Nails – A world full of options!

Getting your nails done is like living in this world, it is full of options! Too many sometimes, and these decisions can be stressful! With a variety of colors, shapes, lengths, and kinds of enhancements, it can be very hard to decide. How do you know what is best for you? Acrylic, tips, dip nails, or gel polish? Let us help you decide what is best for you.

The First Question

The first question you should ask yourself is, “What am I trying to accomplish?” Are you wanting just a color change? Are you wanting to add length? Maybe you just need strength? Knowing your goal will help the decision making process. Let us help answer these questions and that should clear some things up.

Color Change

Are you wanting just a color change? That is an easy one to answer…gel polish! Gel polish gets cured under an LED light and dries hard. It is longer lasting than regular nail polish and it is much more difficult to chip or flake off. There is nothing worse than getting a manicure and after one load of dishes the polish is flaked off. Even worse than that is getting to you car, putting your seatbelt on and scuffing your polish. With gel polish that doesn’t happen often because once it has been cured under the light it is dry and hardened, which protects it from scuffing. Gel polish cures hard, so it leaves your nails feeling more durable and stronger. This is nice for someone who works in an office and uses a keyboard all the time, or really anyone who works with their hands. We would choose gel polish for our clients over regular polish 90% of the time. Typically, you can wear your gel polish for two weeks or longer and then come see us for a soak off and application of a new color.

Dip Nails

Dip nails are a newer system but it is quickly growing in popularity because of its versatility. Dip is a form of acrylic but you do not have any monomer so that means no smell! These come in a variety of colors OR you can polish over the top of them with gel or regular polish. This system is best suited for someone who has weaker natural nails and is wanting to build strength. Coming from the acrylic family this is a very strong nail enhancement and is good for anyone. The down side is you can not use this system to add length unless you use a nail tip, but this weakens the entire enhancement. In our experience this system succeeds when the client comes in for regular services every 2-3 weeks. This way we can grow out your natural nails underneath the dip and eventually you will have the length you desire. The dip system also separates itself from its acrylic cousin because it causes far less damage to the natural nail during the preparation, application, and removal. Like gel polish these do need to be soaked and new product applied at every maintenance appointment every 2-3 weeks. Unlike acrylic, these can not be filled because it leaves the enhancement very weak and brittle.

Acrylic

That brings us to acrylic. We may be biased, but we love a sculpted acrylic nail more than any other nail system. You cannot beat the strength, durability, and customization of acrylic. You can have any length (within reason), any shape, and any color. Every nail is different, like a snowflake, so you have to customize your enhancements to fit the individual nails on every client. Some nails are flat, and some curve under or up. By sculpting them you can build up what you need to build up and even out what needs to be evened out. Another option you have when using acrylic to add length is to glue a tip on first and then do an overlay of acrylic. This is a popular method but but not our favorite because all tips are made the same shape and nails are not. Because of this, there runs the risk of the tip popping off. The curved shaped of the tip is going to fight against the flat shape of the natural nail. Nail tips are fun however because they come in endless colors and designs.

A Lot of Options!

We know there is a lot of options in the world of nails and it can be overwhelming! Just remember to ask “what are you wanting to achieve?” and that should direct you where to go. At Hays Academy of Hair Design, we offer all three of these types of nail enhancements. Give us a call at either campus to get scheduled with a student stylist or book here!