What Is A Russian Gel Manicure?

It is not some type of a magical gel or base that makes your manicure look good and long lasting as many of you might think. It's actually the technique itself. This technique involves precise cuticle work, nail shaping, and smoothening using the nail drill aka the Electric File. This allows for a detailed and accurate nail enhancement, or manicures where the color is polished very neatly, and close to the cuticle. Just the process of preparing the nails before polishing takes about 1 hour. Another significant part of the Russian manicure technique, is the base or gel application. The material is applied in specific ways to create the perfect architecture that levels out the nail bed and gives it the coverage, that not only looks nicer than just the brush on base technique, but also it's more durable, longer lasting, and gives your nails extra protection. It's also called a structured manicure.

Moreover, a Gel Manicure done with a rubber base, is a type of base coat which is a thicker, more viscous formula compared to traditional base coats. It provides added strength and resilience to the nails. Even though a rubber base is strong, yet it's a flexible material that is able to bend and curl with your natural nails underneath. It is more prone to break than hard gels. It is suitable for short, naturally strong, undamaged nails, and can be worn up to 3-4 weeks, depending on your nail structure and condition.

For medium-long, soft, damaged nails, it is recommended to do a hard gel manicure. Where the cuticle itself is also cleaned in Russian style techniques with an e-file. This is where the difference is the gel itself. A Hard Gel is much harder than a rubber base. It is a non-flexible, non-soak off material, and would not be able to bend or curl with your nails underneath. It's a much more durable material and lasts much longer than the regular bases. Hard gel is also used for nail extensions and nail alignments, repairing broken nails, or simply adding missing corners to the nail shape.