Dry prep. Colour that holds.
Dry prep. Colour that holds.
Our full dry manicure with colour on top: cuticle and sidewall work done entirely with an e-file, then base, gel colour and top coat. Growth is assessed nail by nail and corrected as the gel goes on. Two to three weeks of wear.
Our gel manicure in Calgary starts with the Russian manicure — the full dry, detailed version — and the gel goes on top of that.
Gel Manicure includes an initial nail assessment, shaping and length refinement where the nails need it, base coat, gel colour, top coat, and cuticle oil. All are included in the service price.
The whole appointment is dry; the plate is never soaked before coating goes on. Cuticle work is done with an e-file, with scissors as well where the cuticle condition calls for it, at the technician's judgement.
It books as the Flawless Russian Manicure with gel polish added — 40–55 min for the manicure, 15–20 min for the colour, 55–75 min in total, priced in the booking system and in the table below. Nail art, extra length and the removal of another studio's work are priced separately.
A manicure on its own cannot correct nail architecture — that needs gel material on the plate. Adding gel is what makes correction possible, so this is the appointment where growth defects actually get worked on: nails growing in different directions, downward or hooked, uneven surfaces.
Routine shape correction comes with the Flawless Russian Manicure this service is built on. If a set needs exceptional additional work, the technician may charge extra, and it is explained and agreed with you before it is performed — never after.
You hear about it before the work starts.
Worried the e-file will hurt? It is not supposed to. Light touch and vibration only, and the technician stops if anything hurts. The 80-hour course behind the technique — E-File Manicure, Alignment and Gel Polish Coating, KASYA Nail Club — exists to teach precisely that.
Two to three weeks, with the return booking inside three weeks. Long nails often need an earlier return, usually within two and a half to three weeks.
Working dry is what protects that number. A plate that has been soaked swells and then contracts as it dries, so coating cured onto it sits on a surface that is about to move — and that is where lifting at the edges starts.
The base and gel are chosen for your nail plate. A thin base levels light and moderate unevenness, short and small nails included; a strongly uneven nail is improved, not made perfectly flat. If something lifts or chips, the technician looks at how it wore and may change the base, gel or method at your next appointment. Most clients settle on their combination within the first one or two visits; some take a little longer. If your nails need more strength than colour can give, ask about Builder Gel Overlay (BIAB).
Colours run from bright, saturated shades to muted, soft and nude ones. The top coat was chosen after studio trials of many brands, for a high-gloss finish that keeps its look through normal wear.
Chips, lifting and premature coating failure inside five days of the appointment are fixed free, up to three nails. Physical damage, self-removal, self-filing and another technician's work are not covered.
One price covers the manicure and the colour, 55–75 min in the chair — the current figure is in the table below. Base, top coat and cuticle oil are not billed separately.
Priced on top, and only if you want it: nail art, extra length, and the removal of work applied somewhere else. Coating we applied comes off free when you book a new service with us; another studio's work is removed as a paid Complex Removal, new clients included. Booking is required as a rule. Walk-ins are accepted only when a technician is available.
Two neighbouring options. If the nails need reinforcement as well as colour, Gel Overlay is added to the same appointment and holds three to four weeks — see Builder Gel Overlay (BIAB). If a past reaction to gel has fully resolved and you would rather stay off coating entirely, the Japanese Natural Manicure is the coating-free route.
Red Orchid is at 8500 Macleod Trail SE, Unit 400 - Floor 4, Calgary, AB T2H 2N1.
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It depends on the base. With Gel Overlay under the colour, three to four weeks, with your next visit within 28 days for short or medium nails and 21 for long. On the lighter thin levelling base, two to three weeks, with your next appointment within three weeks. If the colour chips or lifts within five days, we fix it free, up to three nails; the exclusions are in our policies. If anything lifts or chips, the technician may adjust the material at your next visit.
Routine nail-shape correction is part of the Flawless Russian Manicure that every Gel Manicure is built on. With Gel Overlay under the colour, the nail’s architecture can be corrected more substantially; the lighter thin base levels light and moderate unevenness. A strongly uneven nail is improved, not made perfect. If a set needs exceptional additional work, the technician may charge extra, and it is explained and agreed with you before any work begins.
Colour changes are not offered as bookings. Colour goes on as part of a full manicure or pedicure, because the preparation underneath is what makes it wear well, and regular polish is never used. For an existing client, a coating refresh can very rarely be arranged at the technician’s discretion, with no online booking; ask at your appointment.
Because the colour goes on a complete Flawless Russian Manicure, not a quick push-back: dry e-file cuticle and sidewall work, shaping, then the base, colour and top coat. The base is either Gel Overlay, which adds its own time, or a thin levelling base on the lighter option. The time of each part is published next to its price, and the total is confirmed with you before work starts.
It can. At Red Orchid, every Gel Manicure starts with a Flawless Russian Manicure. We often recommend adding Gel Overlay beneath the gel colour for extra strength and shape correction; it is added to your booking as its own service, with its own price and time. If your nails don’t need that level of reinforcement, the lighter option uses a thin levelling base under the gel colour. Your technician will assess your nails and explain the recommended option and price before starting.
