If I've never had my nails done before and I want to get them done for christmas

[Christmasmuppet]

What is the process? What do I ask for? How much does it cost?

Thank you everyone I really appreciate it

Don't get gel nails if yours are fragile to begin with. Seriously.

Agree with pp, start caring for them. Londontown Kur comes in various shades to coordinate with skin tone. It's a sheer polish that will protect your nails and make your hands look cared for.

Glad you asked, I also have this question!

My nails aren’t good but I’m also put off by the idea of having to think twice before I do anything with my hands. I’m a very practical person.

£20 oop north, and they last ages!

This is builder gel with nail art, took an hour and 15 mins or so. My nails used to be short, weak and peeling, but grow with the gel on them. I have no doubt however that if it was all removed they would be paper thin and soon split and be short again! £35 with the nail art. Every 3 weeks for me.

I was you a year ago, ended up getting them done every 3-4 weeks until I got fed up with the salon adding extras, telling me I'd booked the wrong thing, only taking cash etc. got rid of them at home with some stuff and my goodness they were ruined.
Now use nail oil and they look much healthier.

I have my nails done regularly.

There are a few options.

Acrylic is good for if you want longer nails. If it's your first time having them done you will have tips glued on and they'll put the acrylic on top then paint them a colour/design of your choice.

Gel is like a hardened nail polish, better for if you want them short.

Builder gel (biab) is what I have. It's like a really thick nail polish that sets hard and strong. You have to choose a colour.

My nails last between 2-4 weeks and cost me £28. They take around 30 minutes to do and they look really tidy.

I've been having BIAB for about 5 years, and have them re-done every three and a half weeks. They're as tough as old boots and look great.
But after reading what some of you here are saying about the cost I'm going to have to find another salon, as I'm paying £35 just for builder and £4O for additional colour.

Great shout and they look lovely! I get exactly this too. They're long lasting and look good for 2-3 weeks on me and I'm heavy duty. Gel would last a day or so on me and I've no idea what I do but it peels off or cracks.

Find a picture of some nails you like and show them. Mine are £35 and then £28 for the refresh which are called infills.

Thank you, I know pink isn't particularly festive but it's my go to colour! Yes same here they last super long between infills! X

Don't do it, OP!
Seriously, you'll get stuck in a cycle. You get the gel put on, it absolutely wrecks your nails, you can't get it off so you have to go back to the place and they sand it off with a drill which takes a layer of your already weak nails, and then you're left with paper-thin nails that rip, so you have to get another set just to protect your now ruined nails. Repeat.

If you want pretty Christmas nails just get normal polish - not get. It won't last but it will look nice for a few days and then yu take it off at home and no harm done.

That is expensive! Mine were £38 for new BIAB including the colour and I'm in SE London! Locally owned beauty place too - ser up by a woman who grew up in the area and she does nails and all sorts of facials and treatments there.

If they're short and you want extra length, ask for acrylics. Have a look on Instagram to see what you fancy, style and shape and just show them the pic.

I had my nails done for the first time in August. She recommended BIAB (builder gel) for my holiday as they’d last about 4 weeks. It looked amazing once done.

However, I’ve got strong, healthy and long nails and they were wrecked afterwards. To the point that it’s only in the last few weeks they’ve recovered.

The gel started lifting and growing out after 2 weeks, it cost £35 and took about an hour. I’m never doing that to myself again! I’ll stick with my normal polish.

This x1000. Same for acrylics. Ugh.

Just use normal polish from a good brand like Essie. A topcoat of Seche Vite prolongs the manicure.

I wrecked my nails by having gel/biab.

I love gel nails but you need to book in to have the polish removed if it's a one-off, don't pick at it or try do to it yourself as you'll wreck your nails. I am not kind to my gels at all, I do everything I would usually, and have never had any chips. They start to grow out by about two weeks and by three weeks I go and get them removed and done again. If you want nail art you may have to pay a bit extra v plain colour.

Beware, it's addictive! I love my nails being done so what started out as a festive treat quickly morphed into a lot of money! But they do give me joy numerous times a day when I catch sight of them and I think it makes you feel a lot more 'put together'.

Don't get it off with a drill! Soak off only. My natural nails are hard as rocks after 2 years of BIAB gels.
Cuticle oil helps too.

Who CARES if it wrecks your nails?

They’re under the polish !

Well if you're only getting it done as a one-off and not getting the polish replaced, if you take off the top layer of your nail when trying to take it off (if you peel it yourself this often happens)!you end up with really soft and bendy nails that you can't do anything with and they can be painful. That happened to mine once, where it took a few months to go back to normal and made it really difficult to use my hands for stuff cos my nails just folded over on themselves every time I tried to open a can etc.

Exactly, I started getting biab on my short bitten nails a year and a half ago. Now have naturally long nails I get acrylic overlays on every four weeks and my nails have looked the best they ever had in my life. The condition under neath is no concern as I don't see them anymore except when I get a soak off and fresh overlay straight back on.

BIAB and Shellac ruined my nails.
One of my daughters gets
Shellac done regularly and her nails are ok when she stops.

It's a matter of health. Chemicals, potential infections, fungal growth, permanent damage to nail bed, the list goes on.

It's very simple to cultivate neat, clean, manicured and polished nails without all of that damaging poison.