There are two types of gel, hard gel and soft gel.
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Hard gel gets its name because, once cured, it 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.
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. Gel polishes are 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.
The product used to create nail extensions using gel or gel nails is gel, not to be confused with acrylic nails, which are created using liquid monomer and polymer powder. All gel services are performed using some form of gel, which usually comes in pots of gel or bottles of gel polish. Gel also comes in a variety of colors. All forms of gel require curing, or hardening, under a UV or LED light.
UV and LED curing refers to the chemical process that occurs when photo initiators within the gel itself are exposed to the UV or blue light. The chain reaction creates heat while oligomers combine to form long chains during the polymerization process. These long, bonded chains make the gel hard and cause photoinitiators within the gel product to begin the curing process. Usually, once the nail extension and/or gel manicure has been finished, there is a residual tacky layer, referred to as the "inhibition layer," that is removed by wiping with a preferably lint-free wipe soaked in high concentrate alcohol.
The process typically ends with an application of cuticle oil on all fingers, to bring back nourishment into the cuticle after harsh alcohol application.
Acrylic nails
Acrylic nails are a more common form of artificial nails and may also be referred to as "liquid and powder nails". They have been around for decades whereas gel nail products are still a very recent addition to the nail industry. The most popular acrylic nail service is the pink and white which refers to the use of pink colored acrylic and a white acrylic powder to create a long-lasting French manicure look. Just as with gel nails, acrylic nail extensions can be created using forms to create sculpted nails or tips. Forms are special stickers that are placed at the end of each finger, under the finger nail, and secured in place so that wet acrylic can be sculpted into a nail extension at the fingernail's edge. Thus, each nail extension is sculpted and why this procedure is referred to as "sculpts" or "sculpted nails." Tips are simply mass-produced plastic nail tips that are adhered to the fingernail's edge using nail resin. Each tip is clipped and filed into shape before applying the wet acrylic and the nail extension is made.
Fiberglass and silk wraps
Fiberglass and silk wraps are overlay services. This means that a product is laid on top of or "overlaid" onto the existing natural nail. These products are not strong enough to create into extensions so they can only be laid over existing nails. In this scenario, the manicurist will cut pieces of fiberglass or silk and then adhere to the nail with a type of resin. This service is often used in cases of broken nails or to strengthen the natural nail.