Gel polish or extensions? Understanding what your nail needs

Gel polish is a lamp-cured polish: it follows the natural nail's shape, lasts two to three weeks on average and comes off in minutes if applied — and removed — correctly. It's the right choice if your natural nail is healthy and you mainly want colour and staying power.

Extensions build structure instead: they add length, reinforce and allow shapes the natural nail can't hold. They take longer per appointment, need periodic infills and a gentler removal. They make sense if your nails flake, if you want length, or if you're after a precise shape.

The question isn't "which lasts longer" but "what does my nail need right now". A nail damaged by aggressive removals, for instance, sometimes needs a well-managed break more than another layer. That's the kind of assessment a professional makes during a consultation, before opening a single bottle: if whoever works on your hands doesn't look at the state of your nail before proposing a service, that's a signal.