Types of Manicure Services

At one time, visiting the nail salon was relatively pain-free; you simply chose your polish color and left looking fresh and event-ready. But those days are long gone: today’s experience at nail salons has become far more complex.

Choose the perfect look for your nails can be difficult with so many manicure services available today; so we enlisted help from salon owners, nail techs and beauty writers with experience to understand all available types of manicure services and help find one to suit.

Basic Manicure

There was once a time when getting a manicure meant slathering on some basic polish and topping it off with top coat. Nowadays, however, there is a host of nail options to consider that can make you look stylish while lasting longer and even promote healthier nails.

Shellac or Vinylux gel manicures, known for lasting up to three weeks without chipping and require no drying time, make an ideal choice for people with nails that are brittle or dry, as it typically won’t damage your natural nails in any way. However, proper removal procedures must be implemented in order to avoid damaging effects on natural nails.

Some nail options, such as sculpted nails or airbrushed acrylics, require the expertise and experience of an experienced technician to implement properly, which may raise the price. Additional services like paraffin wax treatment or glitter nail polish could add even further costs as more of their time will be needed, impacting operational expenses in salons.

Sculpted Manicure

Structured gel manicures are the newest up-and-coming trend and provide an alternative to acrylics. A typical structured gel manicure begins by prepping natural nails – which may take two or three hours with cuticle work, light buffing and cuticle detailing to provide a smooth base.

Next, your nail artist applies a structural gel that bonds securely to natural nails. A paper or metallic form will then be placed underneath your free edge of nail to “sculpt the shape of your new upper nail extension,” according to Kandalec.

She emphasizes that nail care can be difficult for anyone without natural nail tips to work with, making the sculpted manicure an excellent solution for those with more of a free edge than ideal or for nail biters looking to grow out their damaged nails as it helps reattach hyponychium – or skin beneath the free edge – of nails more quickly.

Shellac Manicure

CND Shellac is a hybrid polish that appears like nail color but is actually a gel formula, applied directly onto natural nails and cured using either LED or UV lights. The two-week long manicure provides people with long-term nail care without damaging their natural nails.

Your nail technician will first dehydrate and cleanse the nails with alcohol to prepare for application of a base coat. Next comes polish color application in two coats that is then cured after each application; finally the top coat is also cured before being removed with alcohol to avoid sticky film build-up.

While all manicure services can help you look your best, selecting the appropriate style and service can make all the difference in terms of comfort. Be sure to talk with your nail tech about which option would best meet your lifestyle needs, how you should care for your nails between treatments, and wear gloves when doing household tasks in order to extend its life span.

Acrylic Manicure

If you love the look of eye-catching long nails or are prone to biting your nails, acrylics offer an ideal solution. Faked in appearance to look like natural ones but with an indestructible exterior that cannot be broken through by biting, acrylics make chewing or biting harder than ever.

Nailed care services come in various shapes and lengths, from stilettos and squares to filing, shaping and cuticle care services – as well as hand massage. At most salons, manicures include filing and shaping the nails as well as cuticle care, cuticle maintenance and hand massage sessions; some also offer paraffin wax treatments to soften hands and feet even further.

Acrylic nails typically cost $50-$60 to purchase for full sets and $30-30 per fill-in manicure, depending on size and complexity. Made with base coat and sealant that’s then coated in colored acrylic powder, the process can take less time than other manicure options but requires additional skill due to being made using special equipment and technique. As with nail extensions, failing to properly remove and apply acrylic extensions may damage natural nails in the process.