More and more fashionistas stop visiting manicurists in salons. To make a high-quality and bright manicure at home is no longer a problem. To date, a huge number of tools, materials and tools have appeared that help to simplify the procedure for creating manicures. Now it is not necessary to study for several months. It is enough to purchase the necessary stencils and stickers, as well as tools, and master the simple technique of applying gel polish at home.
The big disadvantage of home manicure was its fragility, but with the appearance of gel polishes, a manicure can be worn for more than two weeks. It should be noted that many girls call gel polish shellac, but this is a mistake. Shellac gel polish - manufactured by CND, this is an expensive original product for professional manicure, which includes an organic polymer, respectively, the other non-original products are not Shellac.
Gel polish combines the properties of 2 products for nail design - ordinary nail polish for manicure and modeling gel. They polymerize under the influence of UV waves, forming a dense film, i.e. there is a transition from liquid to solid.
Tool preparation
In order to put your nails in order and do an interesting manicure at home, you need to prepare certain tools and materials. It is better, of course, not to choose the cheapest, otherwise a number of problems may arise and will turn out to be more expensive in the end. Everyone knows the saying "avaricious pays twice." It is recommended that you carefully read the characteristics of the purchased tools and customer reviews. Next, we will tell you what tools you need for home manicure.
UV lamp (ultraviolet lamp) for drying nails. Now, mainly in beauty salons and at home, 36-watt lamps are used. They allow you to significantly speed up the drying process up to 1-2 minutes. Some have a built-in fan, but this is not a required feature. The price range varies from 1100 rubles to 7000 rubles. There are economical options in 9 watts to 1000 r, but they dry one element much longer.
Manicure setwhich includes scissors, wire cutters, a double-sided cuticle pusher or orange sticks.
Polishing file - buff with a hardness of 900 grit. Such a file polishes the nail plate to improve the adhesion to gel polish.
Nail files more often chosen in the form of a boomerang. The gradation of stiffness (graininess) is important here. For natural nails, files with high abrasiveness are preferred, at least from 500 and higher. For extended take more granular files from 100 grit to 180. 4-sided files are very convenient. They are used for grinding and polishing.
Can be purchased inexpensive milling machine for manicure with various nozzles for processing nails.For the home, simple devices are suitable, the price of which ranges from 1700 rubles to 5000 rubles. Power ranges from 18,000 to 25,000 rpm. Professionals use devices with a capacity of 30,000 rpm. The most popular brand is Strong.
Thin lint-free wipes necessary to remove excess material or sticky layer after drying.
Necessary materials
When all the basic tools are purchased, you should proceed to the procurement of materials. It is also important to consider various brands of manufacturers and get acquainted with consumer reviews on the quality of materials. Next, we will tell you what materials are needed for home manicure.
Set of color gel polishes and glitter, including white, black and nude.. You can consider domestic manufacturers of manicure products RuNail or Aurelia, but there is already a persistent recommended list of inexpensive and high-quality gel varnishes. These include: Kodi Professional, Laque RuNail, Pnb (Professional Nail Boutique), Canni, Bluesky, Nogtika and Red Carpet Manicure.
Scotch to create geometric shapes and a jacket, stamps, stencils, sparkles, rhinestones, etc. You will also need a set of brushes with natural pile of various diameters for applying the picture and attaching rhinestones.
Degreaser or Dehydrator needed for pretreatment of nails and for removing the sticky layer after drying.
Primer - a tool for processing the nail plate in order to eliminate natural fatty deposits and dirt to improve adhesion. It softens the horny particles and the base coat adheres better. They are divided into acidic and acid-free.
Base - a layer for aligning the nail plate. It is divided into ordinary, rubber (used for severe defects on the nail plate) and vitamin (for dry and brittle nails).
Remuver It is used to soften and remove cuticles and dead skin cells.
Topcoat (Top) - It is applied as a final and fixing layer of manicure after the end of all manipulations.
Cuticle oil necessary to protect the skin near the nail plate. It is applied after the completion of manicure. Can be replaced with any other nutritious oils;
Special softening gel polish remover and foil also come in handy.
Step-by-step instructions for applying gel polish
When everything is acquired and prepared, you can start gel-varnish coating at home. At first glance, it seems that this is a very time-consuming process, but after several procedures you will already be quickly managed and hone your skill as an art designer. On average, the procedure takes from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the complexity and condition of the nails. The procedure for applying gel polish can be divided into 7 main steps.
Nail preparation
Step 1 - nail preparation. In order to start creating a manicure, nails need to be prepared. To do this, you need to steam your hands in the bath or use a remover in order to remove excess skin around the nail. Then, with the help of a nail file, give the necessary shape with your fingernail and sand it with a buff, remembering to process the edges and base of the nail plate.
Pretreatment of nails
Step 2 - preparatory surface treatment. A buff file is needed for surface treatment. It matts the nail, eliminating the gloss that prevents adhesion to the coating layer. This process is very important, because if you miss it, gel polish may crack and crack off after a few days. After the nail becomes dull, it must be wiped with a degreaser. It is necessary to ensure that after this procedure you do not touch the plates with your fingertips. Then, a primer is applied in a thin layer.
Base coat application
Step 3 - the process of applying the base layer. It is important to note that after the primer has been applied, one cannot pause for more than 10-15 minutes between this layer and the application of the base.The base layer is applied in a thin layer, trying to prevent contact with the cuticle and other periungual tissue. Well process the end parts of the nail so that they do not remain “bare”.
The base layer is applied to all fingers except the thumb and then dried. In a 36-watt lamp for about 2 minutes. After that, the thumb is treated separately and dried. After drying the nails, it is necessary to remove the sticky layer with a degreasing agent.
Color coating
Step 4 - applying a color coating. To apply the selected color gel polish is also recommended a thin layer. If something fell on the periungual area, carefully remove it with an orange stick. Apply color gel polish in the same way as the base - first 4 fingers, except the thumb, and then drying. Paint the thumb and dry for about five minutes. If the color is not evenly distributed or the layer is not of the saturation that you would like, repeat the manipulations one more time.
Nail design
Step 5 - decorating the nails. Stamping, water-based stickers, rhinestones and freehand drawing are applied at this stage. The process takes a minimal amount of time, and any of the techniques does not require special skill.
To attach rhinestones It is recommended to dip a toothpick in a transparent varnish and then attach the decor element to the nail with the tip. So glue the rhinestones one by one.
To use water-based stickers, cut out the drawing in the form of a nail or the necessary element and soak in water as indicated in the instructions. Usually no more than 10 minutes. Then the pattern is wiped and removed from the substrate, spreading over the nail.
To use stencils, they should be applied to the nails and smoothed. Then, each element of the stencil is drawn in color gel polish with a brush and dry. After removing the stencil.
To use stamping, it is necessary without special pressure to transfer the desired pattern to the stamp, rolling it over the plate, and having cleaned of unnecessary parts, and also, without strong pressure to transfer the pattern from the stamp to the nail.
To use scotch tape, it must be glued so as to separate certain areas for staining in other colors.
Finish layer
Step 6 - applying the finish or fixing layer. The top layer allows the manicure to last longer, and also gives it a beautiful glossy shine. It is recommended to apply two topcoats, staining and the inner side of the nail including. Each layer is dried in a lamp for about 2 minutes. But, it can be applied once.
Final stage
Step 7 - Removing the sticky layer. It is removed either with a degreaser or dehydrator with a lint-free cloth. Excess gel polish that protrudes on the sides should also be removed with an orange stick or bunker. After that, the cuticle is lubricated with oil.
As a result, depending on your preferences, a beautiful and accurate manicure is obtained, for which a specialist in the salon would have to pay dearly.
Gel Polish Removal
It's important to know how to remove old gel polish. Conventional acetone or nail polish remover will not work. In order to remove gel polish you will need: foil, a special tool for removing gel polish and cotton pads.
Cotton pads are divided into 4 parts, each moistened with gel polish remover, applied to the nails and wrapped with foil for half an hour. Over time, the foil is removed and the remaining varnish is removed with an orange stick. If the coating does not move well, it is necessary to perform manipulations again.
Major mistakes
You need to know that when preparing nails the most important mistakes which affect the quality of the coating and the wear time of the gel polish. They are as follows:
- The incompletely removed old coating prevents the new coating from lying flat;
- Bubble formation in the base layer due to a poorly removed cuticle. Because of this, at the base, the new coating will crack and peel;
- Improper buff polishing can make the nail plate smooth instead of a rough surface that helps grip the coating. On a smooth surface, gel polish will not stick;
- The gel polish will peel off or crack off if the nail plate is poorly degreased or the primer application step is skipped;
- Sometimes nails suffer from overdrying, due to the use of improperly selected means for processing before applying gel polish. On such nails he will immediately crack;
- If the nail plate is thin and bends strongly, either a correction of the length or preliminary strengthening of the nail is required, otherwise chips and cracks cannot be avoided;
- If you keep your fingers tilted during drying, then polymerised sagging may appear;
- It is impossible to apply a coating with too thick a layer, it will not dry out, and instead there will appear inflows and other defects;
- There may also be problems with the coating if the materials are of poor quality;
- If you do not seal each of the applied layers, then peeling is inevitable.
Reasons why gel polish does not hold
The procedure for applying gel polish for beginners seems difficult, but in fact, having tried several times by trial and error, the technique improves. Often, beginners ask questions about why gel polish does not hold well, cracking lags behind. To prevent this from happening, the masters recommend that you carefully and carefully follow all application steps without missing a single one.
Gel polish does not hold for a number of reasons:
- The old coating is not completely removed;
- The cuticle is not completely removed;
- The nail is poorly fat free;
- Missed the primer application step;
- The nail is improperly buffed;
- The applied layer is too thick;
- Some of the layers are not sealed;
- Poor material, or mixed materials of different quality.
It is important to know that gel polish does not hold on weak and brittle nails. If you have brittle, brittle nails, you need to strengthen your nails before starting the gel varnish application procedure at home.
