We often get asked what is the difference between gel nails and gel polish? Well here is our answer…
Gel nails originally referred to as nail extensions made using a hard gel product hardened by curing under an ultraviolet or L.E.D. (light emitting diode) light. However, recent use of the phrase includes many nail services involving the use of gel products, including the very popular gel polish manicure.
There are two types of gel, hard gel and soft gel. Hard gel gets its name because, once cured, is tough enough to be made into a nail extension. Nail extensions are artificial nails created by using a nail product to extend the nail past the edge of the natural nail. Hard gel needs to be removed by filing the product off and will not soak. Soft gel refers to the gel products that are too soft to create a nail extension. This includes gel polishes and thicker gels meant for gel overlay services (over the natural nail without extending the length of the nail). Soft Gel will soak off without the need to file down to the natural nail to remove. Another type of soft gel is gel polish. This is used for the increasingly popular gel polish manicures. These manicures, when done by caring, experienced, and trained professionals, are gentle to the natural nail and the polish stays intact on the nail for at least a couple of weeks with high shine and no cracking, peeling or chipping.
Gel polish is sometimes referred to as Shellac, this is a brand of gel polish by CND (Creative Nail Design) as is Gelish by Nail Harmony, Gelcolor by OPI and TruGel by EZFlow, At The Spa Therapy Room we choose to use Jessica Nail’s version known as GELeration.
