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While attending a friend’s wedding in Italy in September, I first saw a woman with a harsh gel manicure. Only hours before, my gel manicure had peeled to the point of no return, and I had given in to the need to polish pick, leaving my hands a mottled mess.
I hurried to a convenience store and bought nail files, press-ons, and a tiny silver bottle of nail adhesive in an attempt to solve the problem.
After checking back into my hotel, I unscrewed the tiny pot and was immediately taken aback. The substance was not at all like the adhesive I had anticipated. Neither was it gel polish. Nothing in my experience even remotely resembled it.
Hard gel, sometimes known as builder gel, is a thick, glossy manicure substance that can be used for a variety of purposes. Ohio-based cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos says it is “strong enough to create nail extensions,” which is how it is typically used. Hard gel, like acrylic, can be shaped into any design, so even the shortest nails can seem like something out of a Pinterest board.
In other words, please define “hard gel.”
You’re missing out if you haven’t tried hard gel or at least learned what it can do. Here’s everything you need to know about hard gel, from how it compares to gel polish to how to apply it like an expert, straight from the nail technicians themselves.
“Hard gel is a fantastic invention,” says Suzie, the creator of Nail Career Education, a YouTube channel with 2.5 million viewers. She goes on to say, “I think it’s second best to acrylic, but only because acrylic is slightly stronger.”
“99 percent of the time,” as Suzie puts it, the hard gel is used to lengthen the nail. Gel overlay, a non-extension approach, makes less frequent usage of this product. When applied over a natural nail, overlays provide a tough, protective layer “to protect or cover the nail and make it feel harder.” Proper nail care with Maby blog.
What is the best method for applying hard gel?
Expert nail trainer and stylist Vicki Ornellas say that hard gel is usually sold in tiny pots and is applied with a firmly packed brush. In order to go from a sap-like wet condition to a hard one, “hard gel needs to be cured,” as Ornellas puts it. Curing is the term used by nail technicians to describe the process by which UV or LED light from a nail lamp “sets” a manicure. The hard gel won’t dry out in the air.
Several terms can be used to refer to hard gel.
Trying to buy hard gel for the first time can be a frustrating experience. My Google searches yielded results for building gel, structure gel, and sculpting gel, but I was left with more questions than answers and an empty purchasing basket.
Hard gel, building gel, and sculpting gel are all interchangeable terms that refer to the same thing. Nail polish goes by many names; lacquer, varnish, and enamel are just a few examples.
Let’s throw some more uncertainty into the mix: Different from the hybrid gel is hard gel. Hybrid gel, also known as poly gel or gum gel, resembles and behaves somewhat like hard gel. The recipe is thick but not resinous; instead, it comes in a squeeze tube and can be used to make nail extensions. The hybrid gel is more user-friendly than hard gel since it doesn’t run unless you move it, while hard gel requires more effort to work with. While this can simplify the application process, it also means that hybrid gel does not self-level like hard gel.
What sets hard gel apart from soft gel?
In common parlance, a “gel manicure” refers to the application of gel polish, also called soft gel or soak-off gel. Gel polish, which should not be confused with hard gel, has been a popular alternative to regular nail polish ever since it debuted in the ’90s due to its lack of chipping and ability to deposit color. “Its accomplishments were, and still are, to keep colour on longer than nail polish,” Suzie explains.
Gel paint is great in its own right, but it can’t replace the rigidity of a hard gel when it comes to sculpting and lengthening artificial nails. To paraphrase Ornellas: “Hard gels are used for strength and structure,” while “gel polish is just for color and art, and a little strength.”
Although hard gel and gel polish are used for quite different things, they can nonetheless look great together. Gel polish is often painted by experts over a hard gel foundation for more color and structure. The hard gel usually only comes in white, clear, and pink, as opposed to the rainbow of colors available in gel polish.
Both hard gel and gel polish call for curing time under a nail lamp after application. UV or LED light from a nail lamp can cure sticky liquids into shiny solids. Dobos says the light causes “a chemical reaction called polymerization.” During polymerization, “small molecules, monomers, or oligomers join together to form long chains or three-dimensional networks.”
Within these three-dimensional networks, molecular chains connect in predetermined patterns. Dobos states, “How and where they link is determined by the types of molecules that are mixed together.” In three-dimensional networks, “the greater the number of links between chains, the more solid the resulting polymer will be.”
Hard gel is stronger than gel polish because the polymers used to create it are more tightly packed. Hard gel’s impenetrable stain resistance comes from its closely woven polymer structure. However, because gel polish is more porous, lighter colors, like white and pink, quickly become discolored and worn after being applied.
How do you define firm gel extensions?
Ornellas claims that there are two ways to make firm gel extensions: with nail tips or nail forms. Nail tips are plastic extensions that come in various shapes and sizes and can serve as “bones” for a more streamlined manicure. After the natural nail has been prepared, the necessary length is cut before the tips are bonded to the free edge and trimmed. Layers of hard gel (or another structural product like dip powder) can be applied to the tips once they are in place.
However, many experts choose to forego nail tips all together in favor of a more improvisational approach to constructing hard gel extensions. A nail form, or a semi-rigid paper guide, positioned just below the free edge of the nail, is needed for this. Once in position, the nail form serves as a blank canvas upon which one can paint nails of any length and shape using hard gel.
Making hard gel extensions, whether with tips or forms, needs skill, and that skill can only be gained through years of experience. After a year of work, I still haven’t mastered a hard gel mani at home, but I’ve become much better.
Ornellas recommends watching how-to videos first if you’re interested in going the do-it-yourself hard gel way. A lot of people are using YouTube as a way to promote their business, and it’s easy to see why. I learned everything I know about nail extensions through Nail Career Education, which I highly recommend.
Remove tough gel by what method?
The hard gel can stay for months on the nail, while gel polish usually needs to be reapplied every two weeks. Nonetheless, backup plans exist, and upkeep must be performed. When hard gel cures, it stays put, but real nails continue to grow. Hard gel follows the growth of a natural nail. Nail length increases separate the cuticle and the tough gel. Once a hard gel manicure shows signs of growth, regular upkeep is required. Ornellas suggests a nail fill, in which the overgrown portion of the nail is essentially filled in with more hard gel. This effectively replicates the look of a newly done mani with no noticeable gaps.
A fill does more than only improve the nail’s appearance; it also helps the nail regain its natural equilibrium once it has become too top-heavy. In the absence of equilibrium, hard gel extensions may become structurally unsound and break. The same holds true for other nail extensions types, such as acrylics and hybrid gel. Rather than the substance itself determining how long your nails last, Suzie adds that the method used to create them is more important. With a fill, the nail’s original framework is reinstated.
A hard gel manicure does not require fills because the gel can be removed in its whole. However, be warned that this is a rather time-consuming procedure. Hard gel is not easily removed by acetone like gel polish is. The answer can be found in the complex molecular webs we discussed before. Hard gel’s longevity is in part due to this, but normal solvent-based removers “cannot penetrate the tightly packed polymer film,” therefore, as Dobos puts it, “the extensions require filing or grinding to remove.” Overfilling can damage nails, so it’s better to let a professional with an e-file handle this. In addition, please refer to: Home Remedies for Taking Off Gel Nails.