Hard Gel

Hard gel sits at the durable end of the gel family. It can be applied as an overlay on the natural nail or built out over a tip or a form for added length, and it takes a sharp square, almond or coffin shape well. Sets are usually maintained by filling the regrowth every three to four weeks. The trade-off for that strength is removal: it must be filed down, which asks for a careful hand and a technician who is comfortable with the product.

Prep is light: the shine is buffed off, the surface is dehydrated and a bonding layer is applied. The gel is then built in beads and shaped with a brush into a structure with a defined apex, curing under the lamp between layers. Because hard gel is dense, a thick layer can cure warm and feel briefly hot on the nail; many technicians cure in stages, or ask you to pull your hand out and back in, to keep it comfortable.

Once the build is cured, the set is filed and refined into its final shape, then finished with colour or a clear top coat. At a fill, the technician files back the grown-out product, blends the new growth into the existing structure and rebuilds the apex — no soak-off is involved. Full removal, when you want out of the set entirely, means filing the product down to a thin layer and letting the rest grow off.