Can someone explain nail terms to me please?

[bendmeoverbackwards]

Specifically acrylics and shellac? And gels?

Are acrylics the same as nail tips/extensions if your nails are short ?

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Acrylics - extension added to your nail and acrylic put on top. Good if you're prone to chipping your nails etc because they're hard to damage. Bad because you have to pay more money to get them removed and they can be damaging. Can look natural-ish but more fake looking.

Gel/shellac - a hard setting polish applied over your own nails that is designed to be stronger and more hard wearing than normal polish. Again needs to be soaked off but this can be done a lot more easily at home. Look very natural.

Acrylic - solution of acrylic powder and liquid together to make a ‘bead’. That bead can be applied to a natural nail (acrylic overlay) or over a plastic tip that has been glued to the natural nail (acrylic extensions) and shaped.

Gel - like regular nail polish but it needs to be cured under a UV lamp as the compounds in the gel cannot dry naturally. It’s typically stronger than ordinary nail polish and is better for your nails.
You can also have gel extensions, though not as strong as acrylic.

Shellac - patented brand. Different to other gels, as it is mixed with other regular nail polish.

Thank you, that’s helpful.

Can you have extensions on your nails and then normal polish on top?

Also how much would you expect to pay for acrylics (London)?

Can you have extensions on your nails and then normal polish on top?

No, that wouldn’t work. Nail extensions require a plastic tip that is glued to the end of your natural nail. With regular polish it would be likely to just snap off. Acrylic and gel would be applied over the natural nail and tip bringing it all together.

Also how much would you expect to pay for acrylics (London)?

I live in Yorkshire, and pay between £30 - £40 pound for acrylic extensions. Price can vary on the brands used, (some premium, some standard) and any extras like nail art, glitter etc. I expect salons in London to be much higher in price. Hopefully some Londoner MNers can give you a better idea 😁

Extesions or tips are plastic bits glued to the end of your nail to make them longer and / or more hard waring.

You can have acrylic OR gel put over the top. Both are built up using powder and liquid which combine to form a paste which is painted on and shaped / filed. Acrylic is long lasting but more damaging to your nail and more damaging to remove as it has to be filed off whereas gel can be soaked off.

Gel can be put on top of your own nails to strengthen them, which I don’t think acrylic can be. So you don’t have to have tips with gel.

Shellac is a gel polish - it’s halfway between normal polish and gel.

I like gel and currently have tips whilst my own nails get long enough under the gel

Yes - I had acrylics before gel and gel polish was invented. The nail techs used ordinary polish as that was all there was. It lasted about 2 weeks.

OP, did you mean could you have normal polish on the extensions without gel or acrylic? The answer to that is no. You have gel or acrylic to smooth the join, strengthen it and make it look nice.

you can have normal polish on top of acrylic though. You’d normally have gel polish or coloured gel on top of/ as part of the gel look. My current look is a pinkish gel with different pastel coloured tips. Like this but a bit more oval shaped.

Thank you all. My 15 year old has been on about getting acrylics for our upcoming holiday. I’ve said no partly because of the cost and partly because I think she’s too young. Do girls this age get their nails done?

They do, but I wouldn’t recommend she gets them done for a holiday. If she is not used to them then she could break them and then be stuck abroad with 8 nails on. She also might hate them and you wouldn’t be able to take them off.

I would compromise with a shellac manicure and if she looks after her nails and doesn’t pick them- acrylics another time?

i personally think acrylics are pointless if you have a nice nail shape anyway, so you could groom her ego with that to soften the blow.

Thanks, her nails are quite short at the moment, she picks them! She wants them to look nice for the holiday but I’m worried this will set a precedent. To be fair, she is looking for a job to earn a few pounds but it’s not easy at 15.

primark do great stick ons (fake acrylics that you stick on with glue and cut to size) - get her to try these?

I started to get acrylics at 14/15yo. A lot of teenagers get acrylics, but just be warned they can be very painful if they are damaged (snapped, ripped off)

Some salons may have policies to not treat any under 18s as their insurance may not allow it. Please check with the salons beforehand.

I’d agree with PP and advise for a gel manicure or shellac.

I had a colleague years ago that caught her finger and tore off her acrylic nail. I still feel sick thinking about it.

Maybe a gel/shellac manicure would be a compromise? I think short nails look good with dark/bright colours and would be more practical on holiday than long nails she’s not used to.

I'd get her to try Kiss - press on nails, before going for full acrylics

I'm a habitual nail biter. A gel manicure is a great thing to have, as you can't bite/pick your nails, they look really lovely, and it lasts up to 2 weeks if you don't do anything daft. THen when it soaks off, your nails have grown underneath and all of a sudden you have lovely nails to paint!

If she has very short nails, I'd advise a nice light colour (I go baby pink) as the growth at the bottom starts to show, and if you've gone for a bright/dark colour then it looks quite prominent (obviously you will always have the growth at the bottom, but if you start with v short nails then it's proportionately much bigger, and will be more obvious than if you start with long nails).

Gel nails can be a great way to break the nail biting habit.

Thank you, maybe gels are the way to go. She can still have nail extensions with gel?

Can anyone tell me what 'powder' is?

You get liquid painted on then dipped into powder then more liquid stuff on top. Yiu can have this on natural nails for really really long lasting colour or on top of extensions. If you have them on extensions and you want infills you need to keep the same colour. If you have gels over extensions the colour can come off, get infills and choose another colour.
Powder dip needs to be removed professionally

Yes she can have extensions with gel. That’s what I have and they last really well.

The powder is either powder acrylic or powder gel depending on what you’re getting, I think!