The Great Builder Gel Take Over

There is no denying it, builder gel in a handy bottle has taken the industry by storm, but at what cost?

Call me old fashioned, but does anyone remember the elegance of a perfectly sculpted pink and white acrylic?

Now, builder gel has many, many, pro's, and as a salon owner and educator I really do know it! First of all it's easy for an inexperienced nail tech to pick up ( literally to get hold of and to pick the skills up needed), it's a fast and profitable service, easy on the nail tech from a posture and application POV, and clients love it.

I have a question for you, why don't we put polish over our enhancements any more? It would be so much easier for us to infill them, but we layer up builder then gel polish.....

Is it down to education or mind set? ( And yes, drying time, I know!)

I have so many questions, and as a new blogger there will be many more to come, as I step back into the salon one day a week after a gap of 8 years, where I was dedicated to full time education.

Here are my observations: I miss gel out of a pot. I love a great gel brush and the ones in the bottle are not great gel brushes ( sorry bottle/brush designers...). My gel application is pretty slick, slicker still with a good brush, BUT, I will always refine it quickly with a hand file because even the slightest weight on one side or one edge looks extra bulky with gel polish on..... I probably won't always put gel polish over it, maybe it's time we tried polish, it gives us so many more options, like colour changes in between maintenance appointments for example, which could even lead to salons retailing polish again...Imagine that!

Do I care if it's soak off or file off, AKA soft gel or hard gel? Not one bit if it offers great retention, as I will be infilling clients nails not constantly removing them.

Is builder the be all and end all? For some yes, but like most things we should not take our eye of the ball and neither should the industries manufacturers...what's next is what I want to know?