Gel polish foil: what is it, types and application in design

After the appearance in the manicure world of such material as gel polish, masters began to invent various designs based on it. Recently, foil has become one of the most popular decors. It greatly facilitated the work of novice masters and expanded the horizons of opportunities for experienced professionals.

What is it - nail foil?

In fact, this material is different from the usual food variety. It is sold in specialized retail outlets or through online stores.

In terms of affordability, it is not very expensive. However, for creativity, the material is very convenient, since it has plasticity, a wide color range and several methods of application.

Using foil, you can diversify a manicure, especially the design that is applied to gel polish. In addition, you can work with her at home.

Thus, the foil does the job of creating a unique manicure simple, interesting and allows you to create a design not only for special occasions, but also as an everyday business option.

Using foil to create a manicure has its pros and cons.

Among the advantages, the following factors can be distinguished:

• ease of application;
• ease when creating a design;
• affordability;
• wide color gamut;
• huge assortment;
• A variety of features allows you to create unique, unique images.

Disadvantages include such criteria.

• You can not wear a foil manicure for a long time.After a 2-week sock, nails need rest, and it is advisable to carry out a strengthening procedure.
• Design using glue is less durable.
• Reproduction of decor from ordinary, non-transferable foil takes time to improve: complicating patterns, accuracy of application.
• Self-development of design requires an artistic flair, otherwise you will have to use images created by other masters or artists.

Foil material for gel polish is produced in several types.

By the method of application, three main types can be distinguished.

• Tear-off. The material is produced and sold in the form of rolls or in the form of ordinary smooth sheets of a small format. Decorative elements are cut out or torn off in special perforated lines, they are applied to the nail plate with tweezers and fixed with special means. If any flaws formed during operation, they are easily removed with a nail file.

• Transferable. Foil is also available in rolls, which are packed in plastic containers, which increases the reliability of storage. Due to its characteristics, this material is suitable for beginners, as well as for creating DIY manicures. Manufacturers offer a wide range, there are many colors, the textures are different. In addition, some types have decals or patterns. Due to a certain application method, the foil got its name: the material is applied to the nail treated with glue, smoothed, and then the substrate is torn off, leaving a decorative layer on the nail plate.

• Thermal foil - This is not an ordinary foil, it is a special kind of film that needs to be heated before applying to the nail. Heating will make her supple and obedient. All excess is removed with a nail file.

The shape can be classified foil into the following types.

• Sheet usually does not have a sticky layer, so you need a special glue to use it. It is very suitable for cutting various decorative details, as it happens in different shades and textures.

• Reaped similar to gold leaf, very thin. Manufacturers produce it in small jars in a compressed form. It can be spread on slightly dried gel polish without glue, but only with tweezers. When applying, you should be careful because it breaks easily, but it allows you to create an unimaginable amount of unique designs.
• Scotch - A special decorative version of the foil in the form of narrow strips with a sticky back layer. It can be colored, manufacturers offer a wide variety of shades. Masters use it not only as a decor, but also as stencils when displaying geometric patterns.
• Stickers - The easiest version of the transfer foil. In this case, the picture has already been completely created by the artists, it remains only to remove the substrate and carefully attach the picture with an adhesive layer on the nail surface.

The texture of the foil is also different.

• Smooth.
• Embossed. A similar look becomes more diverse, new patterns and colors appear. Since a convex embossed pattern is applied to the foil, it is thicker than its counterparts. Material is sold either in rolls or in the form of sheets. Sometimes embossed material is used as a stencil for drawing sketches with gel polish.
• Liquid. The role of this material is gel polish with the addition of small sparkles. It provides complete creative freedom, excluding the complexity of the work of cutting the necessary details, they can simply be drawn.

In any kind of art, before you start creating, you need to carefully prepare. So here: before proceeding to the design of manicure on gel polish with foil, you should process the nails using the basic technology.

• Remove old decorative coating.
• Remove cuticle. For this purpose, they use either the classical method or special means for its removal.
• Trim your nails to the desired length.
• Give your nails the necessary shape with an abrasive file.
• Polish the nail plates with a buff, giving smoothness and shine. This type of file is very suitable for nail art, because the gel lays on the polished smooth nails more evenly and lasts longer.
• Degreasing.
• Application of a base coat of varnish and its drying under a UV lamp.
• Tinting with gel polish background color.
• Drying.

Only after the implementation of all these actions can we begin to further decorate the manicure.

There are several methods and technologies for the distribution of foil onto gel polish. Consider the most popular. They can be used as a guide for getting a manicure at home.

In this case, both tear-off and transfer material can be used.

After the basic manicure is done, proceed to the design with the use of foil.

After the gel of the main shade was applied to the nails and dried, the dispersion layer is removed with special napkins.

In the case of using tear-off foil, you need to worry in advance and prepare the parts, cut them in the shape of a nail. For the translated type, these actions are not needed.

Next, glue treatment follows. It is better to use a tool with a manifesting effect, which will greatly facilitate the work and allow you to correctly evaluate the drying time.

Once the adhesive has become transparent, foil can be attached to it.

After thoroughly ironing, the transfer foil substrate is removed. Excess foil around the edge can be removed with a nail file.

After all these manipulations, the nails are covered with a transparent top top. Next, there is drying under a UV lamp for at least three minutes.

If all the actions are carried out correctly, you will get a smooth and beautiful manicure, on which you can additionally apply patterns. Do not forget that then you need to once again fix everything with a finish top.

After the final drying, the nails are treated from dispersion and a special oil is applied to the cuticle.

When working with foil, the adhesive can not be used, but transferred directly to gel polish.

After applying the first gel layer and drying it does not need to remove the sticky (dispersion) layer, it will serve as an adhesive base. Next, foil parts are applied, smoothed with existing tools.

After 10-15 seconds, the substrate of the translated "gold" is removed. The top fixing agent is applied on top and dried under the lamp. Defects are eliminated by a nail file. Lint-free wipes remove sticky coating.

Gel polish "liquid foil" appeared relatively recently. It is a gel mixture with small sparkles. It’s easy to apply, and the effect is as if using real foil.

Application technology consists of several standard steps.

• The basic treatment of nails is to give them the desired length and shape. The cuticle is also removed and buff buffed.
• Cleaning nails from abrasive dust after polishing and degreasing them with clinser
• The primer of manicure is carried out by a special tool called a primer. Firstly, it degreases the surface qualitatively, and secondly, it provides good adhesion of gel polish to the nail. Thanks to the primer, the gel does not peel off, the durability of the manicure increases. In addition, it protects the nail plate from the chemical elements that make up the gel polish, from the penetration of bacteria and fungi.

• Drying for a couple of minutes in ordinary air.
• Basic coating.
• Drying: using an ultraviolet lamp - 2 minutes, under the LED device - half a minute.

• Liquid foil coating. Before starting work, the bottle should be carefully rolled between the palms so that the settled glitter is mixed. Important: the varnish must not be shaken, otherwise bubbles will form, and they do not allow you to get an even coating.

• Polymerization under the lamp: UV - from 2 to 3 minutes, LED - from 0.5 to 1 minute.
• For a more saturated effect, you can apply a couple more additional layers, subjecting the manicure to polymerization after applying each.
• Topcoat. The manicure is sealed on all sides with a colorless top, the cut of the nail and the ends should be especially carefully processed.
• Another polymerization procedure with a fixed time interval.
• Removal of the dispersion layer by the clinser.

• Additional decoration. At this stage, you need to connect fantasy. The use of murals, various stickers and other decorative elements is welcome.

• The final top coating, its drying and processing by clinser.

For beginners, many easy-to-work parts were invented. These include templates and stencils.

These auxiliary tools are made of sufficiently strong, non-paint materials. Manufacturers today offer a wide range of sketches.

In order to transfer the foil to gel polish, you need to follow the following algorithm.

• Wait until the base coat is completely dry.
• Apply the template to the nail plate. Some stencils have a sticky wrong side, which allows you not to worry about his unexpected movements. If there is no such layer, then you have to independently monitor the motionlessness of the template so that the picture does not get blurry.
• Next, glue is applied over the template.
• Only after the adhesive has dried to the desired degree should foil be applied. It must be properly pressed and held for several seconds.
• The next step is to remove the template along with the foil.
• As a result, a beautiful pattern will remain on the nail, which was obtained without any effort.

Templates are also used when working with liquid. In this case, the liquid foil is applied with a brush to the background coating through a stencil.

Thermofoil is the simplest option for obtaining an interesting manicure without much effort.

After basic preparation of the nails and removing the sticky layer, they should be treated with a buff, which will improve the adhesion of the film to the nail surface.

Workpieces should be cut in advance in the shape of the nail.

For work, you need a hairdryer or a lamp. The foil is heated with warm air, it becomes more ductile and supple, which is necessary for its uniform distribution.

To avoid the appearance of bumps and other irregularities, the thermal foil is smoothed with a special wooden stick or pusher.

After the material “seizes”, the excess film is removed with nail scissors, smaller defects are eliminated with a nail file.

A colorless top-fixer is applied over the foil and dried under the lamp. Professionals recommend applying it twice.

In the final, the sticky layer is removed with the help of a clinser. That's all, manicure with thermal foil is ready.

A classic manicure with foil elements looks neat and stylish.

To reproduce it does not require much experience and skill. It is suitable for nails of any length and shape.

At the initial preparatory stage, the main shade is selected, details are cut out of the foil in the form of a hole for a lunula or an edge for a jacket.

Metallic colors combine well with black, gray and white colors, as well as with monochrome shades-companions.

At the second stage, standard processing is carried out, basic manicure is applied.

Next, a gel polish of the selected shade is applied and dried under a lamp.

The nail surface is treated with a clinser.

The edge or hole, depending on the chosen type of manicure, is covered with an adhesive. It is necessary to wait for it to dry to the desired condition, after which the foil parts are carefully laid out with tweezers and pressed them with a special manicure stick.

This is followed by a transparent layer of fixing gel, drying it under a UV lamp and removing the dispersion layer with lint-free napkins.

If in the first case, color gel polish was applied first, and then foil, then in the second case, vice versa.

Metallized material is laid out on the base coat first. Moreover, it is not necessary to strictly adhere to the form. The main thing is that the hole or, accordingly, the edge of the nail should be completely closed.

It is better to apply the foil directly to the gel polish without removing the sticky layer. The translated material will greatly facilitate the work. It is important to remember that foil parts must be carefully smoothed while pressing against the surface.

Next, there is a transparent fixer, drying and clinser treatment.

After that, they start applying a contrasting gel polish, leaving the areas of the hole or edge not painted over.

The layer is again fixed with the top and thoroughly dried under the lamp.

After removing the dispersion layer, the manicure is ready.

The classic design using foil on gel polish looks impressive. You can choose a color scheme so that the manicure is not a business but a solemn option.

The durability of the foil depends on its quality, the correctness of the actions and accuracy when creating a manicure.

Do not violate technology. It is necessary to consistently perform all actions, carefully dry each layer of gel polish.

Properly applied manicure with foil will last about two weeks, while when using ordinary varnish - only a few days.

Professional craftsmen and beginners alike enjoy using foil to create unique designs on gel polish. The images are bright and spectacular, business and solemn, catwalk and natural. And you can get them without much effort, quickly, easily and simply.

The popular classic jacket with foil looks more festive.

Lunar manicure on gel polish can be created using either ordinary foil or liquid.

Mirror or metallic sheen can be obtained by using monophonic foil. It turns out spectacularly and boldly.

Liquid foil allows you to create interesting designs. It is not necessary to cover all legs at once with this brilliant gel, it is enough to select at least one or two so that the manicure plays in a special way.

Using reaped foil, you can get unimaginable design images that will never be repeated. Moreover, the smaller the pieces, the more natural the decor looks.

On the gel polish using foil, you can depict any decor: futuristic, floral, snowy, starry, “broken glass”, molding, craquelure and many others. It all depends on the imagination and imagination of the master.

See how to make a manicure with foil in the next video.