Find Your Formula: The Ultimate Guide to BIAB™ for Pro Nail Techs
Building client trust and loyalty starts with choosing the right nail system. Whether you’re creating short natural nail overlays, long nail extensions, HEMA-free BIAB™ manicures or durable sets for heavy-handed clients, TGB’s BIAB™ range has a formula to suit every nail type and need.
Read on for your ultimate guide to creating the perfect BIAB™ service menu, so you can guide your clients in finding the perfect formula for their nail type and goals.
What is BIAB™?
BIAB™ is our industry-leading innovation, the original Builder In A Bottle™. Invented by our founder, Daisy Kalnina, as a solution for long-lasting gel nails that allow the natural nail to grow strong and healthy underneath, all within an easy-to-use brush-on, self-levelling formula. What started as one game-changing bottle has evolved into a range of innovative formulas, each created by our Research & Development team to suit different nail types, sensitivities and lifestyle needs
Unlike gel polishes that just add colour, BIAB™ acts as a protective shield for the natural nail, adding structural strength, preventing breakages, and helping clients achieve longer natural nails.
Original BIAB™: The OG Innovation
The first in the builder gel lineup, the one that started the movement. Original BIAB™ is available for purchase until February 2027 in line with TPO regulation deadlines.
- Best For: Short to mid-length natural nail overlays, nail biters, and any client looking to grow out their own nails.
- The Lowdown: This is the product that started a global nail revolution. Original BIAB™ provides strength with a flexible finish, meaning nails bend instead of snapping under pressure. It comes in dozens of iconic natural and pink nail colours, allowing you to skip colour altogether for a clean, minimalist look. Alternatively, choose from a selection of deeper shades, including classic red, or add a gel colour on top. Contains TPO and HEMA.
- Removal: Soaks off using TGB Acetone.
New Gen BIAB™: For Natural Nail Overlays
Our next generation builder gel is the evolution of our Original formulation, built for the future. New Gen contains HEMA but is TPO free to align with regulatory updates within the industry, ensuring you have a dependable formula for every client on your books.
- Best For: Short to mid-length nail overlays
- The Lowdown: We’ve kept what you love and refined where it counts. This HEMA-inclusive formula offers easy soak-off removal with matched application and curing times to OG BIAB™. All this in a TPO-free builder gel, refined to reduce heat spikes and ensure precise application through our new anti-leak C-curve brush and improved self-levelling formula. Plus, we’ve upgraded the bottle design to make product identification easier, while keeping the dimensions the same, so New Gen can slot straight into your existing setup.
- Removal: Soaks off using TGB Acetone. Please note, removal may feel more crystal-like compared to Original BIAB™.
Learn more about New Gen BIAB™ here.
TPO & HEMA-Free BIAB™: For Clients with Sensitivities
Created to help you cater to clients with HEMA allergies or sensitivities.
- Best For: Short to mid-length nail overlays & clients with known allergies or sensitivities.
- The Lowdown: HEMA and TPO are common ingredients used in nail products to adhere and cure under a UV/LED lamp. While perfectly safe for most, some people can develop skin sensitivities to HEMA. We offer a 100% TPO-free and HEMA-free BIAB™ that delivers long-lasting wear, so every client you see can experience the BIAB™ difference.
- Removal: Soaks off using TGB Acetone.
Want to learn more about allergies in the nail industry? Our blog will help you navigate client safety with confidence.
Fibre BIAB™ (TPO & HEMA-Free): Reinforced Builder Gel
Fibre BIAB™ is reinforced with Nylon-66 microfibre technology, making it the perfect choice for short to long overlays and extensions that need additional support and a free-from formula. Available in Clear and Colour.
- Best For: Short to long natural nail overlays and extensions using nail forms or DesignExPro™, suitable for clients with known HEMA allergies or sensitivities.
- The Lowdown: Microscopic reinforcing fibres are dispersed into the builder gel. Once cured, these Nylon-66 fibres create an internal support network that acts like a protective armour for the natural nail, preventing flex, breakages and cracking. The result is a flawlessly sleek nail overlay that allows natural nails to grow longer and healthier beneath. It’s also TPO and HEMA-Free, making it a great alternative for clients with sensitivities who require additional support.
- Removal: Soaks off using TGB Acetone.
Hard BIAB™ (TPO & HEMA-Free): The Hybrid
The ultimate builder gel and hard gel hybrid, bringing the best of both together in one versatile formula.
- Best For: Extra-long nail overlays or extensions and heavy-handed clients in need of extra strength. Also suitable for fixing broken nails.
- The Lowdown: For those clients who love seriously long nails or an acrylic-style extension but want a lighter feel, Hard BIAB™ is your answer. It bridges the gap between flexible builder gel and rock-hard extensions. Or perhaps, you’ve got clients who love a shorter set but tend to be a little heavy-handed — our hybrid builder gel is your go-to for resilient overlays with rigid strength. Best of all? This ultra-durable powerhouse is also completely TPO & HEMA-Free.
- Removal: File-off using an e-file.
Build Your Nail Service Menu with Confidence
With a BIAB™ formula for every nail type, lifestyle and client need, the key is matching the right system to the right set of hands. From flexible overlays to sensitivity-safe services with HEMA-free formula and next-level strength with Fibre BIAB™ and Hard BIAB™, each option allows you to tailor your kit with intention.
By understanding how each formula performs, you can confidently consult, customise and elevate your offering — delivering longer-lasting results, protecting the natural nail and building trust with every appointment. Because when your formula is right, the results speak for themselves. Check out our Formula Finder in ProHub for our handy visual BIAB™ guide.
Want to dive deeper into the TGB builder gel range? Download our free BIAB™ Blueprint Workshop at TGB Academy.
