March 27, 2025

True Sculpt Hypoallergenic Hard Gel Tutorial: Removals & Infills

Join our Head of Education as she guides you through the complete step-by-step process for safely removing and infilling HONA’s Hypoallergenic Hard Gel. Whether you're just starting out or have years of experience behind the desk, this in-depth tutorial is designed to help you build confidence and refine your hard gel skills using our HEMA-free TrueSculpt system.

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THE STEPS

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Transcript

Hello guys. Welcome back to another home of nail art tutorial when it comes to infills, the first stage of the infill is very similar to a removal. So we're starting off with a course grit and then slowly reducing that down to a softer grip. So starting with a 150 The goal here is to debulk the majority of the product. We need to remove that apex so that we can rebalance the nail. Once the majority of the product has been debulked, you can switch to either a 180 or a 240 to take down the rest of the unwanted length and to shape the nail and to also remove any more bulk if needed, give the nails a little dust off and have a really close look at the nail plate to ensure there's no lifted areas. So using your file just gently buff away any lifted areas and make sure that the product is all sealed tight before we go in with our next step. Once you're satisfied with the level of debulking and all of the lifted product has been removed, you can go in with your cuticle prep. It's important to ensure that you've debulked enough that your tools can sit flush with the nail plate. We don't want to be coming in at dangerous 45 degree angles. Our tool should always be flush with the nail plate. So we're starting off with a cuticle pusher. All we're doing now is lifting up that proximal fold and lengthening the nail plate a little bit by pushing that cuticle area back next. We're going to use a manicure tool to remove any of that debris riding on the nail plate. We're just going to use very small, shuffly Gentle buffing motions to remove any of that dead, non living tissue on the nail plate itself, not removing this means that there's going to be a barrier in the way when we come to our gel application. So make sure you clean this nail plate really thoroughly using the manicure tool. I also like to use the loop tool just to get rid of any of that remaining area that I maybe wasn't able to reach with the manicure tool. This loop tool is a great one, because it scoops away from the proximal fold, rather than pushing towards it. So you're able to scoop out any of that debris that you weren't able to reach with the previous tools. Then we can dehydrate with 100% pure acetone to remove any of the dust and oils on the nail plate, and then etch with a 150 grip pad on our etching tool. It's important to be thorough with this step. We want to make sure that that area is completely texturized and ready for new gel application. If we don't etch the new growth area, then the nail plate will be too smooth for the gel to adhere to. Then I like to go in with my nipping after I finished my etching. And the reason for this is when you etch, sometimes it can kick up an extra bit of skin that might need to be nipped away. So rather than doing it twice, I etch first and then I nip afterwards. Once we're happy with the prep, we can dust off and then go in with our pure bond application. We're applying our pure bond on the new growth area and then pulling that straight over the existing product, capping the free edge, and then curing for 30 seconds. Once our pure bond is cured, we can go in with our true sculpt application, starting with our paper layer. And once again, we're applying this to the new growth area and pulling it right over the existing product, being careful to make sure that we apply it right up close to the cuticle area, right down the side walls, and cap the free edge. Once we're happy, we can pop that in the lamp to cure for 60 seconds again, just like we did in our overlay tutorial, it's important to make sure that every millimeter of this nail is coated in a slip layer. We're using the weighting method. So I'm going to apply my bead and wait for it to do its thing. Out of all of the methods, this is the easiest one, in my opinion. It can be used with overlays and extensions as well. So if you're doing your extensions, this infill process is exactly the same. You're just going to take down the length and then also shape the nail, just like we did at the beginning of this tutorial. Once the beads settled, I'm just going to touch up ever so slightly in corners, maybe on the free edge, anywhere that the bead hasn't quite reached. And then once I'm happy, I can flip it upside down, allow the apex to draw down and create a little bit more of a structure, and then cure in the lamp for 60 seconds. Once everything's cured, you can wipe down with isopropyl alcohol. This is where you could leave the treatment if you were using Express, which has a built in top coat. However, I want to use a glittery top coat, so I'm just going to gently buff over the surface to make sure that it isn't too shiny and to allow the gel to adhere to that hard gel enhancement, and then go in with our sparkly silver top coat. Once you've applied your gel polish, your nail art or your top coat, you can cure that in the lamp for 60 seconds. Take it out, give it a wipe with isopropyl alcohol, finish off with cuticle oil, and that is the end of the service. When it comes to removing hard gel, you have the option of removing it entirely, or removing it down to its very last layer and then reapplying. It's important that you explain to your clients that hard gel is more of a long term service in comparison to builder gel with build agile you can remove it after just one appointment if you wanted to, whereas hard gel removals are a little bit more difficult. So manage your client's expectations by explaining that this is a longer term service, and for someone who's willing to upkeep and manage the service with infills. So we're just going to file down that apex and shave off the bulk of this product using a 150 grit file to start off with picking up our duster and checking in between to make sure that we're not filing any nail plate. It's important that you're super precise with where your file is impacting in order to protect the nail with hard gel. It isn't a soakable service, so being able to use your file effectively to do the removal without harming the natural nail plates health is really important. Using a 100 or a 150 grit file is going to shave through this product really, really quickly. So make sure you do. Keep checking intermittently. And as soon as the apex is gone and the product is flattened, we can switch up our files and move on to say, a 180 grit file. Once I'm happy with how much product has been removed, I'm doing a wet dust with some isopropyl alcohol. Just to really have a good look at the nail, if you wanted to, you could stop here and then reapply the product. As we said, removals are optional. When it comes to hard gel, the product has been designed to be Shearer so that you can check the health of the natural nail without removing it entirely. However, for this tutorial, we're doing a full removal. So I switched my file up again to a 240 grit file, which is really nice and soft and I can just really carefully and gradually remove the last of this product. Keep in mind that when we're this close to the nail plate, it's important that we're also adjusting our pressure so it should be a very, very light pressure and a very, very soft grit. And we're going to keep stopping and starting to make sure that the natural nail plate isn't being affected by our filing. Once I'm happy that the majority of the product is gone, I'm going to start using my buffer as well. So I'm using a soft buffer just to ease up that last bit of product on the nail plate, going back in with my 240 where I need to, if there's a little bit more on that side wall, which there is, and then switching to the buffer again. And we're just really carefully pinpointing areas of the nail that need product removal. If you wanted to. Of course, you could do all of this with an E-file. If your E-file trained using a variation of different sanding band grits. However, the same results are completely achievable using a hand file. Once I'm satisfied that all of the product has been removed, I can either go in with my cuticle prep and nail plate prep and reapplication, or I can finish with cuticle oil, if the client isn't having hard gel or any other service reapplied, and that is the removal. It's not as intimidating as it seems. You just have to take it really slow and steady and use the right grits at the right times. I really hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found it informative. If you have any questions or comments, let us know below, and we will see you in the next one. Bye.