BettyGel: Peel Off Gel Base Review

About the product: 

For those who are looking into gel but hate the lengthy removal process and potential damage to the nail - this is a great alternative. 

The BettyGel Peel Off Base Gel Base is a polish type peel off base gel. As described: 

A polish type peel off base gel that doesn't require acetone to remove and to minimise damage from gel removal and sanding of natural nails. 

The base gel comes in a bottle and has 12g of product inside. 

My thoughts: 

When I bought this product, this was explained to me as a sticky base for gel nails which you can cure, but also just peel off. When applied correctly, this gel base should last up to two weeks. 

According to the instructions on the website, this product should be applied thinly and not applied along the free edge. 

Application: 

The consistency of this product is very thick - it's super viscous and can be quite hard to push around, especially dragging down the nail to try to create more even coverage for the base, and I end up getting quite a few patches and holes. It is recommended that you should apply a thin layer - and this is optimal because a thick layer makes the glue thicker and easier to lift off the nail. This also shrinks quite a bit more when compared to other base gels, so it made it a little difficult to get up to the cuticle and around the edges of the nail. I would also agree with the instructions - it's best not to cap the free edge with this base as that's where you're most likely to get lifting. This cures in 30-40 seconds in a LED lamp. 

Formula: 

I personally have not tried anything quite similar to this product, easy peel off bases are usually more along the lines of normal glue which needs to be air dried, but this is a very viscous gel until it cures, which it becomes a very thick type of glue. The stickiness of this formula reminds me a little of double sided tape - it adheres really strongly to the polish and the nail and it's the type of glue to 'ball up' quite easily. I think this is a great formula that makes gel removal super easy because you can just peel it off and rub the residual stickiness of the glue off the nail but it is prone to leaving behind quite a bit of tackiness on the nail. For home wear or short wear. I think this is a great alternative because really sticks to the nail and doesn't require the process of a soak off gel removal hassle. However, you won't be able to try to do backfills or sand down any mistakes because you can't really disturb the glue. 

However, I did notice that if you do have a damaged nail plate, it still doesn't reduce all impact on the nail and can potentially damage your nails during the peel off removal process if you aren't careful. Additionally, I have tried layering this product with normal base gels - I found that capping the cuticle line and the free edge with another base can lengthen the wear, but trying to apply the gel on top of a normal base and expecting it to peel off without disturbing the normal base does not work very well and will peel off the original base as well. 

Wear: 

Despite being told this would last for two weeks, this has a varied life on my nails. For my thumb and pointer, this lasts 4-5 days, however wear on my other fingers are slightly longer, coming in at 5-7 days. The damage is typically sustained around the cuticle area snagging on my hair or other items that slip underneath the glue layer and it peels/chips off a little bit - and similar chipping/snagging/peeling from the free edge. You can try to extend wear by recapping the free edge- which I typically like to do, which can extend the wear by a little, but unfortunately most of the issues I have come from the cuticle edge. Despite the chipping/peeling, the rest of the nail is usually still passable and will look a little like normal nail polish, with random chips around the edge of the nail with the middle of the nail relatively undamaged and untouched. However, the glue can easily catch on hair (my usual problem), or dust - as it's very sticky, so I end up peeling off the rest of it and reapplying to save myself the hassle. 

Overall: 

I think this product is a pretty good alternative to easy soak off bases. For me, I tend to fidget and play with my nails on my left hand a lot so I find this a great, low damage option - especially as my nails tend to get more brittle and thin the longer they are due to excessive removal and application of various nail products. Due to the viscosity its also much easier to build up the shape and apex of the base of the nail (although whether or not you're supposed to do this, I'm not sure), but I enjoy it. It's not the easiest product to get your hands on, but if you're interested in peel off bases and gel, I think this is a great product to check out if you have access to it. 

Where to buy: 

I bought this from Jasmine Nails in Hong Kong, but it is also available to purchase online at Nail Wonderland or TAT Canada.