What is required for nail extension with gel

What is required for nail extension with gel

Nail extension with gel at home — why not?

The creation of beautiful and unique nail design doesn’t necessarily require the services of professional masters. This article will explain how to perform nail build-up at home all by yourself. Having all the necessary tools, materials, and accessories such a challenge is adequate even for a newcomer.

The procedure of the creation of gel and acryl nails is in high demand. Unfortunately, not every lady can manage to extend natural nails to a substantial length. Nail extension helps to resolve the issue effectively and relatively cheap. Such procedure performance requires certain skills but training is available practically for everybody. This article will find the answers step by step as to what is needed for a procedure of correct nail extension on nail forms with gel or acryl at home stepwise from the very beginning. A step-by-step tutorial for dummies regarding nail build-up includes a description: all most necessary materials that must be bought for correct extension (gel, gel polish, base coat, top coat), the list of tools and accessories that will be required for a newcomer, sequence of procedures, technology, stages, the order of manicure performance, a technique that will allow to make modeling of artificial nail extension. Theory rules in combination with practice will favor obtaining good results.

Special aspects for nail extension

It has been a long time ago since sheen nails patterned with foil, golden strips, “liquid metal”, crystals and moulded décor have been a privilege for photo models and It-girls. In most cases, décor is not performed on natural nails but on extended. Nail extension is the procedure of an artificial nail attachment above a natural one using different techniques and materials. Modern technologies allow the creation of jaunty design without harm to natural tissues.

Modeling of artificial nail extension: advantages

Benefits of extension:

  • Aestheticism;
  • Safety.

False nails look delightful, every bit as good as natural. Coating made of acryl or gel does not require polishing. Nail polish coat becomes ideally leveled and nail design keeps a flawless look longer than a similar one on natural nails. This is the choice for those who like experiments. Various designs can be tried starting from classic and ending with the most extravagant modern solutions and without any harm to a natural nail.

Safety is one of the benefits. There is a cliché that nail extension harms nails. However, this is a mistake. The use of modern technologies favors to solidification and strengthening of a natural nail plate and prevents its cracking. Traditional care procedures are enough to forget such problems as nail cracking and brittleness.

Are there any disadvantages?

Of course, this procedure has drawbacks. First of all, it is a complication of performance. The matter is not in technical complication as it is in itself, but in the necessity of hygiene rules observance. The statement that gel and acryl harm natural nails refers to the incorrect use of these materials.

The second disadvantage is an inconvenience in everyday life. A smart manicure with crystals or prominent décor is definitely entrancing but it is not comfortable for every day. Manicure performed on short and moderate nails is more practical.

Types of nail extension

There are three technologies for modeling artificial nail extension:

  • Acryl;
  • Gel;
  • Glass fiber.

The choice of this or that option depends on individual preferences, chosen design, and nails condition. For splitting and brittle nails, gel will be the best solution. Acryl extension will be appropriate for those who like a long manicure. Each type of materials is distinguished by its natural appearance and high durability. Let us look through the materials and tools required for nail extensions.

Types of forms

Usually, the forms that are used have the size of 10 — 30 mm. The most widespread types are full and half-faced templates. The choice depends on the length of natural nails. Half-faced templates are convenient in use when natural nails are long. Full size proved useful for short nails.

As far as color is concerned, there are white and transparent forms. There are colored options on sale but they are less spread. Their gauge is larger and therefore they are more complicated to work with. Especially if there are no professional skills.

Required materials

Qualifying list of expendables for modeling:

  • Glue. It is used for an extension on nail tips;
  • Gel. There are transparent, pink, and white gels. These are the most widespread options. You may find a variety of tints and textures on sale. For instance, holographic effect or glitter. It is advisable to purchase products from a tried company proved on market. It is not recommended to order goods in a Chinese online shop. Such shopping is something like “Russian roulette”. Many Chinese no names produce commodities without any certificate and therefore do not conform to international standards;
  • Base and top coats. They are performed after modeling of artificial nail extension is performed. By virtue of these materials, a nail plate becomes almost ideally leveled. They take a lot of the hard work out of the decorative coating. Top and base coats specially assigned for nail extension are represented on market as well;
  • Gel polishes. The choice of style, shape, and hue depends upon individual preferences. Except for traditional variants, there can be acquired magnetic nail polish or an option with tinting. Manicure style depends on nail polish coating.

A variety of expendables allows the creation of not just eye-filling but a unique nail design.

Tools and instruments for newcomers and masters

The following toolkit is employed while modeling artificial nail extension.

Brushes for gel operations. Practice shows that the most convenient at work are tools equipped with caps. It allows to save a tool for a longer time. Don’t allow fouling of the brush with residues or pet hair.

Nail files. Shapes and configurations can be different. The choice depends on the gage of a nail plate and nail shape. While working with natural nail plates you cannot use models designated for extension and therefore they should be kept separately.

Nail buffers with four polishing edges. Their purpose is smoothing and polishing a nail plate. Hard edges can be removed with their help as well. This tool is cross-functional since it can be applied both on a natural nail plate and on an artificial one.

Lamps

A nail artist extending nails applies lamps to speed up the polymerization of materials. There are ultraviolet and LED lamps. The peculiarity of ultraviolet lamps is in their simple use. The price is not high. One more benefit is that the gel can be dried on all fingers at the same time. The drawback is a comparatively long duration of polymerization. It takes about 2 minutes.

LED lamps are distinguished by higher productivity and small sizes. There are even mini-models that can be freely contained in a vanity bag or a pocket. By virtue of USB ports, the device can be connected to portable gadgets. The duration of drying is less than the ultraviolet model has — only one minute.

Correct nail build-up at home: step-by-step tutorial

Let us consider the step sequence of nail extension on forms with gel for newcomers. Depending on skills, the process of modeling takes from three up to four hours and includes such stages:

  • Preparatory operations;
  • Base coating;
  • Adhesion of forms;
  • Hard coat appliance.

Preparation of a nail plate involves treating with degreasing solution. Then a cuticle must be carefully drawn aside and cut. If the skin is very soft then a cuticle shouldn’t be touched if possible.

The next step is a base coating directly on a nail plate. This material is assigned to solidify a nail.

The purpose of adhesion of forms is neat and leveled nail extension. Forms are attached once the base coat was applied to the surface of a natural nail.

Nails are wiped with degreasing solution and gel is coated. The material is dried under a lamp. The final stage is hard gel coating for fixation of nail extension. Further polymerization under a lamp takes place. As a result, we have a transparent surface that looks like gel. After that, the nail is polished making a certain shape and length for it. Gel residues are removed with the help of polishing and the surface becomes perfectly leveled.

Types of modeling

The most obvious way to change the length of nails is the use of nail tips. The main advantage of it is quickness. Nails are extended literally in a very few minutes. However, since there are other improved options nowadays nail tips are not practiced as often as before. Nail forms can be transparent, white, and colored with patterns and hues of all kinds. The most widespread manufacturing material is plastic. Nail tips are glued onto a special composition. The most challenging is the correct choice of length and shape of a future nail. A special material is employed to paste nail tips. If nail forms are chosen in the wrong way then nails will look unnaturally. The requirements that expendables must meet:

  • Full accordance with the shape of a nail. In this case, tips will look natural and don’t make any discomfort;
  • Elasticity. Flexible but not brittle material is an attribute of a quality product. Suchlike items are easy to elaborate;
  • Ideally smooth inner side. The quality of adhesion with a nail depends on it;
  • Appropriateness to typical size (from 1 until 10, from small to large);
  • Solid but thin material that resembles natural tissue.

Glass fiber is practiced rather seldom. The essence of the process is that material is chopped into pieces that fit a natural nail. Then glass fiber is attached to a nail plate with the help of glue. High cost is a disadvantage of this method.

Polygel is a novelty when it comes to nail art. It differs from a natural gel or acryl in its mass, which is essentially less. Polygel is applied both for a natural nail and for a false nail.

Acryl composition for modeling is created with the mixture of polymeric powder and liquid monomer. After this composition hardens on nails, it becomes very solid and rigid. The extension is performed with the help of an artificial tip that lets to have a nail with the necessary shape.

Nail build-up is diligent and rather complicated work that requires certain skills. At the same time, even a newcomer can manage this comparatively easily if there are all accessories, equipment, and expendables. Technology includes several stages. Break of sequence or negligence of any of them compromises the quality of performance. Therefore conformation to the algorithm is mandatory. If all listed pieces of advice are employed then even a newcomer will manage it successfully. The only thing that matters is that theory should be corroborated with practice, in the course of which all necessary skills can be obtained.