Gel Nail procedure

Gel nails look glossier than Acrylic nails and the procedure is similar to acrylic nails even simple. Also you can make other effects on gel nails. Before you make your own gel nails, you will need the following items:
• Light-cured gel: It is a must.
• Brush: Apply gel on the nails.
• Curing light: A box that has an ultraviolet or halogen bulb to cure or harden the gel nail.

Light-cured gel procedure
1.    Remove polish and clean nails, and wait them dry.
2.    Push back cuticles. Use a cotton-tipped orangewood stick to gently push back cuticles.
3.    Apply nail antiseptic and primer and allow primer to dry to a chalky white.
4.    Apply gel. Brush gel onto entire nail. Cover with a thin, even layers as you would nail polish. Do not brush on cuticle because gel will lift.
5.    Cure gel. Place nails under Curing light and set timer for 3 minutes.
6.    Apply second coat of gel to the first hand. Apply gel in a thin and even coat that looks a glossy top coat. Do not leave any imperfections in application because the finished nail will not be smooth. Then Cure gel.

7.    Clean nails. Wipe nails with alcohol or cleanser to remove residue and tackiness on cured acrylic nails. Cured nails have a shiny gloss that needs no buffing if applied smoothly.
8.    Apply cuticle oil. Rub cuticle oil into surrounding skin and nail surface.

Now, here we are! You can have your own glossy gel nails.

Add a comment December 18, 2008

Acrylic Nail crack repair

We talked about how to make Acrylic nails last week. We will mention acrylic repair today, acrylic nails are not easy to be damaged, but they still need to rebuild after few weeks. Acrylic crack repair is the addition of extra acrylic to fill the crack in an acrylic nail and reinforce the rest of the nail. The procedure is similar to make an acrylic nail.

Use the following steps for crack repairs.

1. Remove old polish.
2. File cracked acrylic. File a V shape into the crack of file flush to remove crack.
3. Clean nails.
4. Apply nail antiseptic. Apply nail antiseptic to nails using cotton-tipped orangewood stick, cotton, or spray.
5. Apply primer: Apply a dot primer to the cracked area.
6. Apply nail form: If the crack is large, apply a nail form for added support.
7. Prepare acrylic liquid and powder: Pour acrylic liquid and powder into separate small jars.
8. Place balls of acrylic: Pick up one or more small balls of acrylic and apply them to the cracked area with a paint brush.
9. Shape balls of acrylic: Dab and press the acrylic to fill crack. Be careful not to let acrylic seep under form or under existing nail.
10. Remove form and reshape nail.
11. Buff nail until smooth and clean nail.
12. Apply cuticle oil and polish or topcoat.

Add a comment December 15, 2008

Acrylic nail procedure

Acrylic nails are the most famous and popular style of nail art. However, the process of making acrylic nail is a little complicated, let’s see how to make it by your own? There are main steps to achieve this style; also you need some materials that we will mention them during the procedure.

1. Prepare

a) Remove all nail polish and clean your nails before you start it.

b) Buff nail to remove shine: Buff lightly over nail plate with a buff to remove the natural oil. This step is important, it will help nail attach well the acrylic powder later.

c) Apply primer: The primer prepares the nail surface for bonding with the acrylic material. Apply a dot of primer on nail very sparingly. And wait it to dry.

d) Prepare acrylic liquid and powder: Pour acrylic liquid and powder into separate small jar.

2. Procedure

a) Position nail form: Position disposable forms on each nail. Check to see that the form is snug under the free edge and level with the natural nail.

b) Place ball of acrylic: Dip brush fully into the liquid and wipe on the edge of the jar to remove the excess. Then dip the tip of the same brush into the white acrylic powder and rotate slightly. Pick up and place this first acrylic ball on the nail form at the point where the free edge joins the nail form.

c) Shape free edge: Use the middle part of your brush to tab and press the ball to shape an extension. Keep sidewall lines parallel and shape acrylic along free edge line. If needed, apply the second white ball to modify the free edge.

d) Apply acrylic beads: Pick up a pink or transparency acrylic ball on your brush and place at cuticle area. Use the moisture in the brush to smooth these beads over entire nail plate.

3. Aftercare

a) Remove the nail forms and shape nails: Use a file to shape free edge and to remove imperfections. Make nails thinner toward cuticles, free edge, and sidewalls.

b) Buff nails and apply cuticle oil: Buff nails with block buffer until entire surface is smooth. Use a cotton-tipped orangewood stick to apply cuticle oil to cuticles, surrounding skin, and nails.

c) Clean nails and apply top coat: Use nail brush to clean nails and apply two coats of top coat.

Then, they are done! Now, you have a natural-looking acrylic French nail!

Add a comment December 11, 2008

Intermediate application: water stain

Water Stain is a new technique, which applies in actual nail design operation. It can make some amazing and colorful effects, such as rainbow and butterfly wing. Here, we show you two styles of water stain on nail design: basic water stain and advanced water stain. How create this design on nails? You can follow the steps below to practice this kind of design.

Basic water stain

The effects of basic water stain in the picture, they look like a rainbow or a color ring. This is different way with using a paint brush to draw the line one by one.

1)  Apply base coat and two coats of light color polish and prepare a small jar with water. Drop a dot of  yellow color polish into the water and the polish will float on the surface of water, then wait it extends to the edge. Use the same way to drop other color polishes into the water.

2)  You can see how the polishes look like in the picture 5, and now put your nail through the water to attach color polish. Make sure your nail surface faces to the water and be careful starting from the nail fingertip. After whole nail attaching the polish, take your nail away from water quickly and be avoid touching any polishes. Then use an orange stick with polish remover to clean up the cuticle.

3) Wait the polish completely dry and apply two coats of top coat to keep your nail perfect.

Advanced water stain

Advanced water stain is a variety of the basic water stain but they look totally different and stunning.

Application of advanced water stain is similar to basic one. Drop color polishes into the water, the final composition you can see in the picture. Before putting your nail into the water, use a small needle to cross the surface of the water. The color wave will be distorted in this way, but be careful not to mix the color together. This is the key point of the whole process. Then put your nail surface into the water to stick color, and clean up the cuticle. Finally, apply the top coat.

It is not easy to make this design, maybe you will not get a nice result at the first time; however, the more practice you try, the more good effects you get.

Add a comment December 3, 2008