They invented Gel-X. Everyone else is catching up.
If a client has ever asked you for Gel-X nails, this is the brand she means. The name became the category, the way people say Band-Aid, and the look has carried red-carpet manicures covered by Vogue, Allure and Refinery29.
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The story
Apres Nail is the Los Angeles professional nail brand that created Gel-X, the first full-coverage, soak-off soft gel extension system. It was founded in the fall of 2015 by Carol Ma and award-winning nail artist Albee Chen, and grew up inside parent company Applied Lacquer Industries.
The breakthrough was the tip itself: a full-coverage soft gel shell that applies in minutes with Extend Gel, cures under LED, wears like an enhancement, and soaks off without heavy filing. Everything else in the range was built around it, from the Gel Couleur color line to the builder in a bottle and the prep and finish liquids. The brand also runs Apres University, its own Gel-X certification program for techs.
We stock the system deep at C8. Over 100 Apres items sit in the Apres range today, and the wider soft gel tips wall carries over 150 items if you want to compare shapes across brands before committing a whole salon to one.
What the line actually covers
Gel-X tips
The original full-coverage soft gel extension, in sculpted and natural styles across round, almond, coffin, square and stiletto.
Extend Gel
The adhesive gel that bonds the tip to the natural nail. Jar and bottle editions, because techs are split on which applies faster.
Gel Couleur
A professional gel polish line past 200 shades, formulated to sit on the Gel-X system and cure on the same clock.
Soft Gel Builder in a Bottle
A two-in-one base coat and builder. Self-leveling, non-yellowing, thirty second LED cure, and it soaks off. Reinforces natural nails and Gel-X fills alike.
Prep and finish
pH Bonder, a non-acidic primer, and non-wipe glossy or matte top coats to close the service.
Education
Apres University runs the brand's own Gel-X certification, which is worth having on the wall if extensions are a large share of your book.
The four things an Apres bench reorders
Prices are live today. If you are opening a Gel-X station from scratch, the first three cards below are the whole starter kit.
Six hundred tips across the full size run, which is what a busy bench actually needs so nobody is hunting a size 7 mid-service. Sculpted round is the shape that suits the widest range of nail beds.
Gel-X tips $29.99
The bond that makes the system work. The jar version suits techs who prefer to load a brush and control the amount rather than squeeze it from a bottle.
Extend Gel $19.99
Ten shades at thirty percent off, which is the cheapest honest way to find out whether the Gel Couleur formula suits your hand before you order a whole wall of it.
G Collection $10.49
A matte finish that does not need a cleanse step afterwards. It is the upsell that turns a standard Gel-X set into a different-looking one for the price of a top coat.
Matte top $9.09What techs say about it
Across the pro community Apres earns consistent praise for three things. Speed, because a full set of tips goes on dramatically faster than sculpting acrylic. The natural, lightweight feel that clients come back for. And the gentle soak-off removal that protects the natural nail between sets.
Techs also point at how well the ecosystem fits together. Tips, Extend Gel, color and top coat all cure on the same lamps and come off the same way, so nothing in the service needs a separate clock. If you are learning the application, our step by step soft gel tip guide runs the whole nine step procedure.
One note on wording for your own menu and socials: Gel-X is Apres Nail's registered trademark for their system. If you are describing tips from another brand, call them soft gel tips.
Apres questions we get asked
What is Gel-X?
Gel-X is Apres Nail's patented full-coverage soft gel extension system, the first of its kind. Pre-shaped soft gel tips are bonded with Extend Gel, cured under LED, and soak off without heavy filing.
Where is Apres Nail based?
Apres was founded in Los Angeles, California in 2015 and operates under parent company Applied Lacquer Industries.
Is Apres a professional or a consumer brand?
Professional first. It is built to give nail techs a competitive advantage and it runs its own certification program, but the products are also made with at-home enthusiasts in mind.
Where can I buy Apres?
C8 Nail Supply carries over 100 Apres products, including tips, Extend Gel, Gel Couleur, builder, prep and lamps, in retail, case and wholesale quantities. Call us at 714-868-7088 for volume orders.
Open a Gel-X station this month
Tips, Extend Gel and a color bundle is the whole starting kit. Everything is in stock in Garden Grove, in retail, case and wholesale quantities.
Over 100 Apres itemsWholesale pricing for nail professionals and salons across the US. English, Tiếng Việt, Español. Call us at 714-868-7088. Same-day pickup at 13858 Brookhurst St, Garden Grove, CA 92843.
Gel-X tips $29.99 Over 450 items 50% off