Ariana Grande's hands have been attracting a lot of attention lately. After getting engaged to Pete Davidson, all eyes were on her left ring finger, where she debuted a huge diamond. And since then, she's gotten several tattoos on her hands and fingers. Naturally, with so many people ogling her mic-holding appendage, she'd want to keep her nails looking long and flawless — and surprisingly, she does that with Gel-X extensions, not acrylics.
Refinery29 asked Natalie Minerva, the founder of Nail Swag and the artist behind Grande's mind-blowing Sistine Chapel nails at the Met Gala, how she keeps her famous client's nails looking so beautiful. "When I go and see her, we always use gel extensions to keep her nails as healthy as possible," Minerva explained. "Fortunately, I have this amazing gel extension system, Gel-X, and it only takes me 10 to 15 minutes to do a full set of nails. It’s soft gel, so it soaks off like a regular gel, but gives you length so they look like false nails."
The quickness of Gel-X isn't its only benefit. "It's so much less damaging; you don’t even need to do any buffing or filing off the top of the nail," explains Minerva. "It's great for people who have really weak nails or for anyone who likes to change them a lot."
So what exactly is Gel-X? The Aprés Gel-X Nail Extension System uses the same materials as a gel manicure, but the technique can create length past your natural nails, thanks to clear tips that are filed to blend seamlessly with them. Once the tips are secured to the nail with gel and cured for a few seconds, gel polish can be added on top. Aprés promises that the tips will stay attached for over three weeks and can be soaked off with acetone in about 15 minutes, with far less damage than acrylics.
You can watch the process in this video:
Although you can buy the system on apresnail.com, it's best left to an experienced professional. Just make sure to call ahead to check if your nail salon offers gel extensions because not all do.
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