Gel vs acrylic nails, builder gel, BIAB and dip: what each is
A plain comparison of the systems people confuse: gel polish, shellac, acrylic, hard gel, builder gel, BIAB and dip powder, and which we offer at home.
Nails
Gel vs acrylic nails is the comparison people search for most, but it is really a question about five different systems. Gel polish is a thin colour cured under a lamp on your own nail. Acrylic, hard gel, builder gel (including BIAB) and dip powder are all ways of adding strength or length on top of it. Hamd Beauty offers gel polish and classic polish at home; the rest are explained here so you can decide what you actually want, and where to go for it.
The short version
| System | What it is | Lamp? | Adds length? | Usual wear | Removal | At Hamd Beauty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular polish | Air-dry lacquer | No | No | Days | Remover | Yes |
| Gel polish (shellac) | Thin colour cured hard | Yes | No | 2 to 3 weeks | Acetone soak | Yes |
| Builder gel, BIAB | Thicker gel overlay for strength | Yes | Short | 3 to 4 weeks | Soak, often with filing | No |
| Hard gel | Sculpting gel that does not soak off | Yes | Yes | 3 to 4 weeks, refilled | Filed off | No |
| Acrylic | Liquid and powder sculpted hard | No | Yes | 3 to 4 weeks, refilled | Long soak or filing | No |
| Dip powder | Coloured powder set with resin | No | Slight | 3 to 4 weeks | Acetone soak | No |
What is the difference between gel and regular polish?
Regular polish dries in the air and can be taken off with ordinary remover. Gel polish only sets under a lamp, so it is dry the moment the visit ends and does not smudge, and it stays glossy for two to three weeks rather than a few days. The trade is removal: gel needs an acetone soak, which we explain in how to remove gel polish without damaging the nail.
What is the difference between gel and shellac?
Almost nothing in practice. Shellac is a word that has come to mean gel polish in general. If someone offers you "shellac" or "gel", expect the same thing: thin, soak-off colour cured under a lamp. Our gel manicure is this.
What is the difference between gel and acrylic nails?
This is the big one. Gel polish is colour. Acrylic is a building material.
Acrylic is made at the table by mixing a liquid monomer with a powder into a bead, which is shaped over the nail or over a tip and hardens in the air within minutes. It is thick, rigid and strong, which is why it is the classic choice for long, sculpted nails. Colour goes on top, often as gel polish. As the nail grows, the gap at the base is "refilled" every three to four weeks rather than the whole set being replaced.
The costs of that strength: it is the thickest of the systems, it has a strong smell while it is being worked, removal is a long soak or filing, and the nail plate is usually filed to help it grip, which thins the nail over repeated sets. Acrylic is not on the Hamd Beauty menu. Once you have had a set, you will need it removed and the nail rested before gel polish will sit well.
What is builder gel, and what is BIAB?
Builder gel is a thicker gel, somewhere between gel polish and hard gel, applied as an overlay on the natural nail and cured under a lamp. The point is strength: a nail that splits or bends gets a firm, slightly domed coat that lets it grow without breaking. It can also be used to build a short extension over a form.
BIAB stands for "builder in a bottle". It is builder gel packaged and brushed on like polish, rather than scooped from a pot, and it has become the name many people use for a builder-gel overlay. Ask for BIAB and you are asking for builder gel; the two are not different systems.
Wear is three to four weeks. Removal is a soak, but the thickness means it is usually filed down first, and many technicians "infill" instead of removing so the nail is never bare. Builder gel and BIAB are not on the Hamd Beauty menu. If your nails are weak, our advice is a short run of gel polish, which adds some protection, with cuticle oil every night.
What is the difference between gel and hard gel?
Hard gel is a sculpting gel that cures very rigid and does not dissolve in acetone; it has to be filed off. It is used for extensions and sits closest to acrylic in strength. Gel polish soaks off. Hard gel is not on our menu.
What is the difference between gel and dip nails?
Dip powder does not use a lamp at all. A resin glue is brushed on, the nail is dipped into coloured powder, and the layers are sealed with an activator. The result is thicker and stronger than gel polish, lasts three to four weeks, and soaks off in acetone, more slowly than gel.
Dip is not on the Hamd Beauty menu. One thing to ask wherever you have it done: a pot of powder that many clients' fingers have been dipped into is hard to keep clean, so a careful technician pours or brushes powder over the nail instead of dipping. It is the same question you would ask about any shared product, and our hygiene standard sets out what we do about it.
Which should you choose?
- You want colour on your own nails, dry when the therapist leaves, for two to three weeks: gel polish.
- You want a few days of colour and nothing to remove with acetone: regular polish, in a classic manicure.
- Your nails are weak and you want them to grow: builder gel or BIAB, from a salon that offers it. Until then, gel polish and nightly oil do part of the job.
- You want real length or a dramatic shape: acrylic or hard gel, from a salon that offers it. Expect refills every three to four weeks and a filed nail plate.
What you can book
At home, on your own table, we do the gel manicure and gel pedicure, and the classic versions with regular polish. All four are on the nails menu. If you arrive at us with acrylic, hard gel or builder gel on, have it removed first and give the nails a week; gel polish will then go on cleanly.
