Nails: Builder Gels

B uild me up

Today’s choice of builder gels offer strength, elegance and faster enhancement options for sculpting and camouflage.

With today’s nail gel products enabling you to create strong, elegant enhancements with the strength of acrylic but without the complexity of liquid and powder, many nail techs are switching to builder gel systems for easier, faster application times and predictable results.

Gelish Structure Gel improves the look of distressed, damaged, uneven or troubled nail plates. It can be worn alone or as a base coat. Its thicker viscosity enhances the strength of the natural nail, increasing durability. Structure Gel is also ideal for filling in ridges and hiding demarcations. Available in Clear, Translucent Pink and Cover Pink, the gel is applied from a bottle and can be easily soaked off. Creative Academy: 01 429 5122 / www.creativeacademy.ie

NSI Balance Builder in a Bottle is a hard gel system in a bottle, delivering the strength of the traditional NSI Balance Gel System.

Curable under LED and UV lights, this gel can be used to extend the nail and for natural nail overlays. With a medium to thick viscosity, use the gel for easy building of the nail, creating a slight apex, or to add durability to nails. NSI Balance Builder in a Bottle is available in Blush and Clear. NSI Hair Nail and Beauty: 01 840 9124 / www.nailandbeauty.ie

38 Bio Sculpture’s Hard Gel (formerly S-Gel) delivers the strength of acrylic but the weightlessness and elegance of gel.

Used as the strengthening / finishing layer on hard nails without flexibility, this gel can be used to lengthen nails to create long, strong extensions with a transparent free edge.

Bio Sculpture Hard Gel is self-levelling for ease of application, and can be used to build a solid upper arch that shapes easily. Bio Sculpture Ireland: 01 850 0005 / www.biosculpture.ie

OPI Axxium Gel System, with its brush-on application, offers workability and ease of application, delivering predictable results. The range includes OPI Axxium Sculpting Gel in Clear, Soft White, Soft Pink and Opaque Pink, and has a no-chase viscosity for faster sculpting of strong, yet flexible and lightweight enhancements. OPI Axxium Sculpting Gel has superior adhesion for long-lasting results, and the range of colours enables you to create natural-looking pink and whites. Hennessy Hair & Beauty: 021 434 3436 / www.hennessyhb.ie

The GelBottle Inc™ Builder In A Bottle™ offer in excess of 15 different builder gel shades in bottle formulations. These soak-off builder gels, which can also be infilled, create strong overlays, and strengthen natural nails. Product does not chip or lift, and nails can be left nude or a coloured gel overlaid.

Curable under UV and LED lamps, a non-wipe GelBottle topcoat is also available. The GelBottle Inc: 086 227 1698 / www.thegelbottle.ie

Magpie’s Build Me Up is a super-strong yet lightweight Builder Gel, that is the stronger sister of the brand’s Give Me Strength Soak Off Structure Gel. It enables you to create flexible enhancements and overlays, in five shades: Clear, Naked, Cloud, Blush and Buff. A baseless gel, so there’s no need to apply a base coat, it can be used to extend nails with forms or tips. On application, the gel is selflevelling, and cures in 60 seconds under an LED lamp. Once cured, enhancements are chip and lift resistant. The formulation is also free of common allergen, HEMA (2 hydroxy ethylmethacrylate). NSI Hair Nail and Beauty: 01 840 9124 / www.nailandbeauty.ie

IBD Builder Gel enables you to create nails with the strength of acrylic but with the clear look of gels. Wearing naturally on nails, this gel is ideal for tip overlays as well as sculpting.

Odour-free, once cured in just three minutes (with a cool cure formula), finished nails have a permanent high gloss shine IBD Builder Gel is available in Clear, Pink, White and Ultra White. Flair Hair & Beauty: www.flair.ie