I Tried BIAB Nails, the Manicure Dubbed “Armor For Your Nails”

Earlier than getting BIAB nails, I used to be disillusioned with nail salons. Common polish chipped the second I left the salon. Gel manicures all the time chip on me, plus they have a tendency to tear off the highest layers of my nails within the elimination course of (so acrylics have been positively out of the query). BIAB, nonetheless, was capable of reel me again in after a six-month sabbatical of manicures.

BIAB is the abbreviation for Builder in a Bottle, a system from nail-care model The Gel Bottle. It’s risen to TikTok fame during the last 12 months or so—not just for its unparalleled sturdiness (the model claims it lasts at the very least 4 weeks) but additionally for the way it helps wholesome nail progress. It’s turn into a serious nail pattern in Europe, notably the U.Okay., and is poised to take over ideas stateside.

Inquisitive about what BIAB nails have been all about, I visited manicurist Julie Kandalec at her “Nail Artelier” in New York Metropolis to strive it out. Kandalec has reached for BIAB for the final 4 years when working along with her superstar shoppers, like Pink and Jessica Chastain. Learn on to be taught extra about the advantages of getting a BIAB manicure and my expertise with it.

Meet the specialists:

• Anissa Campos is a nail artist primarily based in Chicago.
• Julie Kandalec is a New York Metropolis-based manicurist.
• Mona Gohara, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist and affiliate scientific professor of dermatology at Yale College of Drugs in Connecticut.
• Giorgia Cappella is a UK-based nail tech and the pinnacle educator at The Gel Bottle.
• Kelly Dobos is a beauty chemist in Cincinnati.

What are BIAB nails?

BIAB is a thick, viscous, multitasking builder gel. Typical builder gel is housed in a pot and used for reinforcing weak nails. It’s usually topped with basic gel polish so as to add colour and designs for a structured or laborious gel manicure. BIAB, alternatively, combines the results of primer, base coat, builder gel, and colour into one bottle Kandalec says. “BIAB is powerful and sturdy like acrylic manicures however gives a light-weight, pure end like gel,” she provides.

Out there in over 50 colours, many BIAB polishes are gentle nudes and pastel pinks. “Most [of my] BIAB shoppers are inclined to lean in direction of the extra dainty and pure look,” Chicago-based nail artist Anissa Campos says. “However you may also add all kinds of gildings to your BIAB manicure, resembling charms, chrome powder, and airbrush [designs].”

BIAB is for skilled use solely. You should be a licensed nail tech to buy a bottle, so that you’ll want to go to a salon for a BIAB manicure when you’re not.

What are the advantages of a BIAB manicure?

Every day duties like typing, family chores, and exercise lessons can weaken nails over time. A BIAB manicure is a superb possibility for many who need to develop, restore, and reinforce their pure nails, particularly if they’re brittle. “Consider BIAB as armor to your nails,” Kandalec says. “It offers your nails a protecting overlay, which makes them much less more likely to chip or crack and extra more likely to develop to no matter size you want.” Board-certified dermatologist Mona Gohara confirms this profit, including that strengthening pure nails and making them much less more likely to cut up or crumble is a crucial function of this stylish new nail system.