Complete guide · Roma Norte
Nails: the complete guide
Which technique suits you, why fills on schedule protect your natural nail, and what to do if yours are weak.
Acrylic, gel and sculpted: what suits you
The difference is not price, it is purpose. Gel (from $180) goes over your natural nail for color and resistance: it lasts two to three weeks and is the gentlest option. Acrylic ($400) builds structure on top: it holds up longer and allows length, but needs fills on schedule. Sculpted gel nails (from $500) build length with gel instead of acrylic — lighter and more flexible, and they usually feel more natural.
Why fills matter on schedule
Fills go every three to four weeks. This is not about selling more: as the nail grows, the product lifts at the base and leaves an air pocket where moisture gets in. That is where the natural nail gets damaged — not from the acrylic itself. Waiting two months does not save money, it costs nail. A fill is cheaper than a full set, though not half the price — we explain why below.
Removal ($100) is always done with proper technique and product. Prying acrylic off at home takes layers of your natural nail with it, and those take months to grow back.
Why a fill costs almost the same as a new set
It is the question we get most, and it is a fair one. The honest answer is that a fill is not topping up the gap at the base. When your nail grows, it is not just a gap that appears: the whole structure has moved. The apex — the thickest point, the one that carries the nail's strength — is now in the wrong place, and the nail has lost its balance. Fill only the base and paint over it, and in four or five days it snaps right there.
What a proper fill actually takes: filing down almost all the old product, not just the base; repairing the lifting and cracks there almost always are; rebuilding the apex in its new position; rebalancing all ten nails so they match; and redoing the entire surface and the entire color. Chair time is practically the same as a new set — sometimes more, because filing down old product takes longer than working on a clean nail.
What you do save is the extension product and the sculpting of the length, which are already done. That is why a fill costs less, but not half: a fill at half the price would be a nail that lasts half as long, and that is not something we will sell you.
When is it better to start fresh instead of filling? Once you have several fills stacked up and the nail starts to feel heavy, or when there is lifting on several nails at once. We tell you before we start, not when it is time to pay.
If your nails are weak: start here
After a long run of acrylic it is normal for the nail to end up thin. That is what nail vitamins ($150 each) are for — treatment, not color: calcium strengthens, rubber base covers imperfections and adds body to thin nails, and nail vitamin protects while the nail recovers. They combine with gel ($280 calcium + gel) so you do not have to go bare while they heal.
And an honest recommendation: if your natural nail is healthy, a well-applied gel looks just as good as acrylic and treats it better. We will tell you so, even though acrylic costs more.
Guarantee
Gel nails carry a 5-day guarantee, and every other service 72 hours. If anything chips or did not turn out the way we agreed within that window, come back and we will fix it at no cost.
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