This starts by giving your nails a tidy, mainly in the cuticle area by removing any dead and unwanted tissue in order to have a clean surface to apply polish to. The nail is cleaned, filed and shaped how you would like, then prepared with some other products to allow the polish to adhere correctly to the surface. This may seem a trivial part of the service, but it is one of the most important, without good preparation a polish won’t wear and last well. After a basecoat the colour of your choice is applied to the nail, along with any nail art that you chose. All of this is then sealed with a top coat and finally the nails are hydrated again by applying some cuticle oil.

The same process is followed as with a gel manicure, again with the preparation of the nail being a key element. However rather than a gel colour being applied after the basecoat a builder gel is applied. Initially this will be a thin layer as part of the preparation again, but then the next layer (or multiple layers dependent upon the nail itself) will be applied in thicker layers to build a shape and apex into the nail. The builder gel is a thicker viscosity, so it remains as a thicker layer when applied to the nail in the correct way, hence it building up shape onto the nail. Once the builder is successfully applied it can be shaped if there are any slight imperfections, and then the process can carry on as with the gel manicure. With a gel colour or design being applied over the top of the builder, or if you are happy with the beautiful colour of the builder gel, then a top coat can be applied.

Builder gel can sometimes be called BIAB or Builder In A Bottle. The application of builder gel gives the appearance of an a acrylic nail as it is thicker, but causes less damage to the natural nail and is more durable than acrylic and gel polish. As the builder gives more durability it also means it is less likely to chip or wear, as long as good after care is followed (please refer to the aftercare page for lots of advice). Builder gel has durability and flexibility compared to an acrylic nail, as acrylic applications are a much harder cure, so it has ‘give’ in it when the nails potentially get caught during every day life. This hopefully means there is much less chance of an entire nail pinging off and causing damage to the natural nail or finger.

Builder gel is a great product to help growth and provide strength for natural nails, meaning it can be a holy grail for those who are nail biters or have naturally weak nails. Starting off with short bitten nails and ending up with beautiful nails (which could almost seem like extensions) is an amazing thing to witness! The strength and durability can also offer great advantages to some in varying circumstances, for example those with medical conditions or taking medications which affect the nails leaving them weak. Or for those in professions where they maybe regularly in and out of water, such as hairdressers. Though again this also depends on how well the aftercare is completed, see the after care page for tips.

This is a way for you to have what looks like a standard gel polish manicure, as in the build up of polish on the nail is minimal (i.e. no thickness is built up), but you have the extra durability of the builder polish. After the preparation of the nail and basecoat, a thin coat or two thin coats of builder gel can be applied before the gel colour and design.

A gel polish will last between 2-3 weeks and a builder gel manicure will last between 3-4 weeks, so it depends on your preference of how regularly you want you nail design changed or how fast your nails grow. This obviously depends on the nails being well looked after too, treat them nails as jewels not tools! Please refer to the aftercare page for lots of advice of how to help your manicure last longer. For me personally the growth at the cuticle of the nail is enough after 2 weeks, but its personal choice.

Yes, builder gel can be infilled. This means filing the nail covering down so some fresh builder can be applied in the gap created by the growth, and over the entire nail to get it looking fabulous again and into a great shape. It’s the apex of the nail that offers the strength for day to day wear and tear, so this has to be moved and adapted after growth and adjusted for the length of the nail.

I charge the same price for both due to the complexities of each.  Builder gel in general is more expensive than regular gel polish and needs more product to build the shape up, so this costs more than standard gel polishes. The infill does require less builder gel to be used as the nail already has some pre-existing builder left on it. However there is a lot of work filing down the nail (removing any colour polish and nail art), and getting the nail to the correct base to apply more builder onto (to fill the gap, get even coverage and shape to the nails). So whilst it takes a smaller amount of builder gel to infill, there is considerable time and materials used in filing the nails down to create the base for reapplication. As I’ve said previously, the preparation of the base is crucial for a flexible long-lasting manicure.

Extensions need some length in the natural nail so that there is surface there for the tip to be applied to. If this isn’t the case, for example if someone’s nails are bitten down too low, then a tip hasn’t got the best base to adhere to. This can mean that if a tip is applied it can be much more susceptible to being caught and the nail popping off. Which could result in more damage to the natural nail, making the situation worse than when you started. You will also be disappointed that the new nails you’ve just had done haven’t lasted very long, possibly even making you doubt the nail technicians skills. In this circumstance, in my opinion, it would be best to grow the natural nail out, with the support of the builder gel. This does vary between technicians, as each have different training and experience so have differing views.

No, you need the thickness of the builder gel to build up the strength in the nail to support the extension, as well as to hide the connection line of where the extension is glued onto the nail.

This is purely down to a technician having your welfare at heart and working to the best possible health and safety procedures available. If you have gone to a new technician with products applied elsewhere, then the new technician has never seen your natural nails and has no idea if they are healthy or not. Seeing the natural nail before application is essential so that a technician knows if you have a suitable healthy base to apply products onto. This is the exact reason why infills will only be carried out a set number of times before a complete removal is required and a new application made, there has to be a check on your natural nail health. Remember as nice as it is to have the best looking nails, your health is the most important!

Your nail health and over all well being is the most important aspect for a nail technician. If they notice any discrepancies  or concerns with your nails then it is more important to get this checked by a health care professional. A number of issues can occur with nails, which could be tell tale signs of deeper health care issues, so it is always best to air on the side of caution and get checked by your GP. Obviously a health check cannot be done by a professional if the technician has applied a product over the nail covering it up, so a nail technician is within their rights to recommend not having a service completed until you’ve been cleared by a medical professional. As upsetting as this may be, the technician really is only looking out for your welfare, use it as a positive as it means they genuinely care about you and your health. Technicians themselves, and you, are not covered by insurance if any products are applied on unhealthy nails.