Frequently Asked Questions

We specialize in manicures, single-colour gel application, sculpted overlays, and bespoke nail art. Sculpted overlays are often created with BIAB, we work with a different type of product. We work exclusively on natural nails, focusing on high-quality, long-lasting results.

No and yes. Let us explain!

BIAB stands for Builder in a Bottle, a name created and claimed by a brand called The GelBottle. The product allows you to build a strengthening layer on nails to support nail growth and function as a safety buffer to prevent breakages.

We have made the conscious decision not to work with this brand, but we do love strengthening treatments. So we do offer strengthening treatments, but not BIAB. Bio Sculpture, the brand we have chosen to work with, offers strengthening treatments that are buildable and can be tailored your nail requirements. It’s applied thinner but is equally strong if not stronger. Win-win if you ask us.

You can book a strengthening treatment as an add-on to your original service. If you’re unsure if you require this treatment, do not hesitate to reach out to us.

We work exclusively with gel polish. For aesthetic and our own health reasons we do not work with acrylics. As hard gel requires the use of an e-file, we don’t offer hard gel services.

If you’re currently wearing acrylics or hard gel and would like to switch to gel polish please e-mail us along with a photo of your current set so we can see how we can service you.

• Single colour including soak-off of old gel set: ~55 minutes

• Single colour with treatment including soak-off of old set: ~90 minutes

• Nail art: between 10 to 120 minutes to be added to your removal and service time depending on the design.

• Removal and manicure: ~30-40 minutes

We will always follow all steps to ensure the longevity of your set. With proper care, your set should last between 3-4 weeks.

The longevity depends on your chosen service, nail condition, growth, lifestyle, and aftercare.

They don’t say nails are jewels not tools for nothing. We will always provide you with after care tips to ensure you can enjoy your set fullest. We strongly recommend not to wait any longer than our recommended time to avoid stress breaks and/or the start of lifting of the product.

After carefull and in-depth research and consideration I have chosen to use the top-tier brand called Bio Sculpture. Some key information about the brand:

• Based in South-Africa

• Inventor of soakable gel (over 30 years ago)

• Owns it’s own factory, full control of product ingredients and production

• Majority of the products are hypoallergenic and are extremely well within the safety range determined by the EU

• Have some of the highest industry safety standards and are inspected by independent institutes in for example Germany and internally

• Offer different base gels to tailor to your nail type, condition and lifestyle

• Offers an extensive nail care line called Ethos, that nurtures during removal, underneath your gel product and during aftercare.

To summarize, they focus on safe products whilst enhancing your nail health which perfectly matches with our values.

Other brands that we use for art are South-Korean based ICE Gel, Dutch brand Colourtone, UK brand The Gelbottle (paint gels for detailed work only) and other niche brands.

Of course, you can always drop by, give a call, send a message via Instagram or e-mail. We want to make sure that you get what works best for you so don’t hesitate to reach out.

No, we focus exclusively on hands.

You can book an appointment directly through our Booking Form.

Since we work by appointment only, I recommend booking in advance to secure your preferred date and time.

If you’re not sure what to book, please send an e-mail to info@thelittlecanvas.nl or send a DM via Instagram @thelittlecanvasnl.

We kindly ask you to be on time or 5 minutes early to your appointment as we have full calendars and hate to keep clients waiting, of course things can happen.

If you’re running late, please give us a call. Should you arrive later than 10 minutes, we cannot guarantee the (full) service but we will always try our best to accommodate you. The original booked service will be charged.

Things can always happen that result in a need to cancel or reschedule. You can cancel or reschedule free of charge till 24 hours in advance.

Within the 24 hours, we will charge 50% of the booked service.

If you do not show up or are too late to offer any service we will charge 100% of the booked service.

If you are late to you appointment please let us know as soon as you can.

Once you arrive, we can see what service we can offer whilst maintaining our service standard within the time remaining. You will still pay for your booked service.

In order to prevent late cancellations, we will always send you a reminder via e-mail 48 hours in advance.

You can pay via debit card, creditcard (except American Express) and our own giftcard.

We offer a 7-day guarantee on all gel services. Any damage caused by own cause we happily fix at a soft rate. Please reach out to us and we’ll make an appointment.

Yes you can park at ParkBee in front of De Koepel. It's less than a minute walk to our salon.

We love kids and dogs, however in order to give all our clients the opportunity to enjoy their precious me-time a kindly ask you to come to your appointment alone.

Yes of course! An appointment at The Little Canvas sounds like the perfect gift if you ask us. You can purchase a gift card here or at the salon.

Let’s get one thing sorted straight right away; we understand your concerns. As much as we love having beautiful nails via gel polish, health should never be sacrificed. The good news is, it does not have to be if you take proper measures.

As dermatologists have said in recent interviews, it’s okay to get your nails done but do it at a proper salon where they use quality products and work hygienically. What do they mean by this?

· Use quality products

At The Little Canvas, we work with mostly hypoallergenic products from Bio Sculpture that meet the highest industry standards and more. Furthermore, we use their own LED lamps to be sure the product cures completely as not every LED lamp is the same.

· Avoid product to skin contact

We are trained to avoid contact of uncured product with your skin. Also, we cure gels either one nail at a time or two nails at a time to avoid uncured product to stay on your nails for longer than necessary.

· Avoid overworking the skin or nails

We do not cut away any living skin where uncured product could get in contact. We use the soak-off technique to avoid damage to the natural nail. If the natural nail is too damaged either from pulling off gel polish or mistreatment from other places we wait until the natural nail is restored enough to hold product and have tips in the mean time to boost recovery.

· Go to a salon that works hygienically

We sanitize all our tools, files are single use always and have dust and fume extraction machines in place that ensure that the salon has clean air.

We take both your and our own health extremely seriously. We are trained in identifying symptoms surrounding an acrylics allergy but ultimately we will direct you to a dermatologist for testing.

Should you already have contact dermatitis, it unfortunately will not go away. Nails can restore, but as soon as you are in contact again with that ingredient, you body will fight it.

However, it doesn’t mean that you can never wear any gel polish again. It is important to determine what ingredient you are allergic to which needs to be avoided at all times. Often it’s an ingredient called HEMA. All base gels and the vast majority of Bio gels are fully HEMA free so should be safe to use. The few colours that do have HEMA as an ingredient are a fraction of what is allowed by EU standards and therefore safe to use. When in doubt, we can always provide ingredient lists and check-in with your doctor/dermatologist. Only if we are sure, a gel polish service can be booked. As always, health and safety first.

Contrary to some beliefs, gel polish does NOT damage your natural nails. In fact, it can help support nail growth and prevent nail biters to bite their nails or cuticles.

How you treat your nails and gel can cause however cause damage.

Our responsibility is to take care of your nails and make you feel empowered. As such, we choose to remove the old set via gentle soak-off enhanced with vitamin doses and serums. We educate you on how to best take care of your nails after the appointment.

As a client, we strongly urge you not to pull, peel, file your nails or cuticles. Also, it is highly recommended to keep the interval between appointments to a max of 3 to 4 weeks depending on your own situation to prevent lifting and breakages.

Having any type of ailment on your nails that is visible can lead to insecurities and more. We understand this completely. We are trained and experienced to prevent these ailments to occur by having high hygiene standards and way of workings in place. In addition, we can recognize many ailments and if necessary, we will strongly advice you to see a doctor or dermatologist.

At The Little Canvas, health is our main priority. In the case of a fungi or bacterial infection we do not put any product on the nail as it could prevent several medical treatments in its effectiveness. Furthermore, we do not want to cross contaminate other clients and it’s important to have a visual to see how the infection is developing.

If a client has fungus or bacteria, we will remove all polish if present, use products to help kill the infection and give a manicure. We take photos for you to bring to a doctor appointment so they can see the development. All our tools are sanitized after each service with products that effectively kill any presence of fungus or bacteria plus our files are always single use.

Once the ailment is gone, we are more than happy to apply gel polish again.

Absolutely! Based on theory and best practices plus depending on your past experiences with longevity of your set we will advice you on how to best take care of your hands. Honestly it already begins by selecting the right length and shape for you.

No we don’t. Although we respect all nail techs that are highly skilled and trained in Russian manicures, we prefer a less intense approach to the skin. In addition, we’ve chosen to always fully soak off the old product before applying new product to continuously monitor the state of the natural nail. A hand file gives us more control and is therefore preferred over an e-file but we do want to point out that an e-file in itself is not dangerous. People using it without proper training is dangerous.