Coating of nails with gel, gel polish. Photo and video technology
What do they pay attention to when meeting a woman? On the hair, face and, of course, hands. Hair and clothing should be neat, and nails well-groomed, while length and color are not particularly important. A woman’s hands should always look perfect! But more often than not, a modern woman does not have enough time for daily manicure procedures. And this is where gel polish comes to the rescue.
Gel polish is a polymeric substance in the form of a gel with the addition of pigment, and today it is one of the best achievements in the nail industry.
The main advantages of coating nails with gel polish:
- convenience and ease of application
- safety of use for the nail
- lasting color
- intense shine remains on the coating until it is removed
- speed of polymerization in a UV lamp
- does not cause allergic reactions
- nails look natural
- strengthens the nail plate
Gel polish lasts 2-3 weeks on nails, subject to the correct coating technology. You can cover your nails with gel polish in the salon, where a professional will do everything right. But if you have a minimal set of manicure tools on hand and follow the instructions for applying the coating, beautiful and well-groomed nails can be made at home.
To do this, you will need:
- fine grain buff
- orange sticks
- nail tweezers
- UV lamp (inexpensive 9W will do)
- degreaser (dehydrator)
- base gel polish (colorless phase 1)
- color gel polish (phase 2)
- finishing gel (phase3)
- adhesive remover
- lint-free wipes or sponges
The dehydrator removes excess moisture, degreases the nail plate. No drying required!
Step 1. Preparing the nail plate. To apply gel polish, a free edge of the nail is required, absolutely flat and as clean as possible. First, you need to file the edge of the nail with a file for natural nails, giving it the necessary shape. Move the cuticle with an orange stick. If necessary, cut it off with nail tweezers.
Step 2. Using a buff, process the nail plate, removing the upper shiny layer. If this is not done, the gel polish will begin to flake off.
After processing with a buff, you cannot touch the nails with your fingers
To degrease and remove moisture from the nail plate, nails are treated with a special degreasing agent (dehydrator). This will ensure strong adhesion of the varnish to the nail.
Step 3. The first base coat of gel polish is applied. The brush must be held horizontally (i.e. parallel) to the nail plate. This will apply a thin, even coat. Rub in the nail with varnish gel. The back edge of the nail (butt) is also covered. Care should be taken not to get the base layer on the cuticle and the skin around the nail. If this happens, the gel polish must be removed. Then place your hand in a UV lamp for 1 minute. After the varnish gel hardens, you need to walk over the nails with a dry brush so that the colored varnish does not collect and does not spread. It is better to cover four fingers on the hand and dry, and then dry the thumbs separately. Keep your fingers horizontal so that the gel polish does not drip to one side. The base coat serves as the base for the color gel. It is responsible for the formation of molecular bonds between the keratin of the nail and the artificial gel material. In addition, it protects the nail plate from the penetration of color gel pigments.
Step 4. Application of colored gel polish. This step has its own characteristics. If the gel polish is bright in color, then apply it in two or three layers. All layers should be as thin as possible so that the varnish does not go in waves, and bubbles do not form, over the entire surface of the nail plate. When painting over the first layer, you do not need to pay attention to unpainted areas, the second layer will cover them. Let there be three, but thinner layers of varnish than two, dense and uneven.
Be sure to paint over the end of the nail. Ensure that the surface is even and smooth
Each applied layer of gel polish is dried in a UV lamp for 2 minutes. When creating a jacket, the drying time is reduced to 1,5 minutes, in order to avoid yellowing of the white varnish gel. There is a little secret: the coating with colored gel polish begins with the little finger of the right hand. After applying the varnish, the nail is placed under an ultraviolet lamp for 5 seconds. While it is polymerizing, paint the nail of the little finger of the left hand and so alternate, from the little finger to the thumb, alternating the right and left hands. This method will prevent the varnish from flowing under the periungual skin. And the time for a manicure itself is reduced.
Step 5. Finishing is the final stage. A finishing agent is applied to protect the gel polish from chips and gives a glossy shine that will last for 2-3 weeks. The finish gel is applied with a slightly thicker layer than the colored one. Be sure to paint over the end of the nail. The finishing gel must dry well. Dry your nails in an ultraviolet lamp for two minutes.
If the curing time of the finish is not respected, it will lead to the fact that when removing the sticky layer, the gloss will be lost.
After drying, the dispersion layer is removed with a special acetone-free product using a sponge. This will give the coating a beautiful, long-lasting, glossy sheen. Finally, apply oil to each nail and massage into the periungual skin and cuticles. Special care for the gel polish is not required. But to maintain the beauty of hands and nails, it is necessary to use various creams and oils to moisturize and nourish the hands and cuticles.
This procedure is very simple. The coating is removed after soaking with special acetone-containing agents. First, the top layer of gel polish is sawn off. Then a sponge soaked in liquid is placed on each nail to remove the gel coating, and wrapped in foil on top. After 5-10 minutes, the coating disintegrates and its particles can be removed with an orange stick.
In the next article, read the detailed instructions on how to remove shellac.