From BIAB to Bio Sculpture, K-beauty and beyond, these next-gen treatments promise both length and strength.
What’s not to love about leaving the salon with a perfect-looking gel mani? None of that touch-dry trepidation and the colour lasts for weeks. But as anyone who’s shelled out for shellac knows, you might be happy with that 40-buck, UV-baked polish, but your poor nails? Not so much.
That’s because, unlike old-school varnish, gel polishes won’t stick to a healthy, shiny nail. “You need to rough up the surface to get it to adhere, which is obviously damaging,” says Dr Rudo Makuyana, a podiatrist at The Foot Hub and founder of Medi Nails in Sydney. “And because people think the measure of a good mani is how long it lasts, it’s often the rougher the better.”
Add to that the fact nail technicians don’t need qualifications in Australia and that the person wielding that tiny tungsten drill bit may be more motivated by the queue of walk-in customers behind you than nail health, and it’s a recipe for disaster.
But before you bid adieu to holiday-long colour, we have encouraging news. Superior tech, plus the resurgence of specialist nail spas, mean safer, smarter alternatives that still look amazing.