How Long do Manicures Really Take & What to Expect

How long do Manicures Really take & What to Expect
How long do Manicures Really take & What to Expect

Manicures can take anywhere from 20 minutes for a very simple manicure to 90 minutes for intricate nail extensions. But exactly how long will depend on:

  1. The type of manicure being done
  2. The amount of design and nail art that you want
  3. The number of services included like if massages or exfoliation is offered.
  4. How skilled or experienced is your nail technician is. The more skilled and experienced the faster they will be.

Now, in this article, we will give you an estimate of how long different types of manicures will take so that you know what to expect.

How Long Does Different Types of Manicure Take

Type of ManicureHow Long to Do
Natural manicure20-25 minutes
Standard polish manicure35-45 minutes
French Tip Manicure45-50 minutes
American Manicure45-50 minutes
Gel polish manicure 50-60 minutes
Gel Extensions60-90 minutes
Acrylic Extensions60-90 minutes
Acrylic Overlay45-60 minutes
Polygel manicures60 minutes
Dip Powder manicure45-60 minutes
Paraffin Wax Manicure50-60 minutes
How long do different types of manicures take

How Long Does a Natural Manicure take

Natural manicures are the fastest type of manicures they take around 20-25 minutes. But can take longer if a hand massage and soaking are included.

Natural manicures don’t include any nail product instead they include cuticle care and cutting, filing, and buffing your nails to give them a nice neat-glossy look.

You can click here to learn more about a natural manicure.

Related Article: How long does a Pedicure & a Mani Pedi take & What to Expect

How Long Does a Basic Nail Polish Manicure Take

A basic or regular nail polish manicure should take around 35-45 minutes. This will vary based on:

  • How much soaking your hand receives
  • The intensity of the massage (if this is included)
  • And if also you want nail art and then how long will depend on how intricate the design is.

This type of manicure is the most common type and is the same as a natural manicure except nail polish is applied.

Related Article: What is a Manicure and Which one is the Best Type

How Long Does a Gel Manicure Take

There are two kinds of gel manicures:

  • Gel Polish Manicures which use gel polishes instead of regular nail polishes take around 50-60 minutes.
  • Gel Extension manicures, which use builder gels to extend your nails, take around 60-90 minutes

You can click here to learn about the Pros and Cons of a Gel Manicure.

How Long Does Acrylic Manicures take

Acrylic is used either as an overlay or to make extensions.

  1. Acrylic Overlay is where acrylic is used to just cover your natural nails. They usually take around 60 minutes to do
  2. Acrylic Extension is where acrylic is used to extend the length of your nails. This can take anywhere between 60-90 minutes.

How Long Polygel Manicures Take

Polygel is one of the fastest ways other than using press on nails to make nail extensions. They take around 60 minutes to apply when using dual forms.

Polygel manicures are also very easy to DIY click here to learn how to apply polygel at home.

How Long Dip Powder Manicures Take

Dip Powder Manicures take around 45 to 60 minutes to do. Dip Powder Manicures are also really easy to DIY at Home

You can check out the video below to see how it’s done.

How Long Does a Paraffin Wax Manicure Take

A paraffin wax manicure usually takes around 60-70 minutes. 20 Minutes for the paraffin wax aspect and 40 minutes for the manicure. Citation.

A paraffin manicure involves dipping your hands into warm paraffin wax to exfoliate, moisturize and soothe your hands and basic manicure.

Sources

Types of Manicure

Acrylic Nails

How long should a PolyGel service take

Dip Powder Manicure