal methods, and why we only use two of them.
Clients often ask for “gel” and mean three different things, so here is the short version.
Gel polish is coloured gel brushed over your natural nail and cured under an LED lamp. It adds no length and lasts about three weeks. It comes off with a 10-minute soak in acetone and a gentle push, never by peeling.
Soft-gel extensions are pre-shaped tips made of the same family of gel, bonded to your nail with a gel adhesive and cured. They give you length in any shape, feel light and flexible, and also come off with a soak. Each set lasts three to four weeks; after that we infill or replace.
Acrylic is a powder and liquid mixed into a paste that sets hard. It is strong but heavier, and removal usually needs a drill. We stopped offering acrylic in 2021 because we saw too many clients with thinned nail plates from years of drilling.
If you have short, bitten or brittle nails and want length, soft-gel is the gentler choice. If you want colour that lasts on your own nails, a gel manicure is enough.
