How To Get Better Gel Polish Adhesion
Is your gel polish manicure not sticking to your nail?
Are your at home gel manicures lasting less than a week?
Wondering how to get your gel manicure to stick better?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re in the right place! In this post we’ll cover 11 different ways to solve this problem.
One of the primary benefits of gel polish is its weartime.
Gel polish has a reputation for being a longer lasting manicure when compared to regular nail polish. It stays shiny and looks perfect for up to 2 weeks!
Though, not everyone has this experience at first.
If you’re new to gel or have had issues with your gel polish peeling or lifting before the 10-14 day mark, there’s good news: there are steps you can take to improve the adhesion of your gel manicure.
A few small tweaks to your application process and/or your post manicure care can help you get a longer wear out of your gel manicure.
Keep in mind, you’re probably doing quite a lot of things right already.
As I've been learning how to have success in the gel manicure world, these ideas are simple things I’ve done that worked for me to increase my weartime.
Below are 11 ways to get longer lasting wear from your gel manicure:
1 - Keep Your Hands Dry
Do your gel manicure dry. Don’t apply oils or creams to your nails before your manicure and avoid exposing them to water for at least an hour afterwards.
2 - Follow Proper Prep
Remove all prior polish with acetone. Push your cuticles back. Buff your nail plate and shape your nail tips. Dust off your nails with a powder brush.
Now you’re ready for your base coat.
Between the final dehydrator and base coat, you may also add a nail primer, which can help. Consider including this step if the brand you’re using recommends it for their products.
3 - Use Vaseline Or Latex Cuticle Protector
When gel polish cures on the cuticle area, it creates a spot where the seal between the gel and the nail plate is not tight. This can promote premature lifting.
4 - Shake Gel Formula Before Use
If you have a liquid formula, give your gel polishes a little shake before you open them, as the chemicals in the formula can settle in storage.
This mixes the pigments and helps you get the most even possible application and curing, since once mixed, all the necessary chemicals will be present in each coat.
5 - Apply The Thinnest Coats Possible
Thin coats ensure even curing, which will improve your manicure’s adhesion and prevent peeling.
6 - Cap The Free Edge Every Coat
Before putting your hand in the lamp, cap the free edge of your nail tip with gel polish. When gel polish coats the edge of your nail, it’s less likely to lift at the tips as the nail bends throughout the weartime.
7 - Avoid Disturbing The Adhesion Layer
After you cure the base and color coats, there will be a sticky layer on the nail. Try to avoid rubbing this layer or picking at it, as the stickiness helps improve the adhesion between the layers.
If you must clean this layer from dust, use a nail cleanser and minimize touching any part of the nail that doesn’t need to be touched.
8 - Don’t Pick At Your Nails!
Now that your gel manicure is complete, avoid picking the edges of the manicure. When you pick, it creates premature lifting.
If you feel the urge to pick at your gel manicure, oil your cuticles and apply lotion instead to fulfill the urge to mess with your hands without disturbing your beautiful manicure.
9 - Avoid Soaking Your Nails In Warm, Soapy Water
Avoid putting your hands in long baths, hot tubs, dishwater and heated pools. Warm water and any chemicals in it can “soak off” any soak off manicure, including soft gels.
Use gloves for water chores or rest your hands on the edge of the bath.
10 - Experiment With Different Brands
If you tried all of this and your gel manicures are still not lasting, don’t give up - give another brand a shot. Some gel polish brands may last longer on you than others.
When you’re not getting the longevity you hoped for, perhaps it’s not you, instead, the type of gel polish you’re using isn’t a fit.
11 - Keep Your Products All Within One Brand
Use all the same products together - get your lamp, base, color and top coat all from the same brand. Not all gel lamps can cure all polishes and not all polishes go with other base or top coats.
When you invest in a gel system, it makes it more likely you’ll achieve proper curing and get the longest lasting results.
Now that you know how to get your gel manicure to last longer, let’s talk about how to get your formulas to last as long as possible on the shelf.
How to give your gel polishes a longer shelf life in their bottles
Keep them out of direct sunlight and away from any sources of heat. Ideally store them in a cool, dark place.
Make sure the caps are sealed tightly after every use. When putting your polishes away after your manicure, wipe the rims of the bottle necks with acetone and remove any residual gel from the bottle neck, which can create a gap in the seal.
Finally, not all gel polishes guarantee the same shelf life, but each will come with a “best buy” recommendation from the manufacturer.
This best buy date is how long the brand promises the polish will perform optimally without any signs of degradation. Some gel manufacturers have longer best buy windows than others. For example, one brand might promise 18 months and another might promise 3 years.
Aim for purchasing from brands with longer best buy windows so you can maximize the usable window of your investment.
These are just a few ways to get the best adhesion in your gel manicure so you can achieve a longer wear time, plus a longer shelf life.
As you get your gel manicure and your gel polishes to last as long as you want them to, then you can be happier for longer, too, which is the ultimate goal in the end.
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