Collection: Lavis Soft Gel Tips

What are Lavis soft gel tips?

Full-cover nail tips made from a soft, soak-off gel material, pre-shaped so they need little or no filing before they go on. You prep the natural nail, bond the tip with a gel, cure, and refine; the whole set is done without sculpting acrylic or hard gel. Lavis sells them in boxes of 10 to 15 sizes, so one box fits a full hand of any client, and lists them as usable with gel, acrylic and dip systems, for beginners and professionals alike.

We carry the whole Lavis tip range on this page: the standard full-cover boxes in every shape and length, the Perfect line with 700 tips per box and a low C-curve, the XL to XXXL half-cover tips in 500-piece boxes, single-size refills, and the kits that bundle tips with the gels to bond them.

Shapes, lengths and finishes

Finishes: clear tips let you see placement and suit encapsulated art; half buffed and full etched tips are pre-roughened on the underside so the bonding gel grips without a hand-buff; matte tips take color without a buff on top. The 4-shape ombre and 4-shape clear boxes are samplers for a salon deciding which shapes to stock.

Full-cover, half-cover, high apex and the Perfect line

• Full-cover tips cover the whole nail plate and are the standard Lavis box: 10 to 15 sizes, pre-shaped, trim shorter if needed.
• Half-cover XL tips sit on the free-edge half of the nail with a C-curve base, so the tech builds the rest with gel or acrylic. They come 500 to a box in 9 to 11 sizes and are the extra-long shapes: XL, XXL and XXXL stiletto, almond, coffin and square.
• High apex tips carry a built-in apex for a stronger arch on long shapes: Almond Extra Long, high apex and Square Long, high apex.
• Perfect line tips are Lavis's thinner, more malleable full-cover tip with a low C-curve and flat contour from cuticle to free edge, sold 700 to a box in 14 sizes; Lavis quotes four weeks of wear with proper application.
• Refills are 100 tips of one size for the sizes a salon runs out of first.

Who books a soft gel tip set?

• Clients who want a full set in under an hour: pre-shaped tips remove most of the filing.
• Techs who do not sculpt: the shape is in the tip, not the hand.
• Salons with a mixed system: Lavis lists the tips for gel, acrylic and dip, so one box serves every station.
• Long-nail clients: the XL to XXXL half-cover range covers lengths a full-cover tip cannot.
• Home users: a box of tips, a bonding gel and a lamp is a complete kit.

How do you apply Lavis soft gel tips?

1. Size. Pick the tip that fits sidewall to sidewall; 10 to 15 sizes per box means the fit is exact. File the cuticle edge of the tip if it needs a curve.
2. Prep the nail. Push cuticles back, buff the shine off, dust, dehydrate, apply primer or protein bond. Ours are under Base & Top Gel.
3. Prep the tip. Clear tips: lightly buff the underside. Half buffed and full etched tips are already roughened.
4. Bond. Brush a thin layer of soft gel tip adhesive or builder gel onto the natural nail and into the tip, press the tip on from the cuticle edge to the free edge, and hold. A rubber base from LDS Rubber Base or Lavis Builder Gel both work as the bond.
5. Cure. Flash cure each nail under a UV/LED lamp with the tip held, then full cure the hand.
6. Refine and finish. Trim shorter if wanted, file the edge, buff the surface, then color and top coat.

Lamps, files and dust brushes are under Nail Tools & Accessories. The Perfect Shape Kit bundles three Perfect boxes with base, top, tip adhesive and primer.

Soft gel tip vs dual form vs sculpted extension

Most salons keep tips for speed and one of the other two for clients who want a sculpted nail. The same gels bond all three: see Lavis Poly Gel Non-Sticky for sculpting.

Wear, care and stocking the tips

• Wear: Lavis quotes four weeks for the Perfect line with proper application; standard tips are worn and refilled like any extension.
• Removal: file the top coat and color thin, wrap in acetone, wait, push. The soft gel tip softens with the bonding gel; never pry.
• Stocking: almond medium, coffin medium and square medium in clear cover most bookings; add the half-buffed versions for speed and one XL box for long-nail clients. Use refills for the three or four sizes that empty first.
• Storage: keep tips in their sized boxes and out of direct sun; the material is soft gel and should not sit in a hot window.

Related collections

• LDS Soft Gel Nail Tips The LDS tip line: almond, coffin, stiletto, square, toe tips.
• Lavis Dual Forms Reusable moulds for a gel-built extension.
• LDS Rubber Base A flexible bonding base under the tip.
• Lavis Builder Gel in the Bottle Bonds tips and builds structure over them.
• Nail Tools & Accessories Lamps, files, clippers.

Related reads

• Dip powder vs gel vs acrylic: how to choose
• How SNS approaches a safer UV gel manicure
• BIAB vs dip powder: which builds better?