What is a Structured Gel Overlay?
Structure and Strength.
You may have already heard of Gel Manicures, but what is different about a structured gel manicure? To start, going with a soft gel overlay (as opposed to a hard or poly gel overlay) is going to feel lighter, thinner and a lot more like your natural nail, but it will add more strength and longevity than a typical gel manicure. Typically, structured gel overlays can last from 4 to 6 (maybe even 7 or 8) weeks without chipping, lifting or separation.
Growth
Soft Gel overlays adds shape and structure to your natural nail by paying special attention to the apex (the top and middle section of the nail that does most of the heavy lifting). By strengthening and exaggerating the apex, your natural nail will have a better chance of growing to the length you desire.
Before & After
The photos you see below are both a fantastic example of what structured gels manicures can do over time, how they can help with habit breaking like nail biting, skin picking and overall strengthening of the nail, but ALSO the main reason I got into nails in the first place.
This is my kid 3 weeks (left photo) and 4 months (right photo) into her structured gel manicure journey. Her rounded and thicker nails make for a much less satisfying scratch and she has successfully kicked the habit of absentmindedly picking at the skin around her thumbs. Her nails are now a form of self expression and area of pride as opposed to a nervous and painful stim.
As for her stimming, rest assured she has replaced picking with clickity clacking her longer nails on pretty much every surface available.
