What is the difference between gel and acrylic nails??

what is better to get???


i have had gel 3 times a few years ago now, and they fell off very easy i need something strong..What is the difference between gel and acrylic nails??
And LOL goes out to the answerer who said that gel and acrylics are both powders! Gel is NOT a powder. It is a gel. Yes, they are both from the acrylic family - gels are made from the acrylate branch of the acrylic family, and acrylic nails are made from the methacrylate branch of acrylic chemicals. In the old days, it was true that acrylics were 'stronger' then gel nail. But - with the help of modern technology, most gels are now stronger than ever. Sure, the cheap ones aren't as strong or as natural looking as the better brands but the fact remains that a top of the line gel formulation is every bit as strong as acrylic nails, they are natural looking, they are non-toxic, non-yellowing, and odorless too.


I am not quite certain why it is that your nails kept popping off. My only guess is that you has an unskilled technician apply your gel nails and did them improperly, and perhaps they used inferior UV gels as well. Whenever getting UV gel nails, make sure that you avoid the places we techs commonly refer to as the NSS salons (Non-Standard Salons, AKA 'discount' salons). These are the places that take walk-in customers - no appointment ever necessary, and charge ridiculously low prices too. The vast majority of discount salons are owned and operated by people of Asian ethnicity. That's not saying anything bad about any race in particular - and is not meant to sound that way either. It's simply a well known fact that most discount salons are owned and operated by asians and my saying that is NOT meant to be a put down to them in any way. What I'm getting at is that there is often a scam at NSS's where they will supposedly give you gel nails. Now remember that gel nails are usually about $15-20 more than acrylic nails are. Well, what happens is that an unsuspecting customer enters this type of salon, and asks for gel nails. They proceed to apply acrylic nails (liquid and powder), and complete the service with a thin layer of UV gel topcoat. Then, you will get charged the full amount that they charge for gel nails. If this happens to you, you are not getting gel nails, you are getting acrylic nails. SImply stated, if a technician uses ANY liquid and powder - you are getting acrylic nails. Here is a link that will show you exactly what a top quality UV nail gel looks like. Notice it is a gel, and NOT a powder!


http://www.cnd.com/Home/homelink-consume鈥?/a>


Notice also that the containers are clearly labeled by the manufacturer. ALL reputablle and high quality nail gels are labeled in a similar fashion. Beware of a tech who uses unmarked containers of UV gels. You are getting inferior gel used on you if this is the case. Always look for manufacturer's labeling on the container.


Gel nails are made completely from gels. Gels also come in a wide variety of colors. If your tech only has two or three colors available, its time to change salons to one that offers many different colors. This will give you more options. It is so unfortunate that so many people believe that gel is a powder because of all the salons out there that rip people off with the scam I just explained to you. And just because some tech they never met before who can barely communicate with you says that they are gel nail, then of course they are gel nails - right? Nope, wrong. All I'm saying is to be careful that this doesn't happen to you. Try to remember what the gels look like - a gel! And that NO liquid and powder should be applied when getting gel nails - ever! Only gels are used, and it is applied in several individual layers. Each indicidual layer of gel MUST be cured under a UV lamp for about two minutes each. Thus, there will be many times during the application of gel nails were you will have to place your hand under a UV lamp. With the scam, only one curing per hand is used because of the use of only one, thin layer of UV gel topcoat. Real gel nails have at least three seperate layers of gels applied - sometimes even four layers are used.


One last thing. UV gel nails are not soaked off when it comes time to remove them. They must be filed off. There are a few soakable gels out there, but most reputable techs do not use these gels simply because they aren't as good in terms of quality. So, if you have gel nails that are able to be soaked off in pure acetone, then there is a very good chance that you have acrylic nails, and not gel nails.


Sorry this was so long! But, I hope this helps to answer your question...What is the difference between gel and acrylic nails??
Well, simply put...the difference is gel is made from gel and acrylic from acrylic (which is a powder)!! lol


Gel are more flexible and apparently more ';natural'; looking, but as you said, and I tend to agree, they break more easily than acrylics.


Acrylics are harder, thus stronger but are not as easy to cut or file down and apparently don't look as natural as gels. Also gels tend to be more expensive.





I have weak nails and I used to get gels but they kept breaking so now I get acrylics and they never break!
Yes well one is stronger than the other


When you go in to have it done, you can tell


them and ask about the stronger ones, the


good and bad of it all.





The thing is they are all not ment to be permanent


i mean sooner or later you have to expect they


become soft , or chipped on something, anyway


that is why people keep going back, and that is


why they are always in busines
i'd stay with acrylics, when you have gel ones done the refills are actually done by acrylics! and lol to the person that said that gel is done with gel! it's both powder! Best and cheapest way, grow ur own it always look better then fake ****! By some nail strengthing polish and lengthening ! I've been doing this for the last 2 years! and i use to bite my nails non stop and got acrylics done and it just reacks your natural nails! my nails now look better then ever!
acrylic is stronger but your natural nail s can not breathe under the acrylic powder....





I stopped using fake nails and my natural nails thank me! Bi-weekly manicures keep my nails looking and feeling great....and i no longer have to worry about nails popping/breaking off!
hmmm... how about a hairspray or something..?