Polygel, Builder Gel and Nail Extension Systems
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Polygel, Builder Gel and Nail Extension Systems
Extensions ask more of a product than colour does. It has to hold an apex, flex with the natural nail instead of snapping off it, and stay light enough that a client forgets they are wearing it. This category is every system the shop sells for building a nail, with a short guide to choosing between them.
Polygel, builder gel or BIAB?
- Polygel is a hybrid: the strength of acrylic with the working time of a gel. It has the consistency of a soft putty, so it holds its shape while you sculpt, and it cures only under a UV or LED lamp, so you work at your own pace. It comes in seven shades, in 30gm and 60gm. For most technicians moving into extensions, it is the easier start.
- Builder gel self-levels, which suits technicians who work quickly in the lamp and want a smooth apex with little filing. Choose solid colours or glitter colours.
- BIAB is builder gel in a brush-in-bottle format, in eight shades, for overlays and extensions without a separate brush and pot.
- Structure Gel is a self-levelling gel for overlays, apex building and reinforcing the natural nail.
- 3D Modelling Gel is a thick, non-running gel for raised nail art: petals, bows and embossed detail, in Pearl White, Milky White and Clear.
Still deciding between the two main systems? Read builder gel vs polygel, and for the reasoning on forms versus tips, soft gel tips vs sculpted nail extensions.
Structure is what lasts
Most breakages are a structure problem rather than a product problem. The apex belongs over the stress area, roughly a third back from the free edge, and the sidewalls need to stay parallel. A thin apex in the wrong place will fail whatever you build it from. The builder gel guide covers apex building in more detail.
The tools that go with it
Polygel shapes with the right brush: the 2-in-1 polygel brush and the rainbow crystal polygel brush. Tips and glue are in nail tips and tip cutters; the primer that stops lifting is in the prep system. A boxed start is the Polygel Nail Extension Kit, or see all nail kits. Every gel here is soak-off and cures under UV or LED; the nail lamps are the other half of the system.