Once applied, both hard gel and gel polish require time under a nail lamp.

Unlike gel polish, which comes in every color imaginable, hard gel is often limited to neutrals like white, clear, and pink.

Many pros paint gel polish atop a structural hard-gel base to add color. Though hard gel and gel polish serve decidedly different purposes, they can complement each other beautifully. According to Ornellas, “Hard gels are used for strength and structure,” whereas “gel polish is just for color and art, and a little strength.' While gel polish is fantastic in its own right, it lacks the rigidity of a hard gel-rigidity that’s necessary for lengthening and sculpting nail extensions. “It’s accomplishments were, and still are, to keep colour on longer than nail polish,” Suzie says. Not to be confused with hard gel, gel polish has been popular since the ’90s, when it was introduced as a chip-free, color-depositing alternative to traditional nail polish. What most people colloquially refer to as a “gel manicure” involves gel polish, also known as soft gel or soak-off gel. While this can make application easier, hybrid gel cannot self-level as a result, whereas hard gel can. One advantage hybrid gel holds over hard gel is its relative ease of use whereas hard gel can be runny, hybrid gel remains in place until it’s intentionally moved. The formula, typically housed in a squeeze tube, is thick but is more pastelike than resiny, and is strong enough to create nail extensions too. Also dubbed polygel or gum gel, hybrid gel looks, and even acts, a bit like hard gel. Now to add a sprinkle of confusion back into the mix: Hard gel differs from hybrid gel. To save you confusion: hard gel, builder gel, and sculpting gel are one and the same-synonyms! For context: Consider the many monikers of traditional nail polish-lacquer, varnish, and enamel, to name a few.

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