Starter Gel Course

Who The Starter Gel Course Suits

This is for you if you have decided gel is the system you want to work in. It starts from nothing — no experience needed — but it goes deeper into gel than a general nail package does.

It also suits someone already doing gel polish who keeps being asked for length or strength and has to say no.

If you want acrylic in your skill set, this is not the one — the Complete Nail Technician Course is the same price and includes it.

Why Specialise In Gel Nails

Learning one thing properly beats learning five things loosely. These five build in order: manicure first because every gel service goes on over prepared hands, then gel polish, then tips and extensions, then hard gel, then designs worked in gel.

The Foundation, anatomy and nail healthcare theory is studied once rather than five times, and the package costs less than the courses bought separately.

The Five Gel Courses You Get

Five courses, each with its own certificate:

• Manicure — natural nail and cuticle care, the groundwork every gel service sits on and a treatment to offer in its own right.
• Gel Polish — cured colour on the natural nail, three to four weeks of wear, and the steadiest rebooking service on a nail menu.
• Gel Extensions — soak-off gel built over a tip for length, taught alongside a Tip Application module of its own.
• Builder (Hard) Gel — the thick, file-off builder gel, for strengthening overlays and for extensions that need to last.
• Gel Polish Nail Art — designs worked in gel and cured into the set, including marbling and painted flowers.

Plus the Foundation, anatomy and physiology, and nail and skin healthcare modules, a Tip Application module, business training, our private student groups, and the ten-book Beauty Business eBook bundle.

Gel Nail Skills You’ll Qualify In

Nine modules and thirty-nine assessed units, twenty of them hands-on technique.

• Prepare the natural nail and carry out a full manicure, which every other service here is built on.
• Apply gel polish that holds three to four weeks, and soak it off without thinning the nail.
• Size and fit tips — a module of its own — so the extension starts from a sound base.
• Build soak-off gel extensions over a tip, with a structured apex that takes impact in the right place.
• Work hard builder gel for strengthening overlays and longer-wearing extensions, including a smile line built into the gel.
• Infill, rebalance and remove each system — and know that hard gel is filed back rather than soaked.
• Create gel polish nail art, cured into the set so the design lasts as long as the colour.
• Recognise the nail and skin conditions that mean you should not treat, and what to advise instead.
• Price and promote your services, covered in the Foundation module.

How To Enrol On The Starter Gel Course

Sign up whenever it suits. Courses open immediately, there are no term dates to work around, and Klarna or Clearpay will split the cost into three payments.

Lifetime access, no deadline, unlimited resubmissions, and a certificate for each of the five courses as you finish them, so manicure and gel polish can be earning while you are still on hard gel. Business training is included and the private student groups are open to you from the start.

You can learn this. Starting is the only part nobody can do for you.

What You’ll Need To Practise

Three gel systems means three sets of products. You will need nail prep, a bonder or primer and a cleanser; gel polish base, colour and top coat; a soak-off gel for extensions plus tips and nail forms; a hard builder gel; gel paints and a detail brush for the nail art; a UV or LED lamp; manicure tools; files and buffers; and remover wraps or foils.

You do not need all of it at once. Work module by module and buy for the system you are studying — the course order is built that way on purpose, so the manicure module needs almost nothing and the spend spreads out.

Our Gel Starter Kit covers the package in one order if you would rather not assemble it piece by piece. Products you already own are fine — nothing in the course is tied to a brand.

Starter Gel Course FAQs

How is this different from the Complete Nail Technician Course?

The Complete Nail Technician Course is five courses too, but a different five: manicure, gel polish, gel extensions, acrylic and builder in a bottle. The Starter Gel Course swaps acrylic and BIAB for builder (hard) gel and gel polish nail art. Pick Complete if you want acrylic in the mix; pick this one if you have decided to work in gel and want the gel systems in depth.

Do I need any experience?

No. It starts at personal standards, hygiene and setting up a work area, and the first treatment module is manicure. Complete beginners are who this package is built for.

Is there any acrylic in this package?

None. This is a gel route deliberately — gel polish, soak-off gel extensions and hard builder gel. If you want liquid and powder, add the Acrylic Nail Course or take the Ultimate Nail Course instead.

Do I get one certificate or five?

A certificate for each course in the package, issued as you complete them, so you can start charging for manicure and gel polish while you are still working through hard gel.

How long will 39 units take me?

Longer than a single course, and there is no deadline. Nineteen units are the shared theory and 20 are treatment work across five techniques, each wanting its own practice on real hands. Months rather than weeks is realistic, and lifetime access means you can revisit a system later when a client asks for it.

How is my work assessed?

All 39 units are assessed, with unlimited resubmissions and no extra charge. Victoria Arpels, BA (Hons), Cert Ed, demonstrates every technique on video and marks the assessed work herself.

Is the Starter Gel Course accredited?

Yes — by ABT, IPHM and IGCT.

Will I be able to get insurance?

Our courses are recognised by insurers including Towergate, Radius, Insync and Balens. Each insurer sets its own requirements, so check with the one you intend to use before you start taking bookings.

Can I spread the cost?

Yes. Pay in 3 is available with Klarna or Clearpay at checkout.

What support do I get while I study?

You can ask questions as you work through the units, and you get access to our private student groups. On a package this size that matters more than on a single course, because you will be the person asking about hard gel in month two and answering someone else’s gel polish question in month four.