A gel manicure is $35 at US Nails, and the reason most of our regulars book it over a regular manicure is simple: it is still glossy in week three, and it is dry the moment you stand up.
What a gel manicure actually is
Gel polish goes on much like regular polish, but each coat is cured under a lamp instead of left to air-dry. Curing is what makes the difference. The colour hardens all the way through in seconds, so there is no soft top layer waiting to pick up a car key, a coat pocket, or the edge of your bag on the way out.
That hardness is also why it does not chip the way regular polish does. A regular manicure is $20 and looks lovely — for a few days. Gel holds for two to three weeks.
Gel or regular — the honest way to choose
It is not that one is better. They are for different weeks.
- Regular manicure, $20 — shape, cuticles, and polish. Right when you want a fresh colour for an event this weekend, or you change your colour often and enjoy doing it.
- Gel manicure, $35 — the same care, then colour that survives the fortnight. Right when you do not want to think about your nails again until you next sit down.
Worth doing the arithmetic once: if a regular manicure needs redoing every week and gel lasts three, gel costs less over a month and takes two fewer visits. If you genuinely repaint at home for fun, regular wins.
Our manicure menu & prices
Prices are what you pay. There is no surprise charge at the counter for shape or removal.
How long gel really lasts
Two to three weeks is the honest range, and where you land in it has very little to do with the brand of polish. It has to do with your hands. Hot dish water softens the seal at the free edge. Gardening and cleaning chemicals do the same. So does using your nails as tools — opening cans, scraping labels, picking at the polish itself.
Two things extend it more than anything we can sell you: wear gloves for washing up, and put cuticle oil on at night. Both are free advice, and both work.
Removal is the part that matters
Almost every story about gel ruining someone's nails is a story about removal. Gel that is picked or peeled off does not come away cleanly — it lifts layers of the nail plate with it, which is what leaves nails thin, white and bendy afterwards.
Soaked off properly, it does not do that. Come in and let us take it off; it takes a few minutes and it is far cheaper than growing out the damage. If your nails are already peeling or splitting — often after a long run of acrylics — ask about IBX. It repairs the nail as it grows out: $35 on its own, or $15 added under your colour.
What to expect when you come in
A gel manicure runs about 45 minutes. Your tech will shape, tidy your cuticles, then base, colour and top coat with a cure between each. Bring a photo if you have a colour in mind, or pick from the rack when you arrive — nobody will rush you at it.
We are family-run and have been at 7233 Forest Oaks Blvd for 23 years. Walk-ins are welcome; if you would rather have a set time, call (352) 686-5330.