Are you a lover of unusual but long-lasting manicure? Do you like your nails to be perfect without correction for 2-3 weeks? Then you know exactly where in the city you can get a manicure at the best prices, where good specialists work, where the best materials are. And the especially thoughtful ones have acquired lamps, shellacs, base and top coats and are experimenting with all their might at home. If you think that the base and topcoat in this matter are a nuance that you can ignore, then you are very mistaken. The standard algorithm says: base and top, and shellac in the middle. Nothing else is given; the sequence is preserved. Otherwise, not only will your efforts be in vain, but buying a polymerization lamp and shellac of the color you like will be a waste of money. This trio cannot live without each other for long. How to choose the components that determine the durability and protection of the nail plate and manicure? Why are some suitable for you and others are not, and what does this depend on?
Sequence of manicure
Before starting a manicure or pedicure, be sure to prepare your nails: remove the cuticles with a special tool, nail clippers or a milling cutter, then decorate the plates. The prepared plates are coated in the following sequence:
- Base. It acts as a basis, promotes high-quality adhesion of the decorative layer to the surface of the nail, and protects the plate from staining with pigment. The base liquid can be used to level, extend and strengthen the nail plate. Varies in degree of hardness, applied in 1 layer.
- Colored varnish. This is a gel of different shades that creates the color design of a manicure. The second layer also applies drawings, rhinestones and other decorative elements. Although some of them are strengthened on the top layer.
- Finish (top liquid). Protects manicure from damage, provides glossy shine and perfect highlight. Thanks to this, the extension maintains a well-groomed appearance for several weeks.
This is a standard procedure that should never be ignored. Between stages, the layers are dried in a lamp and degreased. Ignoring any of the stages will minimize attempts to create a high-quality wearable manicure. The first chips will appear in one or two days, the shellac will have to be renewed.
Sometimes masters, in search of new approaches, try to replace the volume and the base with each other. This is a fundamentally wrong approach, since each of the liquids has certain properties and functions.
What happens if you apply a top coat instead of a base?
If you ignore the step-by-step instructions for performing the technology, changing the compositions in places, be prepared that you will not be able to get a neat manicure. Be careful in following the order of application of shellac and other auxiliary products, because most often problems arise when mixing up the base with the top:
- When applying topcoat to a clean nail plate, it becomes glossy and smooth. Because of this, it will be possible to carefully distribute colored gel polish over it - it will flow down, form gaps and other defects. Small bubbles may appear during drying.
- After a few days, the decorative coating begins to chip off and cracks appear. This is due to the lack of its connection with natural manicure, which is provided by the base.
- When drying the gel polish, you may feel a strong burning sensation associated with direct contact of the finishing composition with the nail. If you tolerate the burning sensation, it may burn the sensitive area.
- The solution may harm the nail bed. Since it is not intended for direct contact with it, it contains aggressive components that often penetrate the structure of the nail, affecting its integrity. Because of this, the nail becomes thinner, detachments appear, and a fungal infection is possible.
Keep in mind that a manicure done the other way around will always look sloppy, regardless of the design method you used. In addition, the result remains in the same state for 2-4 days, and then gradually begins to move away from the surface.
If you are not confident in performing a cosmetic procedure correctly, you can take care of this in advance. In addition to the three-phase system for applying gel polish, there is a single-phase technique, which involves the use of only one composition instead of three. The product includes a base, dye, and top, which significantly speeds up the work and makes it easier, especially for beginners. This manicure most often lasts about 2-2.5 weeks.
Advice from experienced professionals
To obtain the perfect manicure with gel polishes, nail technicians
- the top layer should be thicker than the primer, but not too much;
- The entire surface of the nail should be covered, including the pericuticular areas;
- it is necessary to dry the top thoroughly - at least 2 minutes (or 30 seconds under an LED lamp);
- You should not add anything on top of the top: drawings, sprinkles or decorations;
- After removing the sticky layer, you need to take care of the cuticle with a special cream that slows down its growth.
A beautiful manicure perfectly completes a woman's look. If you choose the right varnish, it will emphasize the style and elegance of the handles. To make this manicure last longer and look perfect, gel polishes, which are very popular today, are used. However, before you paint your nails with them, you should use a good base that will give this manicure strength and shine.
Expensive and cheap base - what are the differences?
Despite the fact that there is nothing natural in both the cheap and expensive bases and there is only chemistry, there is still quality. A cheap base may have a sharp, unpleasant odor, the quality of cleaning of the main components, as a rule, cheap materials are very acidic. Which negatively affects the condition of the nails. An allergy to the material is possible. In expensive bases, there is most often no smell, the materials undergo stricter quality control, there are risks of allergic reactions, but they are minimized.
What analogues are there?
It happens that at the wrong moment the bond is not at hand. Then, instead of a degreaser, use nail polish remover. The properties of acetone provide a drying and cleansing effect. However, without oils, the solvent causes harm to nails and skin. In order to prepare the nails for coating, it is enough to spread a thin layer of a mixture of acetone and vegetable oil (rosemary, orange, ylang-ylang, etc.) over the surface.
You can replace the bond with vinegar or alcohol. The proposed products will cope with the degreasing function. But they are unable to lift the scales of the upper layer of the nail structure. This does not increase the adhesive qualities of layers of decorative coatings.
Using boric acid, you can properly prepare the work surface for coating with varnish or shellac. Cologne and herbal tincture with alcohol will also provide a degreasing effect. But they still won’t be an adequate replacement for bond.
Experts advise using substitutes in extreme cases. It's not worth saving on a bond.
Base coat for gel polish: functions, application
Let's take it for granted that there should always be a base underneath the pigment (by the way, even with manicure using the usual method, with ordinary varnishes).
The basic product for shellac manicure is necessary for:
- filling the unevenness of the nail, leveling the plate;
- protection against staining, penetration of chemical composition during polymerization;
- strengthening the natural plate, strengthening the free edge;
- adhesion of the nail plate to pigmented varnish. From this point of view, the base acts as a primer (a primer is a substance that prepares the nail for applying varnish).
Now let’s talk in simple language about how to use the primer (base) correctly, how to do it and what the surface of the nail should be:
- After the usual hygienic manicure and correction of the free edge, you must first sand the plates. We do this with a special grinder (shaped like a regular flat file) or a buff. Moreover, we use its toughest edge. We walk around, including along the ends. There are places near the cuticle where a large file does not reach. In this case we use a small one. Our goal is not to remove the top layer of the nail, but only to remove the gloss without damaging the nail plate. But we will remove grease and gloss evenly and completely along the nail.
- Afterwards we remove the resulting dust with a special brush or polishing cloth.
- Then treat your nails with a disinfectant or degreaser. Special liquids will improve adhesion and deeply clean nails and adjacent tissues. But you can also use a regular railway line, which will cost many times less.
- If you know that you do not tolerate varnish products well (they do not last long, due to physiological characteristics they are rejected, they are removed in layers after a week even if the manicure is properly performed), you can apply a small amount of a special primer (water-based liquid) around the perimeter for even better adhesion with a sourish rich odor, which is called that). We wait for this primer to dry without a lamp for about a minute.
- After this, apply the primer base. Apply a thin layer, evenly, without taking a lot of liquid onto the brush.
- You can take the original brush, which is in a bottle with the product. Or you can buy a brush with a long handle, flattened, with rounded edges and hard bristles, which is used by professionals. It's more a matter of habit.
- Be sure to treat the end, just don’t pour the base compound under the nail, but go over the end with a brush with a small amount of product.
- We try to apply this primer, unlike pigment, with rubbing movements as close to the cuticle as possible.
- We apply one thin layer of the substance, to strengthen the problem area, thicken it a little.
- Then we dry the base, on average for a minute in a regular UV lamp or 10 seconds in an LED lamp.
- We do not remove the stickiness. The sticky layer serves for better adhesion.
Only now you can apply the color you like, stepping back from the cuticle by 1 millimeter (if you are just delving into this creative process and are not a professional with a hand in this process).
The best manufacturers
Kodi
Popular primer manufacturers include Kodi, which produces both acidic and acid-free versions (ulrabonds). This is a quality product at a relatively low price.
Kodi nail primer
TNL
Primers from the Korean brand TNL have earned the love of both professional nail artists and amateurs. The products preserve the original appearance of the manicure, protecting against chips and cracks.
Nail primer TNL
Ezflow
The Ezflow range of manicure products includes acidic and acid-free primers. The brand has diversified the series with specialized products designed for acrylic or gel coatings, as well as universal ones suitable for both types of materials. Ezflow primers dry quickly (within 5-7 seconds) and do not contain synthetic dyes or flavors. Ideal for gel polish and shellac.
Ezflow nail primer
Runail
Runail brand primers are popular not only in the CIS countries, but also abroad. The product removes dirt and grease from nails, ensuring high-quality coating.
Runail nail primer
IBD
The IBD company is rightfully considered one of the leaders in the nail industry. For more than thirty years, the company has been pleasing girls with high-quality products suitable for working with brittle nails and for women suffering from excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis).
Nail primer IBD
Le Vole Ultra Bond
Le Vole Ultra Bond primers provide disinfection and safe dehydration of nail plates. Suitable for acrylic extensions and gel polish coating. The product is not absorbed deeply into the nail, acting in the surface layers. In case of contact with skin, no irritation or rashes are observed.
Le Vole Ultra Bond Nail Primer
Lady Victory
The highly appreciated products of the Lady Victory brand offer an extensive line of nail modeling products. Primers reliably fix the artificial material on the nails, degrease and disinfect the nails. Due to the absence of harmful acids, the product can be used non-professionally without the risk of damaging the skin or cuticle.
Nail primer Lady Victory
Vogue nails
Vogue nails brand primers smell like acetone and last for a month. However, the nail is treated aggressively, leaving visible signs of damage.
Nail primer Vogue nails
