Overtaking acrylics, today gel nails have worn the crown of ruling the nail industry. Nail enthusiasts are obsessed with gel manicures and for all the right reasons. While acrylics have been here for a long time, gel nails are winning more hearts with their natural-looking appearance and versatility.
Here, the fight is not about whether gels are better or acrylics. Both have their own pros and cons and both are good for doing your nails professionally. Gel manicures are, however, the go-to option for a modern woman. Let’s discuss the role of builder gels in gel manicures.
What is Builder Gel? Types, Benefits, and How to Use, Apply, & DIY
You need not confuse between a builder gel and a gel polish because they’re both different and we are gonna talk about it here. When you go for gel manicures, a builder gel is an essential product without which you cannot get them done. Read on to learn more about what builder gel is, what are its types and benefits, and how to use it in your DIY manicures.
What is Builder Gel?
A builder gel is an essential nail product that is ideal for creating gel nail extensions and overlays. Also called structure gel, nail sculpting gel, or base gel, the product helps sculpt nails on both natural nails as well as fake nail tips. You may think of it as a kind of gel polish but a less glossy one and besides it adds a layer of strength to your natural nails. This allows the nails to grow long without chipping, cracking, or bending.
Nail builder gel adds thickness and enhances the durability of both natural and fake nails besides being a versatile product. When compared to gel polishes, builder gels have a thicker viscosity and are not as runny. They are not even as shiny as a regular gel polish and they have a sticky layer to them after getting cured. This stickiness helps harden the polish layers on top which ensures a long-lasting, chip-free polish application.
The medium viscosity of the gel also facilitates certain characteristics like self-leveling. The nail sculpting gel tends to spread uniformly across the nail bed and also forms the shape of an apex when applied correctly. Gel polish, on the other hand, has a thinner viscosity which also provides strength to natural nails but isn’t as hard as a builder gel. Besides, gel polish cannot be used to sculpt fake nail extensions, which is a primary feature of builder gels.
Moreover, builder gels are also different from nail glue in the sense that they do stick to the nail but do not contain strong chemical adhesives that might otherwise harm the natural nails. You may directly apply it to your natural nails for gel overlays or may pair it up with fake nail tips or nail forms to build nail extensions. Ideal for nail sculpting, a builder gel also provides protection and lasting to your manicure. It looks and feels like natural nails, unlike acrylic manicures that use a powder in their base.
Types of Builder Gels
Just like acrylic nail powders, builder gels also come in different colors useful for different purposes:
1) Clear
This is a crystal-clear builder gel that offers a transparent layer to the nails. Once the gel dries and the sticky top layer is wiped off, it gives a glossy glass-like finish with an added layer or apex to the natural nails. It is ideal to be used with natural nails and nail forms and it also works well with transparent fake nail tips. It looks the best with encapsulated nail art as the inbuilt charms can be seen clearly from within despite being adhered strongly. This is one of the most commonly used builder gel colors.
2) Pink
A pink builder gel has a nice baby-pink hue to it. It gives a faint natural pink color to your nails and works best with specialty nail art like French manicures. It can even be used on its own sealed with a top coat to just add a hint of color to your natural nails. It has a mirror shine after curing and the color is not opaque like a gel polish.
3) White
Imagine a milky white nail base! Yes, that is exactly what a white builder gel looks like. Ideal to be used as a tip color in French manicures, it has a white tint to it but it isn’t a solid shade. You may have seen it on some Korean nail designs and if you’re wondering what that dreamy white color is, it is a white builder gel. It is also commonly used in building nail extensions as it blurs the line between natural nails and fake tips. Besides, it also shows up the color on top better.
4) Nude
This is a nude-colored builder gel with a brown undertone. It usually matches the color of your natural nail base and hence works best with or without any polish on top. Closest to the natural nail color, it can work better if you’re using white-colored fake tips to lengthen the nails as it will even out the base for the gel polish. You can always try to carry this nude builder gel on its own with a top coat for a polished yet natural look.
Benefits of Using Builder Gels
Nail builder gels have some characteristics of their own that make them stand out among gel polishes and acrylics:
1) Structure gels are strengthening for natural nails and applying a layer before polish provides support for the nails to grow out long and strong.
2) They help your manicures to last longer. Gel manicures ideally last for around 2-3 weeks because the builder gel ensures that the base is strong and healthy.
3) If your nails are thin, flat, brittle, and soft, builder gels are the best for you to add that layer of thickness. The self-leveling properties of builder gels allow you to sculpt a thick layer and an apex on your natural nails as a part of your structured manicures and it will fix how your nails appear.
4) Builder gels allow gel nail colors to stick better than your natural nails. While natural nails may release oils affecting the polish, builder gels control this oil production. This prevents your polish from chipping and fading and results in better color protection.
How to Use, Apply, and DIY
Builder gels can be best used by expert professionals as they’re somewhat tricky to manage for beginners. However, if you’ve mastered your hands on controlled application of gels and want to DIY gel manicures at home, you just need to be careful of some steps to be followed:
1) The first step, as always, is to clean and prep your nails well. Remove any old product, cut and file your nails to the desired shape, and trim your cuticles for a clearer canvas.
3) Apply nail dehydrator to ensure further moisture removal. Prep the base with an air-dry nail primer before going ahead with further steps.
On natural nails:
1) The next step is to directly go ahead with the builder gel application if you’re DIYing the manicure on your natural nails.
2) Dip the gel brush in the builder gel tub or container and scoop out a ball-like quantity. Remember, builder gels are harder and not as runnier as nail gels.
3) Avoid taking too much product on your brush as it might get difficult to manage, especially for beginners. Plus, you can always add more gel later when needed.
4) Spread the gel evenly on your nails covering the entire surface in a smooth layer. Avoid dents or air gaps in your application.
5) Turn your hand upside down to build a subtle apex and to fix any unevenness.
6) Cure under a UV/LED lamp one finger at a time to prevent the product from getting deformed.
With acrylic tips:
1) If you’re working with gel extensions, stick your fake nail tips to the free edge and blur the uneven line with gentle filing.
2) This time, scoop out a bigger gel ‘ball’ to cover the entire surface.
3) Place the gel and with gentle dabbing motion of the gel brush, spread it evenly from cuticle to tip.
4) Similarly, form an apex by turning the hand upside down for a few seconds before you cure each fingernail under a nail lamp.
With nail forms:
1) One of the best things about builder gels is that they form super strong and sturdy extensions even without tips despite not being as hard as acrylics.
2) When doing gel extensions without tips, stick the nail form as you would and make sure it is slightly elevated to avoid the gel from curing in a droopy structure.
3) Apply the first smooth layer of builder gel and after it has cured, buff it out completely.
4) Now go ahead with building your fake nail with an apex to ensure strong and thick gel tips.
Once you’re done sculpting your gel nails, file the entire surface to have a smooth and even layer flushed toward the edges. Buff it to remove the shiny top layer of the gel. Top it off with two layers of gel polish curing between coats and finish with a UV/LED gel top coat.
Wrapping Up Builder Gels
In conclusion, a builder gel is a game-changer for anyone looking to enhance their nail routine with something more durable, flexible, and creative than traditional nail enhancements. Whether you’re a salon manicurist or a DIY nail enthusiast, builder gel offers endless possibilities to shape, strengthen, and customize your nails without compromising on natural beauty. From its wide range of types to the impressive list of benefits, it’s clear that builder gel is a versatile and indispensable tool in the world of nail care.
Now that you know all the ins and outs of builder gel, it’s time to put that knowledge into practice and enjoy stronger, longer-lasting, and more fabulous nails. So go ahead, experiment with this trend, and let your creativity shine through with every application!
