Build Your Own Gel X | DTK Nail Supply

Build your own Gel X kit, one tip box at a time

A soft gel extension service needs three things on the station: the right tips, a gel to bond them, and a lamp to cure it. This page covers the first and largest part of that list. Instead of buying a fixed kit, you pick the tip brand, the shape, the length and the finish that suit your clients, then add the adhesive and lamp you already like. Every product here is a soft gel tip: a pre-shaped, full-coverage tip that is bonded over the whole natural nail with a gel adhesive and cured, rather than an ABS plastic tip.

Gel-X is the name of the original system from Aprés, so on this page "Gel-X" means Aprés tips only. Next to them you will find soft gel tips from LAVIS, LDS and DND, which follow the same tip-and-cure method. Boxes, sizes and finishes differ from brand to brand, and the sections below explain how to read each listing so the tips you order fit the nails you actually see in the chair.

The tip ranges you can mix

Aprés Gel-X

Aprés describes Gel-X as a full-coverage, soak-off soft gel extension system with tips moulded from 100% soft gel rather than ABS plastic. Tips come in two styles. The Natural line has a flatter surface and less C curve, and is meant for flatter nail beds. The Sculpted line is Aprés' universal fit and suits more curved nail beds with a pronounced C curve. Aprés also makes Ombré Gel-X tips, soft gel infused with white pigment that fades from clear to opaque white, sold in boxes with half sizes. Aprés applies Gel-X with its own Extend Gel.

LAVIS soft gel tips

The widest choice on the page. LAVIS sells boxes of mixed sizes (10, 12, 14 or 15 sizes depending on the box) in almond, coffin, square, squoval, stiletto, oval, round and ballerina shapes, plus toe tips. Finishes include clear, half buffed, full etched and high apex. For techs who run out of the same few sizes, LAVIS also sells 100-piece refills of a single size, so you replace only what you use.

LDS soft gel tips

LDS tips come in boxes of 600 pieces across 12 sizes, numbered 01 to 27 by shape, length and finish: clear, half matte, matte and tapered, in almond, coffin, square, stiletto and toe. Each LDS shape is also grouped into one listing where the box number is the option, which makes reordering by code quick.

DND full clear gel tips

DND numbers its full clear gel tips from #01 to #25: five shapes (coffin, square, stiletto, almond and round), each in five lengths from X-Short to X-Long. If you keep a written list of the numbers your regulars wear, this is the simplest range to reorder.

Natural or Sculpted: fitting the tip to the nail bed

A tip that does not fit is one of the causes Aprés lists for sets that lift, so fit comes before brand. Look at the nail bed first. Aprés built its Natural line, with a flatter surface and less C curve, for flatter nail beds, and its Sculpted line for nail beds with a more pronounced curve. Whatever the brand, size and fit a tip for each nail before any gel goes on. When a client falls between two sizes, the Aprés Ombré half sizes and the 14 and 15 size LAVIS boxes give you more steps to choose from.

Clear, etched or high apex: choosing a finish

• Clear tips have a smooth inner surface. Aprés notes that etching or prepping the inside of the tip, where needed, helps the adhesive grip.
• Textured tips (LAVIS half buffed and full etched, LDS half matte and matte) arrive with texture on the tip. LAVIS describes its half-matte soft gel tips as having built-in texture for adhesion, with no filing inside the tip needed, and LDS sells its matte tips as pre-etched.
• High apex tips from LAVIS, as the name says, have a higher apex moulded into the tip.
• Ombré tips from Aprés carry the clear-to-white gradient in the tip itself, and Aprés pairs them with its sheer neutral Gel Couleur shades.

Soft gel tip brands compared

Box counts differ inside a brand too. For example, an Aprés Natural box holds 50 tips in each of 10 sizes, while the Sculpted Coffin Extra Long box holds 250 tips across 10 sizes. Check the count on each listing before you compare.

What else goes into the kit

• Tip adhesive: Aprés tips are designed for Aprés Extend Gel. LAVIS Soft Gel Tip Adhesive is a brush-in-bottle gel that bonds soft gel tips from most brands and cures under a UV or LED lamp, typically in 60 to 90 seconds depending on lamp strength. Both are in tip adhesive and Extend Gel.
• Builder gel as the bond: some techs skip the adhesive and attach tips with LAVIS builder gel in a jar, which gives a stronger hold on oily or lifting-prone nails.
• A lamp: every step after the tip touches the nail is cured, so a reliable lamp matters. Browse UV and LED nail lamps.
• Prep: a dehydrator or pH bonder on the natural nail, as Aprés recommends, before any gel.
• Colour and top coat: gel polish and a top coat go over the cured tips to finish the set.

If you would rather start from a ready-made set, Gel-X kits and starter sets bundle tips with gels and lamps, and soft gel nail systems gathers the wider range of tips, gels and finishing products.

How to apply soft gel tips

1. Prep the natural nail: push back the cuticle, remove the shine with a light buff, cleanse, then dehydrate or apply a pH bonder.
2. Size every nail first: fit a tip to each nail before you open the adhesive.
3. Prep the tip if it is clear: etch or prep the inside of smooth tips where needed. Textured tips skip this step.
4. Apply the gel: a thin layer of Extend Gel or tip adhesive inside the tip (Aprés also places it on the nail), keeping it away from the cuticle.
5. Press and flash-cure: press the tip onto the natural nail, hold it in place and flash-cure as the system instructs.
6. Full cure: cure the whole hand under the lamp, then file and shape the length.
7. Finish: apply gel colour or an overlay if wanted, seal with a top coat, and finish with cuticle oil.

Why tips lift, and how to stop it

Retention depends far more on prep than on which adhesive is in the bottle. The causes Aprés lists for sets that lift or pop off early are the ones to check first:

• Incomplete prep: the nail was not dehydrated, or the bonder was skipped.
• Product flooding the cuticle area.
• A tip that does not fit, or a smooth tip used without prepping the inside.
• Not enough cure time under the lamp.

Aftercare helps too: Aprés advises clients to avoid heavy water and heat exposure and to use cuticle oil.

Wear, removal and new sets

With proper prep and application, Aprés says Gel-X sets typically last three to four weeks or more before maintenance, and the LAVIS adhesive bond is rated for three weeks and more. To remove soft gel tips, buff the top layer to break the seal, soak in acetone and lift the softened tip gently; avoid forcing, scraping or drilling it off. Because Gel-X tips have a pre-formed structure with a built-in apex, many professionals apply a new set once the nail has grown out rather than filling the old one, which is one more reason refill boxes of your busiest sizes are worth keeping in stock.

Shop tips by shape

If a client already knows the shape she wants, start from the shape pages, which mix brands side by side: coffin soft gel tips, almond soft gel tips and stiletto soft gel tips. For a single size that keeps running out, LAVIS 100-piece refills replace just that size.

Related collections

• Aprés Gel-X tips Natural, Sculpted and Ombré boxes plus refill bags.
• Tip adhesive and Extend Gel Bonding gels plus base and top for soft gel sets.
• Dual form tips Reusable forms for poly gel extensions instead of glued tips.
• UV and LED nail lamps Flash-cure and full-hand cure for every tip system.
• LAVIS soft gel tips Every LAVIS shape, finish and box size in one place.

Related reads

• How to do Gel-X nails at home
• How long does Gel-X last
• How to get Gel-X nails off
• Gel-X vs acrylic tips