Frequently asked questions
Are these sets cheaper than buying the bottles singly?
Not as a rule. At ND these sets are priced at or close to what the same bottles cost individually, and where a listing genuinely works out lower per bottle it says so on that listing. What a set buys is selection and time: the colours were chosen to work together, they arrive in one box on one line of the order, and a new tech does not have to guess which nine shades out of two hundred will cover a client book. For a station being opened, that is worth more than a few percent.
How many colours should a first set have?
Six. Three is too few to serve a walk-in and twelve is money sitting on a shelf before the salon knows what its clients ask for. Choose a set that covers two nudes, a red, a soft pink, and a dark shade before any trend colour, and take one that includes a base and top unless the same line is already on the station. After a month, the four shades that were actually opened are the ones to buy as singles in depth.
What else does a new gel station need?
A lamp with enough power to cure a dark shade properly, base and top if the set does not include them, a dehydrator and a primer for clients who lift, files, a buffer, and a dusting brush, cleanser and lint-free wipes for tops that leave a tacky layer, and cuticle oil, which doubles as aftercare and a retail line. Prep tools matter more than most beginners expect, because prep is where nearly every early set fails.
Why do beginner sets lift in the first month?
Technique rather than product, in four familiar ways: product touching the skin at the cuticle or sidewall, shine left on the plate because the buff did not reach the edges, coats laid too thick to cure through, and a free edge that was not capped. Learning on one line makes the cause obvious, because only one variable changes at a time, and a set that includes the base and top from the same brand removes two more variables at the start.
What is on this page
231 gel colour sets at wholesale, built for a salon or a tech who is starting out rather than replacing stock. LAVIS accounts for 147 of the listings and LDS for 84, and 21 are out of stock as this page was written. The sets run from three and six colours up to nine, twelve, and full seasonal collections, and 57 of them include a base and top so the buyer has a working system rather than colour on its own.
The set sizes on this page
| Build | Listings | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Set of 3 | 26 | A first purchase, or adding one colour family to an existing wall |
| Set of 6 | 50 | The common starter size: enough range for most clients in one box |
| Set of 9 | 33 | A working wall for a single station |
| Sets with base and top | 57 | Anyone who does not already own a base and top from the same line |
| Seasonal and collection sets | The remainder, including 12-colour collections | A salon adding a themed display in one order |
What a set is actually buying
Not a discount. At ND these sets are priced at or close to what the same bottles cost individually, and the pages that carry a genuine per-bottle difference say so on their own listing. What a set buys is selection and time: the colours were chosen to work together, they arrive in one box on one line of the order, and a new tech does not have to guess which nine shades out of two hundred will cover a client book. For a salon opening a station that is worth more than a few percent off a bottle.
The second thing a set buys is consistency. Nine shades from one line cure the same way, sit at the same thickness, and behave identically under the same lamp, which is exactly what someone still learning needs while they work out timing and coat thickness.
Choosing a first gel set
- Start from the clients, not the chart. Two nudes, a red, a soft pink, and a dark shade cover most bookings before any trend colour.
- Take a set that includes base and top unless the salon already runs them from the same line.
- Six is the right first number. Three is too few to serve a walk-in, twelve is money sitting on a shelf.
- Add a seasonal set second, once the core is proven, so the display looks current without doubling the stock.
- Keep the numbers. Write the shade number on the client card from the first appointment.
- Buy one line at a time. Mixing brands early makes it impossible to tell whether a problem is the product or the technique.
What else a new station needs
- A lamp matched to the gel, and enough power to cure a dark shade properly.
- Base and top, either in the set or bought alongside it.
- Prep: a dehydrator and, for clients who lift, a primer.
- Files, a buffer, and a dusting brush, because prep is where most beginner sets fail.
- Cleanser and lint-free wipes for tops that leave a tacky layer.
- Cuticle oil, which is aftercare and a retail line at the same time.
Why beginners lose sets in the first month
Almost never the colour. Product touching the skin at the cuticle or sidewall is the first cause, shine left on the plate because the buff did not reach the edges is the second, coats laid too thick to cure through is the third, and a free edge that was not capped is the fourth. All four are technique rather than stock, which is the argument for learning on one line: change one variable at a time and the cause becomes obvious. A set that includes the base and top from the same brand removes two more variables at the start.
Growing from a set to a wall
The pattern that works is to buy a six-colour set, use it for a month, and note which shades were opened. Most techs find that four of the six carry almost every appointment, and those four are the ones to buy as singles in depth. The next purchase is then a second set that fills the gaps the first one left, usually a deeper family or a seasonal group, rather than a random spread of singles. After two or three cycles a salon has a wall built from what clients actually asked for rather than from a chart.
Storage and shelf life
Gel cures in ambient light and thickens with heat, so keep the bottles out of daylight, away from the radiator and the window, and cap them between clients rather than between appointments. Wipe the neck before capping so the cap seats and the bottle does not skin. A set bought for a station that is not yet busy will sit longer than a working bottle, so store the unopened part of it in a cupboard rather than on the display until it is needed.
Pricing a service around a small wall
A new station does not need a large chart to charge properly. Clients book a colour service, not a colour count, and a well-chosen six or nine shades presented on a clean display reads as a considered range rather than a short one. What undermines a new price list is inconsistency: a set that lasts three weeks for one client and one week for another, which comes back to prep rather than to the number of bottles on the shelf. Getting the same result on every hand is what allows a price to hold.
The other early decision is the removal policy. A soak-off appointment takes time and uses product, and a salon that does not charge for it ends up doing unpaid work for clients who change their colour every fortnight. Deciding that in the first month is easier than raising it later.
Reading a set listing before ordering
Set listings vary more than they look. Some are colour only, some include a base and top, some add a primer, and a few bundle a sample or an extra bottle. The shade numbers are usually printed in the title, which is worth reading against the wall the salon already has so the same nude does not arrive twice under two different numbers. Where a set is listed in more than one size, the powder or bottle size sits in the title as well, and it changes both the price and how long the set lasts on a busy station.
Wholesale pricing at ND Nails Supply
Every set on this page ships at wholesale pricing for everyone, with no business license, no minimum order, and no membership fee. Free shipping on orders $100+, and in-stock sets ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day.