Hard gel is like gel polish, but it is much harder as the name suggests. It will be much sturdier than having gel polish alone on your natural nail. Hard gel is liquid until it goes under an LED light, and the gel gets slightly hot for a second or two as it cures to a solid. (Some people actually call it hot gel!)

We usually recommend hard gel for those who are looking to keep a more permanent enhancement since they are not able to be soaked off in acetone.

You can opt to extend your nails with hard gel using tips or you can have them sculpted, but they are also perfect for adding strength to your natural nail if you want to keep them short.

Without extensions, the service is called a sculpting gel overlay. It is great for those wanting to grow out their damaged nails or those who have very thin, brittle nails and just want to grow them out.

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Acrylic is a system that uses a combination of monomer (liquid) and polymer (powder) to create a runny dough that will become the structure of your nail enhancement.

Just like hard gel, this can be used to extend your nails with tips or sculpture; it can also be used as an overlay on top of the natural nail to keep nails from breaking as they grow out.

The benefit of acrylic is that it is able to be soaked off with acetone when you decide you no longer want to keep your nail enhancement, and it doesn’t have to go under an LED lamp that may cause your nails to feel hot while it cures.

People are sometimes apprehensive about acrylics because traditional acrylic uses acid primer that is meant to create holes in your nail plate for the acrylic to adhere to, and there is always a fear of salons using Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) monomer in their acrylics.

This will NEVER be something to worry about at Xtra, as we only use non-acid primer and Ethyl Methacrylate (EMA) monomer. You can choose to get clear acrylic and apply a colored polish on top, or you can pick from our selection of colored acrylic powders!

Nail biters, this one is for you!

Gel-X is a system that was invented by Apres Nail, and it is a soft gel nail extension that was created as an alternative to acrylic or hard gel.

It uses a soft gel base polish to adhere a fully-formed nail tip onto one’s natural nail.

This gel base and nail tip are cured together under an LED light, and these nail tips are already perfectly formed to the shape and length you prefer.

These extensions are perfect for those who have bitten their nails so far down the nail bed that there is no longer a free edge to their nails, as it doesn’t require the edge for a sculpting form to fit under.

We recommend Gel-X for those who want a versatile enhancement since the gel used is more of a rubbery texture and will be more forgiving on rougher wear.

They are a great solution for a special event that can easily be soaked off or refilled (up to twice) giving you the option to grow out your natural nails.

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Builder gel is used when you want to create length, thickness or add strength to the nail. You can apply builder gel to either natural nails for a non-chip overlay or use it with nail tips to create extensions or enhancements. It’s much stronger than regular gel polish base coats, and the formula is a much thicker consistency to a normal base coat. They have high self-levelling properties which ensure a smooth foundation layer.

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