'I've only just discovered this game-changer for nails': Beauty expert ROSIE GREEN on the chip-resistant BIAB manicure
True beauty breakthroughs come along once a decade. Think John Frieda’s Frizz Ease (1989), St Tropez fake tan (1993) or the miraculous GHD hair straighteners (2001). Now I’ve stumbled upon something similarly seismic: BIAB nails. Invented in 2015, they’ve only just hit my radar.
For years I dismissed having ‘done’ nails. Gorgeous though they looked, as a working mum I didn’t have the time, money or lifestyle for them. I first tried manicures in the 90s, when they were only really available in spas and upscale hair salons. They all offered regular varnish, meaning my mani would chip within hours – sometimes I smudged it before I’d even left the salon.
Then, when my kids were little and my grooming levels fell so low that I considered brushing my hair a win, in-salon gel treatments arrived, offering a faster-drying, longer-lasting solution. This was a revolution for many but, as my most important diary date was Tumble Tots, I reserved it for high days and holidays. I was too busy to get the gel professionally removed, so I committed the ultimate sin of picking it off, thus destroying the surface of my nails. Acrylic (a powder solution mixed up to form a hard shell) emerged as another option, but I wasn’t tempted as it looked too fake. So I left my nails bare.
It wasn’t until I re-entered the office environment last year that I realised a glossy mani is now practically a job requirement – naked nails are the sartorial equivalent of wearing jogging bottoms to a meeting.
Then an enviably groomed colleague told me about BIAB manicures. Invented by Daisy Kalnina, founder of professional nail products brand The Gel Bottle, BIAB stands for Builder in a Bottle and is a gel that helps your natural nails grow long and strong. Despite having been around for several years, only now has it reached critical mass. The fortifying gel is available as part of an in-salon experience and delivers a longer-lasting mani than the usual gel (for me, an extra full week). I wear it alone, but if you want a certain colour or effect that BIAB doesn’t have, you can layer a regular gel over it.
It’s a genius formulation with enough flexibility to prevent brittle breaks but is also hard enough to handle life’s assaults. Combined with a strict application protocol, this means you can grow your nails to lengths you never have before. My right big toenail always breaks low down (thanks to wearing too-small trainers a decade ago), and is now the longest it’s ever been. My fingernails haven’t broken once since I began having monthly BIAB manicures six months ago. Yes, not one break! Instead I get four weeks of great nails between salon visits and, by choosing nude colours, the grow-out isn’t obvious.
There is a caveat: go to a nail technician who is careful with removal. I trust Townhouse (townhouse.co.uk) with my digits. And of course there are a few drawbacks: it takes around 20 minutes longer to apply and remove than regular gel; it’s a bit thicker and more Tippex-y looking than I’d like; I also sometimes feel an unwelcome spike of heat when my nails are ‘curing’ under the UV lamp. And let’s not forget the cost. In a bougie salon like Townhouse, it is £12 on top of my already pricey £56 mani.
Elsewhere, BIAB is more affordable and there’s minimal price variation from regular gel. The YOU features director lives in Scotland and pays £25 for a BIAB manicure, versus £20 for a regular gel one. Nationwide, it can cost from £20 to £80, so it pays to shop around.
On balance, it is a huge win. My glossy nails give me a little hit of happiness every time I glance down at them. I might even go scarlet for Christmas.
For your nearest BIAB salon, go to thegelbottle.com/salon-finder/
