# Women:  Gel nails vs acrylic nails

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-gel-nails-vs-acrylic-nails/273803>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 9, 2004, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-gel-nails-vs-acrylic-nails/273803 "2004-11-09T07:24:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-gel-nails-vs-acrylic-nails/273803/1 "2004-11-09T07:24:00Z")

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I’ve had acrylic nails for years. What are gel nails? Are they better? Are there disadvantages? Should I switch? Are they more expensive?

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**Author:** ![smartini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@smartini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartini)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-gel-nails-vs-acrylic-nails/273803/2 "2004-11-09T07:41:35Z")

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Someone I work with has gel nails and they look really thick to me; much more so than acrylics. I don’t know if she just has a bad manicurist or if they all look thicker as these are the only ones I have seen (or at least know I have seen.) On the price list where I get my nails done I think they are a little more expensive…but not much.

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**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-gel-nails-vs-acrylic-nails/273803/3 "2004-11-09T14:15:40Z")

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The one time I tried gel nails they all cracked and fell off within two weeks. (Course, that might just be me)  
Acrylics I can wear forever.

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**Author:** ![mcms\_cricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@mcms\_cricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcms_cricket)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-gel-nails-vs-acrylic-nails/273803/4 "2004-11-09T16:34:11Z")

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I’ve wondered about gell vs. acrylic myself. I had acrylic nails for a while when I was pregnant, but they kept peeling off. I had two different manicurists tell me that I had lots of oil in my nails and that adhesion was a problem. ??? I also had acrylics for a while right when I got married and didn’t have any problem.

When I got tired of the acrylics and had them taken off, I was told that the gel nails looked more natural without polish (and I’d have to agree - the ones I’ve seen didn’t look thick at all) and might adhere to my nails better than the acrylic. My aunt has gel nails and doesn’t have to get a fill in as often - it doesn’t show as much as with acrylic.

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**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-gel-nails-vs-acrylic-nails/273803/5 "2004-11-10T05:55:13Z")

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Thanks very much. I may try them one time to see how I like them. If they look too thick or come off too easily, I guess I can always complain and shake a cane at them.