Welcome back to my blog!

How did you spend your holidays?

I came back with new articles on the blog and today I want to explain to you which are the differences between the two products most used in nail reconstructions: gel and acrylic.

Let’s begin!

System’s number of components.

As we well know, in order to perform a gel reconstruction, we mainly need two things: The builder gel and the lamp.

In fact, the gel system is made up of these two elements, and if we didn’t have one, we couldn’t do our job.

Acrylic, on the other hand, is a system made up of three elements.

The monomer which is the liquid, the polymer which is the powder but also the brush.

Yes, you read that correctly.

The brush is a fundamental element in the reconstructions with acrylic, because it acts as a mediator between the liquid and the powder, which once they come into contact with each other begin the polymerization process.

Obviously also in the gel system it is important to have the brush, but it is not essential, because I could use a spoon to spread the product and still be able to finish the reconstruction.

Drying

I have already more or less given the answer to the difference in drying.

The gel polymerizes only if exposed to the UV rays of the lamp, the acrylic polymerizes in the air, after combining the polymer and monomer.

Application

To work the gel you must be very delicate.

The tip of the brush is used and the product is touched softly, moved with delicacy. If by chance we sink the brush, it will create imperfections on the nail, which would not be smoother.

Acrylic, on the other hand, is worked with the belly of the brush, pressed, molded.

You shouldn’t be afraid to use a little more strength than with gel.

It is flattened, moved and shaped with the belly of the brush.

Smell

Generally speaking gel does not have a particularly strong smell.

Obviously if we bring the nose close to the jar we will still feel something, but in general it does not create big problems.

On the other hand, the monomer used to work the acrylic has a very strong and annoying odor.

In fact, this could discourage many customers and even operators in use.

If the room is up to standard and well ventilated, the smell should not be so persistent for a long time, and reassure customers, acrylic is not harmful.

Correction without nail forms.

It can happen that sometimes after 3 weeks there is a problem with the sidewalls of the nail.

If we wanted to use the gel to repair it, we should first of all try to fit the nail form well, making it fit perfectly.

This step is not very easy and would take longer than necessary.

With acrylic we have the possibility to make these small corrections even without the nail form, thanks to the fact that we can make the product more or less solid based on how much liquid we use.

Removal

In order to remove gel, you have to file it down.

Instead, acrylic can be soaked off in acetone.

We have come to the end of this article.

I hope I have clarified the difference between the two products.

However, although they are very different, there should be no difference in the result, after having worked and filed them.

It is up to the operator according to her needs and based on the client’s nails to choose which product to use.

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See you next time!

SOFIA