Soft Gel
Soft gel is the soak-off branch of the gel family: once cured it stays porous enough for acetone to break it down, so it can be removed by soaking rather than filing. Gel polish and most pre-shaped extension tips belong to this category, which is why soft gel services are usually the gentler, more reversible option on the salon menu.
- Gel nails
- No downtime, soak-off removal
- Beauty treatment
Overview
In practice, soft gel covers everything from a plain colour manicure to full-cover tip extensions and thin overlays that add a little structure. Wear time is typically two to three weeks depending on the service, the product line and your daily routine. It is softer and slightly more flexible than hard gel, which makes it comfortable to live with but less able to carry very long or very square shapes without help.
How it works
The nail is lightly buffed and dehydrated, a bonding base is cured, and the soft gel product — colour, builder or a pre-shaped tip bonded with gel — is applied in thin layers with a cure between each. Removal starts by filing off the sealed top layer so the solvent can penetrate, then wrapping or soaking the nails for roughly ten to fifteen minutes until the product lifts away with light pressure. Anything that resists is re-soaked rather than scraped.
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