There are a LOT of choices when it comes to choosing products for your nails, including nuances that only the most experienced nail artists will recognize. Don’t worry, Skin & Sage breaks it down to help you make a smart choice for your next nail treatment.
A simple, high quality Manicure or Pedicure should include a Base Coat to smooth the surface and prevent staining, a reputable Color Polish, and a Top Coat for shine & chip protection. At Skin & Sage, we go one step further and apply a Primer, to help your polish last longer.
There are a few reasons one might want to upgrade the standard manicure. Typically, clients who upgrade are looking to strengthen their nails, lengthen their nails, and/or increase the durability of the finished look. Let’s look at options typically seen in nail salons:
- Acrylics. Once the only option, this generally old-school method involves a powder & liquid mixture applied in a relatively thick layer, sometimes over plastic tips. While this does have both strengthening & lengthening effects, acrylic nails generally tend to look and feel less natural, and can create polymer dust in the maintenance and removal process.
- Dip Nails. Sometimes called the “new” acrylics, a colored powder is chosen and applied over specialized polish, creating a strong, hard layer that is virtually chip-proof. Because the powder contains the chosen color, dip nails can be filed down to a more natural thickness, making them a bit more comfortable than acrylics. To keep the process completely sanitary, a portion of the powder should be placed into a clean container specific to each client, allowing the client to “dip” a finger into the container, and discarding the remaining powder. However to reduce costs, some nail salons simply have clients dip directly into the original product container, reusing all the powder, and allowing cross-contamination between clients. Dip nails also require full removal and re-application at each visit, so changing colors can be a process.
- Gel Nails AKA Soft Gel AKA Shellac. The most common type of gel is soft gel, also known as Shellac (a particular brand of soft gel). Gel Polish looks very much like normal color polish, and is applied with a brush in the same way. But gel polish is cured under a UV lamp, creating an extra strong, durable finish. Gel polish offers the most natural “feel” of the upgrade options, because it’s thinner and flexible. It also has zero drying time thanks to the curing process.
- Builder Gel AKA Hard Gel. This secret weapon combines all the perks of other upgrade options.
- Builder Gel nails are refillable like Acrylics, meaning less damage from drilling or soaking removal.
- Builder Gel can be applied as an overlay to your natural nails for added strength, OR can be “built” up to extend any (or all) your nails that need a little extra length. (FYI – Gel X is a brand of gel nail extension.)
- Builder Gel nails are durable like Dip Nails, but without the sanitization concerns.
- Builder Gel nails are often topped with “soft” gel (normal gel) to get long lasting color, with zero dry time, and damage-free color changes.
Checkout all the fun upgrade options at The Nail Bar at Skin & Sage.