What Is Gel Overlay?Ī gel overlay may sound like it should be the same as gel polish. This helps gel manicures to last longer and prevent peeling, cracking, chipping, and damage. Gel polish requires proper nail plate prep, including pushing back the cuticles, buffing the nails, and using a primer and a base coat. The gel polish gets applied over, which unifies the natural nail with the artificial. That requires the fake tip to be glued to the natural nail, clipped, buffed, and shaped. Gel manicures are often done with artificial tips to create extensions for the nails. Gel polish is cured under a UV or LED lamp to dry. While you get clear gel polish, color polish is often the reference and is applied between a base coat and a top coat. Gel polish is like regular nail polish but gel based. When deciding which nail treatment to do, understanding the difference between the two, their purpose, and how they work can help you figure out which one will better suit you. It can be used with nail forms and requires UV light to cure. Gel overlay is gel polish applied directly over natural nails with a base coat, builder gel, and top coat. It uses gel-based polish, often with tips, and requires a UV or LED lamp to cure. Gel Polish is also known as a gel manicure. How Long Does It Take To Remove Gel Polish and Overlays?.