Frequently asked questions about Gelish
What Gelish products does ND carry?
The foundation and finish side of the Gelish system: Base Foundation, Top It Off and No Cleanse Top Coat (singly and as duos), pH Bond and Pro Bond prep, Foundation Flex rubber-base builder in Clear, Light Pink, Light Nude, and Cover Beige, Xpress Dip powders and Dip System Top Coat #4, the Artificial Nail Remover and 16 oz polish remover, remover pads, Nourish Cuticle Oil, and the Harmony Gelish 18 Light Unplugged lamp. Around 30 products are live.
What is Gelish Foundation Flex?
A rubber-base builder gel with the Gelish Foundation adhesion. It works as a base coat, a ridge filler, a volume builder for uneven nails, and a cover for discolored nails, and because it cures with flexibility it cocoons weak nails that tend to break. Two thin coats cured 30 seconds each, then either Top It Off for a natural overlay or two coats of gel polish and top. Made in the USA, 10-free, vegan, cruelty-free, with Vitamin A and Biotin.
What is the difference between Top It Off and No Cleanse Top Coat?
Top It Off is the classic Gelish top with a tacky layer that is cleansed after curing. No Cleanse Top Coat cures tack-free in 60 seconds under LED (3 minutes UV) with a high-gloss finish and no wipe, and it is universal: it seals gel polish, acrylic, PolyGel, and hard gel. Both are filed off at removal rather than soaked.
How do I remove Gelish gel?
File through the top coat, then soak in the Gelish Artificial Nail Remover, an acetone-based remover with conditioning additives that takes Gelish soak-off gel off in 10 minutes or less and also clears dark polish residue. Use the Gelish remover pads or a lint-free wipe with a foil wrap, push the softened gel away, and follow with Nourish Cuticle Oil (grapeseed, kukui nut, sesame, and vitamin E).
Is Gelish sold at wholesale?
Yes. Every Gelish product at ND Nails Supply is wholesale-priced for everyone, with no business license, no minimum order, and no membership fee. Orders $100+ ship free, and in-stock items ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day.
Gelish at ND: the base, top, and builder side of the brand
Gelish is the Hand & Nail Harmony gel system, and the part of it that ND Nails Supply stocks is the working end: the Foundation base, Top It Off and No Cleanse top coats, the pH Bond and Pro Bond prep, the Foundation Flex rubber-base builder in Clear, Light Pink, Light Nude, and Cover Beige, the Xpress Dip powder and Dip System liquids, the Artificial Nail Remover and polish remover, remover pads, Nourish Cuticle Oil, and the Harmony Gelish 18 Light Unplugged lamp. Around 30 Gelish products are live at wholesale, and this page is where a salon that runs Gelish keeps its foundation and finish stocked.
What is on this page
| Group | Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base and top | Base Foundation, Top It Off, No Cleanse Top Coat, Base Foundation and Top It Off duo, Base Foundation and No Cleanse duo | No Cleanse Top is a universal gel top for gel polish, acrylic, PolyGel, and hard gel: 60 seconds LED, 3 minutes UV, high-gloss, no wipe |
| Prep | pH Bond, Pro Bond | Dehydrator and bonder for the Gelish adhesion system |
| Foundation Flex | Clear, Light Pink, Light Nude, Cover Beige | Rubber-base builder gel: base coat, ridge filler, volume for uneven nails, cover for discolored nails; 30-second cures; made in the USA, 10-free, vegan, cruelty-free, with Vitamin A and Biotin |
| Dip | Xpress Dip 1.5 oz powders (GE 842 Good Gossip and more), Dip System Top Coat #4 | The Gelish dip line |
| Removal and care | Artificial Nail Remover, Nail Polish Remover 16 oz, remover pads, Nourish Cuticle Oil | Acetone-based remover takes Gelish soak-off gel off in 10 minutes or less; the cuticle oil blends grapeseed, kukui nut, sesame, and vitamin E |
| Lamp | Harmony Gelish 18 Light Unplugged | The Gelish cordless lamp |
How to use Foundation Flex
- After prep, apply a thin coat of Foundation Flex and cure 30 seconds.
- Apply a second thin coat and cure 30 seconds. This is where the rubber base builds volume, fills ridges, or covers discoloration.
- For a natural-look overlay, finish with a thin coat of Top It Off, cure 30 seconds, and cleanse.
- For gel polish, skip the top and apply two thin coats of gel polish over the Flex, curing between, then Top It Off and cleanse. For lacquer, top the Flex first, then two coats of lacquer and a fast-dry top coat.
Foundation Flex cures with flexibility because of its rubber base, so it cocoons a weak nail rather than cracking with it; Gelish positions it for clients whose natural nails break and snap.
Top It Off vs No Cleanse: which top?
Top It Off is the classic Gelish top with a tacky layer that is cleansed after curing; it is the top the Foundation system is written around. No Cleanse Top Coat cures tack-free in 60 seconds under LED (3 minutes UV) with a high-gloss finish and no wipe, and it is universal: it seals gel polish, acrylic, PolyGel, and hard gel. A salon that runs mixed enhancements usually keeps No Cleanse at every station and Top It Off for the gel polish clients who want the original finish. Both are filed off for removal rather than soaked.
Stocking Gelish essentials
- Every Gelish station: Base Foundation, a top (No Cleanse or Top It Off), pH Bond, and Pro Bond. The base-and-top duos are the cheaper way to buy the pair.
- Overlay and weak-nail clients: Foundation Flex Clear plus one cover shade (Light Pink or Light Nude).
- Dip clients: the Xpress Dip powders and Dip System Top Coat #4.
- Removal desk: the 16 oz remover and the remover pads.
Can I use Gelish base and top with other brands' colors?
Yes, and many salons do. The Gelish Foundation base and the No Cleanse Top are built for the Gelish system, but the No Cleanse Top in particular is a universal top that seals gel polish from any brand, acrylic, PolyGel, and hard gel, cured 60 seconds under LED. The rule that matters is the same as with any mixed system: cure each layer fully, keep coats thin, and cap the free edge. If a salon runs Gelish base and top under LDS, LAVIS, or OPI colors, it gets the Gelish adhesion and finish with the shade range of the other brand. Foundation Flex works the same way as a rubber base under any brand's gel polish.
Where Gelish fits in a multi-brand salon
Gelish is a premium US system and the salons that stock it usually keep it for the base, top, and Foundation Flex overlays, where its adhesion and flexibility are the point, and buy color across several brands. That is exactly the range ND stocks on this page, plus the dip powders, the remover, the cuticle oil, and the lamp, so a Gelish station can be restocked in one order alongside the rest of the salon.
Care and removal
- Gelish gel polish and Foundation Flex soak off in the Gelish Artificial Nail Remover in 10 minutes or less; file the top coat first.
- The No Cleanse Top and Top It Off are filed off during removal.
- Nourish Cuticle Oil once a day on the nail plate and surrounding skin keeps the enhancement flexible at the cuticle.
A Gelish service, bottle by bottle
- pH Bond. Push back, buff the shine, dust, and wipe pH Bond over the plate to dehydrate; no cure.
- Pro Bond. A thin wipe of Pro Bond on the natural nail only, kept off the skin; it is the primer that holds the base on a lifting-prone client.
- Foundation. Base Foundation for a standard manicure, or Foundation Flex for a client whose nails are thin, ridged, or discolored, since the Flex base fills ridges and adds body; cure 30 seconds LED.
- Color. Two thin coats of the salon's gel color, cured between.
- Top. Top It Off, wiped after the cure, or No Cleanse Top Coat for a wipe-free finish; 60 seconds LED or 3 minutes UV, capping the free edge.
Removal is the Artificial Nail Remover under a foil wrap for about ten minutes, then the softened gel pushed away and the nail oiled with Nourish Cuticle Oil. The whole sequence runs on the Gelish 18 Light Unplugged or any LED lamp.
Foundation Flex as a rubber base: which shade for which client
| Shade | Use |
|---|---|
| Clear | The ridge-filling, strengthening base under any gel color; the bottle to open first |
| Light Pink | Worn bare with a top for a tinted, strengthened natural manicure, or as the bed under a French white |
| Light Nude | The bare rubber-base manicure on a fair to medium skin tone |
| Cover Beige | Hides a discolored or uneven nail plate under a sheer color, and the bare nude manicure on deeper skin tones |
Foundation Flex is applied in a thin bonding coat and then a fuller coat that is guided to a slight apex, cured 30 seconds each; the tinted shades stand alone under a top coat as the strengthened manicure that clients book when their natural nails split, and the Clear is the everyday base for a salon that wants every gel manicure to flex rather than lift.
Gelish in a salon that runs another gel brand
Gelish at ND is stocked for its prep and base side more than for color, and most salons use it that way: pH Bond and Pro Bond under whatever color line the salon runs, Foundation Flex as the rubber base for lifting-prone clients, and the No Cleanse Top as the universal wipe-free top over gel, acrylic, PolyGel, and hard gel. That makes the Gelish shelf small (two prep bottles, a base or two, a top, the remover, and the cuticle oil) and steady, reordered by the bottle as the top empties first. A salon adding dip keeps the Xpress Dip powders and the Dip System Top Coat beside it, and the Gelish 18 Light Unplugged is the cordless lamp for the pedicure chair where an outlet is out of reach. Because the prep bottles go on as a single thin wipe per nail, they outlast the top by months, so the reorder rhythm is set by Top It Off and No Cleanse Top rather than by pH Bond and Pro Bond.
Wholesale pricing at ND Nails Supply
Every Gelish product 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 items ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day.