Today gel varnishes occupy a leading position in the world of nail art. Fewer manicure masters use ordinary varnishes. Manicure designs with a variety of rhinestones, sparkles and patterns, starting from a small pattern, ending with whole pictures, are gaining more and more popularity among girls and women.
But what about girls working in offices that have a strict dress code? In such institutions, strictness should be not only in clothes, but also in makeup and even in manicure: you cannot walk with bright nails and drawings on them. The choice remains small: either French manicure or the usual plain coating in beige or light pink. Some employers go even further - they forbid their employees to even make nude cover. In such cases, the girls will come to the aid of a transparent gel polish.
What is gel polish. A bit of history
Before making such a coating, you first need to understand what gel polish is in general. It appeared on the market relatively recently and immediately won the hearts of the fair sex. Gel polish is a mixture of nail polish and modeling gel.
The development of such a product began in the 90s, but it was unsuccessful. The first gel polish appeared in 2010. The American nail corporation CND revolutionized the nail industry with the first launch of a gel polish called CND Shellac. Despite the fact that this product is already seven years old, it still occupies a leading position and is not inferior in quality to its "young" competitors. The product has combined all the advantages of conventional varnishes (various colors, bright gloss and easy application) and modeling gels (durability of the coating, lack of smell). After this novelty became very popular, other companies involved in the production of nail products also began to produce this product. Now there are several dozen different manufacturers of gel polishes. Such products differ in price and, consequently, in quality.
What are gel polishes
The leading positions in the market of the nail industry are held by such manufacturers as Kodi, Gelish, Opi, CND Shellac, which still remains the leader in the global market. However, this product has a rather high price.
Among many professionals, as well as those who engage in manicure at the amateur level, such Chinese brands as Canni, PNB, Bluesky are popular. Gel varnishes of these manufacturers differ from the above leaders in their pungent smell. Also, they are not too convenient to use, but this does not affect the durability of the coating. Chinese varnishes also have a wide palette of shades. Another advantage of Chinese varnishes is their low price. So, for the cost of one jar of CND varnish, you can buy two, or even three cans of Canni varnish.
Now the production of Russian production is gaining popularity. So, for about a year everyone has heard Vogue Nails, Aurelia and other gel varnishes. They only gain their place in the nail industry, but user reviews about them are mostly positive. This product is also well worn, has a wide palette of shades and, most importantly, is in an affordable price category.
Advantages and disadvantages of gel polish
Like any product, gel polishes have their positive and negative sides. So, the following are the advantages of the product:
- The coating holds and does not peel off for a very long time. The average duration of gel polish wear is four weeks. Some girls can walk one and a half to two months with one coating. Wizards recommend updating coverage approximately every three to four weeks. If you walk longer with it, the nail grows very much and you can forget about the aesthetic beauty.
- Strengthening nails. Many girls by nature have their own nails weak, brittle and exfoliate. Here they come to the rescue gel polish. The product protects the nail plate from external influences. It is with his help that any girl can grow long nails.
- Naturalness. Gel polish looks natural, unlike extended nails.
- A wide palette of shades. Now shades in gel varnishes are much more than in conventional varnishes. You can even get new shades by mixing.
Product Disadvantages:
- It is quite difficult for a beginner to work with gel polishes, so it will not work right away to do a neat manicure.
- An allergic reaction to the components may occur. After many years of work with materials, many girls-manicure masters are allergic to them. Also, this can happen with those who regularly do manicures. In this case, it is better to abandon the use of gel polishes.
- High price. To do the coating yourself, you need many other materials that are expensive. Gel polish cannot be dried like regular varnish. It polymerizes only in UV or LED lamps, the cost of which is very high. Also, in addition to the usual colored varnish, you will need to purchase a base, top, liquid for removing the coating, removing the sticky layer, etc. In general, such a set will cost a pretty penny.
- Possibility of mechanical damage during removal. Rather, this is not a disadvantage of the product itself, but it needs to be said. Gel polish is removed in two ways: by soaking in a special liquid and using a special apparatus. Many girls try to tear it off when removing the coating, which damages the nail plate and leads to various diseases. Therefore, the best solution is to contact the master.
Gel polish has its pros and cons, so before doing a manicure, you need to weigh the pros and cons.
Preparing your hands for coating
To make the manicure look as beautiful as possible, before you make the design for the nails with transparent gel polish , you need to put the pens in order. To do this, you need to make all the nails of the same length with the help of manicure scissors. Next, they need to be given the same shape. This is done with a nail file. Next, you need to do a manicure - tidy up the cuticle and remove all dead skin from your hands. Manicure can be trimmed, hardware and combined. Many masters do not advise doing a trim manicure before coating, since the nails then absorb excess fluid, and this helps to peel off the coating. Other experts refute this information and remain true to the trimmed manicure.
Manicure tools
Tools you need to put your hands in order:
- file for natural nails;
- manicure scissors and nippers;
- bath for edged manicure;
- special apparatus for hardware manicure.
In general, you should not dwell on the process of manicure for a long time, since it is known to every girl. After it is done, you can begin to cover.
What materials are needed to cover
To make transparent manicure gel polish, you first need to prepare all the materials. So, for coverage you will need:
- liquid for degreasing nails (you can use alcohol);
- base:
- top
- lint-free napkins;
- lamp for drying the coating.
As you can see, to create such a coating you need the same materials as for any design using gel polish, except for color coating.
How to make transparent gel polish (photo and step by step instructions)
The technology for creating such a design is no different from that for conventional coating. It's no secret that in the palette of ordinary varnishes there is also transparent. Many mistakenly believe that there is also a transparent gel nail polish. The creation of such coverage is carried out using several steps:
- After the manicure procedure, all nails need to be degreased. This can be done using a special liquid or alcohol and lint-free wipes. Such napkins are needed so that small fibers do not remain on the nails, which in the end can ruin the design.
- Next, on non-fat nails you need to apply a base coat and dry it.
- The next step is to apply the top and dry it. If the nails are too thin, often break and bend, then this step can be repeated.
- Finally, the sticky layer must be removed from the dried topcoat.
So the transparent design is ready. As you can see, you can make such a manicure using the base and top.
How long does gel polish hold?
Gel polish coating lasts about an average of a month. Clear gel polish is no exception. Particularly patient girls can wear it longer. In order for the coating to be worn longer, in no case can you cut off your nails, file them. It is also undesirable to exert a mechanical effect on them (try to dig out something with your nails). The coating may chip upon impact.
Also, gel polish may begin to crack off if it is poorly dried in a lamp. There are defective drying lamps that do not dry out the material. The wearability of the coating depends on the technology of its application and on the quality of the material used. Now on the market there are a lot of counterfeit products of popular companies. Therefore, materials must be purchased only from official suppliers.
How to remove gel polish
You can remove the transparent gel polish using a special device or soaking. For beginners, it is not recommended to use the device when removing, since you can damage the nail plate.
Removing a design takes about 30 minutes. To remove you will need:
- fleece;
- a liquid with which you can remove the coating (many masters use ordinary acetone);
- foil;
- pusher or orange stick.
To remove the clear gel polish, a special liquid must be applied to the fleece, wrap the nail with it and wrap it with foil on top. Next, you need to wait a few minutes until the gel polish exfoliates. After a period of time, the coating will be easy to remove with a pusher or orange stick.
Some interesting designs
If the colorless coating seems a little boring, then you can make a transparent gel polish with a picture. The technology for creating such a design is no different:
- the base is applied to a fat-free nail and dried;
- the next step is the desired pattern (you can use special stickers or rhinestones);
- then top is applied and dried;
- Finally, the adhesive layer is removed from the design.
If you need to draw a drawing by hand, then, so that it holds for a long time and does not spread, it is better to use gel paint, and not gel polish. Transparent design can also be slightly decorated with color dilution. To make transparent manicure black gel polish, you need to mix it with a small amount of base. Further, the application technology is the same:
- the base is applied and dried;
- diluted color is applied (can be applied in two layers) and dried;
- top (also dried);
On this design, you can also apply various drawings as desired. In this case, this should be done before the top. The picture shows an example of such designs with black color, but this can be done with any color gel polish.
In conclusion, I would like to note that many girls do not know how to make transparent gel polish. But this procedure is very simple, and if you get used to it, it will not take much time.