I’m telling you the nail shop horror story that made me realize the nail industry has one of the easiest scams ever: you ask for gel (biogel), they charge you for gel… and then they slap acrylic on you. This happened to me at a busy downtown Toronto salon near Church Street. The tech even confirmed “biogel,” but then I smelled that super strong monomer, watched him use powder, and there was zero UV lamp curing. At the time I didn’t know the difference, so I walked out thinking I was cute and “fabulous”… meanwhile I got played. Later, a legit salon owner explained it straight: acrylic = powder + monomer smell + air-cures; gel = goopy builder gel that won’t harden unless it’s cured under a UV lamp. I went home, Googled “gel nail scam,” and realized it’s way more common than people think. The same sketchy place even had “gel powder” sitting on the table—newsflash, there’s no such thing, it’s basically acrylic with a fake label. I also rant about ridiculous upcharges (like trying to charge me $40 extra for chrome powder that takes five minutes). My takeaway: do your research, watch what they’re using, don’t get overcharged, and please don’t let salons target you just because you “don’t know your shit.”