How to Properly Prepare Your Nails for a Gel Manicure
Gel polish manicures offer long-term shine at an economical cost, but are they really beneficial to the nails?
Everything comes down to the removal process. If either you or your manicurist aggressively scrape off gel nail polish or file too aggressively, this could weaken and damage the nails, potentially leaving them looking weaker and appearing damaged.
Prep Your Nails
Get a long-lasting gel manicure by following proper procedures during its application and curing process. Nail technicians follow specific protocols when applying and curing Mylee products for maximum impactful results.
Professional nail artist Jenna Bee emphasizes the importance of properly degreasing nails before applying gel polish, to ensure an enduring application. She recommends applying Prep Booster using lint free wipes on each surface to remove oils and dust accumulated from filing.
Pushing back your cuticles will also help prevent gel polish from lifting too soon, so be careful when pushing back. In order to protect the delicate skin around your nails from being damaged by excessive force used when pushing back cuticles. For best results, it is recommended that a cuticle pusher or clippers is used rather than tweezers.
Buff Your Nails
Buffing your nails helps remove any grease on the nail plate that prevents polish from adhering, while adding texture and grit for maximum longevity of gel polish manicure.
Samuel suggests using a 180 grit buffing block to buff your natural nails, taking care not to over-buff as this could damage the nail plates. Be sure to also buff the free edge of each nail as well.
Once your nails have been polished, use a cuticle softener and pair of cuticle nippers (being careful not to cut any live skin) to push back the cuticles and ensure you do not paint over them, which could cause its polish to come undone over time. Pushing back cuticles also helps prevent paint over them which could result in polish lifting over time.
Apply the Base Coat
As soon as your nails have been prepared and you are ready to apply gel polish, apply a thin layer of the base coat gel. This will help the color adhere better to the natural nail surface while creating an even surface that lasts long-term.
Once the base coat has been applied, cure it for 45 seconds under an LED or 2 minutes under a UV nail lamp – either way will result in sticky nails during curing, which is perfectly normal.
Use a lint-free wipe to wipe down the nail plate of any debris or oils; these may reduce adhesion, leading to early peeling of gel. Also avoid soaps containing moisturizers that could affect how long the gel lasts; this is another reason for cuticle oil and gently pushing back cuticles with steel cuticle remover and scraper tools.
Cure Your Nails
For optimal nail curing, place your nails under a nail lamp for the specified time recommended by their manufacturer. Quick-dry sprays or drops may speed up this process further.
Curing gel polish should leave it completely hard and dry to the touch, without air bubbles appearing underneath it. A clear indicator that improper curing has occurred is when air pockets form beneath it – this phenomenon is called bubbling.
Beginners may find it helpful to paint and cure each hand separately to minimize smudging, speed up work time, and achieve desired opaque colors faster. Apply thin coats in multiple layers until desired colors have been reached – 2-4 layers should do it! Once manicures have set, remove any sticky residue with cotton pads saturated in acetone.