The year 2018 has proven to be another strong year for the nail enhancements category, although it was powered by the new segment of sculpting hybrid gels or poly-acrylic gels as opposed to dipping powders, which was the big rage behind the category’s growth in 2017. That said, it is worth mentioning that dipping powders continued to enjoy popularity in 2018. However, the growth was not as phenomenal as 2017, as the segment witnesses saturation with most of the marketers already offering a dipping powder system as a part of their portfolio. The only novelty evident for dipping powders is that of marketers introducing new shades as a part of their seasonal collections.
The trend for poly-acrylic gels, which began at the close of 2017 with Gelish pioneering the way with the Gelish PolyGel, is one of the biggest trends in 2018. These high-viscosity, self-levelling, pre-mixed gels combine the complexities of hard gels and acrylics that allows for flexible, strong, and lightweight overlays and extensions. The easy usability of the product type makes it a big hit with nail technicians of all skill levels. The initial few products launched, such as the Gelish PolyGel, IBD Control Gel, and Tammy Taylor Sculpt, were popularly packaged in tubes with the intention of controlling the product’s dispensing. However, some of the latter product launches have been introduced in other packaging formats, such as the Orly GelFx Builder in a Bottle (packaged in a bottle) and Roby Nails AcryGel, LCN Fusion, and Alessandro AcryLOVE (packaged in jars).
Unlike the demand for dipping powders, which has been mostly concentrated in the United States with a lukewarm reception in other parts of the world, the demand for poly-acrylic gels has already begun to gain momentum in the west.
Stay tuned to discover more about the poly-acrylic gel trend and its impact on the global professional nail care market in our forthcoming Professional Nail Care: Global Market Brief report, a robust analysis of the dynamic market for nail polishes, gels, care products, and nail enhancements with in-depth research being done for markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, China or Japan.
