In the search for the best ideas for manicure, more and more modern women have resorted to alternative methods of painting nails - stickers. And if stickers to the unenlightened representatives of the fair sex seem to be something complicated, those who have already met them successfully use this material to effectively complete different sets. About what are the features of stickers for manicure, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as how to work with them will tell the material of this article.
Features
Stickers for gel polish are translated prints of various shapes and sizes, which are transferred from the existing substrate to the surface of the prepared and painted nail. Depending on the variety, the material has its own nuances of use. At the same time, a distinctive feature of this decor is the fact that it is located under the sealing coating.
Therefore, the sticker is reliably protected from external factors and does not collapse during the process of wearing a manicure.
Household chemicals do not harm him, ultraviolet rays, cold, and also random mechanical touches are not terrible.
The picture can be sealed with one or several layers of special materials of the hybrid type. Depending on this, stickers can be used in a wide variety of manicure techniques. For example, the multilayer sealing means allows you to create an aquarium design in which even simple stickers look three-dimensional.
In general, the use of various stickers allows you to significantly diversify any manicure technique from classic to French and ending with a combined design using three techniques. The stickers themselves are a thin film with a specific pattern. Depending on the shape and size, they are glued to part of the nail, and sometimes they fill the entire area of the nail plate. In this case, in the second case, the film itself is a kind of nail hardener.
Advantages and disadvantages
Stickers on nails under gel polish have many advantages. Almost all varieties are easy to use, which can not but rejoice those who perform manicure on their own at home. At the same time, the products have a fairly affordable price, and therefore, each of us can buy them. The images themselves are distinguished by the sharpness of the lines and the brightness of the shades. This is also true for manicure, because clear lines give the design accuracy.
Given the rich thematic and color range, it will not be difficult to select the necessary options. Today, the list of prints of various nail stickers is so diverse that even the most demanding woman will be able to find suitable, say, for her handbag, neck scarf, jewelry or shoes. In addition, the desired print may have several color shades. Due to this, you can choose a product both in the range related to the accessory, and in tone.
Stickers are also good because they save the total time of manicure. At the same time, some varieties can be disguised as artistic painting, thereby increasing the status of manicure. This technique is used by nail service professionals when their clients are late, but are asked to do an artistic design on accent nails. Moreover, some stickers can be combined with each other, creating interesting compositions.
It should be noted that for working with stickers you do not need special knowledge and hard-to-reach materials.
Today, the nail sphere is trying to simplify any work of the master, and therefore we have the opportunity to purchase auxiliary substances that allow us to correct minor flaws in the process. For example, folds can be dissolved with the same primer, and the protruding elements can be closed with the top. Otherwise, the translation requires a minimum of tools.
As for the shortcomings, all of them can be associated with the nuances of work and the quality of the stickers themselves. For example, it may be the quality of the film itself and its thickness. There are cases when it simply breaks in the process of straightening on the nails. It is impossible to say unequivocally that all budget options are bad, because the main part of the quality of work depends on the accuracy of the wizard. And a thin sticker can be glued well, without gusts.
If we talk about the nuances, then we rarely listen to the recommendations of specialists. Therefore, in the case of detachment, we attribute the flaw to the shortcomings of the material. It is important to understand that when working with stickers there are a number of rules, compliance with which is mandatory.
At the same time, the technology must not be violated by insufficient drying or sloppiness.
The second nuance leads to the formation of folds, which significantly spoil the visual perception of the design.
Kinds
Stickers on nails for gel polish are different both in the material of manufacture and in the form of release. In addition, they may vary in thickness, which is the reason for the discontent of lay people studying with similar decor. However, if the master comes across an elastic film, there are no problems with work. Such a sticker can be pulled to the desired area of the nail to close the selected part.
As for the general, stickers can be monochrome, made in black or white, and also colored. In addition, in different lines you can buy metallic options for gold, silver or even bronze, which today is considered quite a fashionable decoration of nails.In total, one can conditionally distinguish several varieties of nail stickers that are used under gel polish.
Slider design
In fact, these stickers are similar to the once popular water-type decals. This is a film on a paper substrate that needs to be removed by soaking. There are image data island (on the part of the nail) or solid (occupying the entire area of the nail). As a rule, sliders are sold in sets in a certain color scheme with similar motifs.
Varieties of one-piece type for hands may include 10 elements or more. Analogs for legs consist of two stickers on the nails of the toes. Depending on the brand of the manufacturer, the pictures may have an approximate shape, according to which they are easier to cut. If they are rectangular, they will have to be carefully adjusted to the size of the specific nail plates to be decorated. In addition, a set may consist of many tiny pictures.
Stickers
Such stickers today can have a different background. In addition to paper, it can be made of a dense transparent film. Pictures of this type themselves are often voluminous, which can complicate their sealing. Some of them are three-dimensional, creating the illusion of volume. Other features include the appearance of the stickers themselves, it can be either application or presented in the form of a strip, which is cut to the size of the nail.
These products have a slightly sticky substrate, and therefore they are easily separated from the base and do not need to be soaked.
To some, such stickers seem difficult to work with, although in this case, detachment can appear only in two cases: when applied to an under-gelled varnish and if the technology is not followed. At the same time, it is possible to stick qualitatively not only a small picture, but also an option on the main part of the nail.
Tape
Such translated material appeared on the horizon of nail art not so long ago, but has already managed to get a high praise from the nail service masters. Depending on the variety, it can be a four-centimeter-wide foil reaching a length of 1 meter. They sell it in cut or roll form, packing in plastic containers with screw caps. In addition, the range includes types: sheet, embossed, compressed type, each of which has its own characteristics.
For example, the translated material needs to use special glue, the sheet variety is used in the form of an injection layer or small fragments in the form of some figures.
Compressed material resembles gold leaf; it is often used for aqua design. The embossed version is used for complex structured design of nails. Foil strips are easy to use, they are used on top of gel polish on a dry base.
Thermal stickers
These stickers need to be heated before being applied to the painted base. In fact, these are metallized varieties that are somewhat similar to translated water pictures, only the fixing process requires heating. To do this, use a lamp in the work, without heating, the decor will be characterized by stains. The sticker gets its shape after activating the sticky base.
These stickers need to be customized in the desired shape in advance, and try to select the size as accurately as possible, since any inaccuracy will affect the result.
There cannot be any bends, as well as air pockets. It is not difficult to glue such material, but some practice is desirable for a qualitative result. The texture of thermal stickers can be matte and glossy, which significantly enriches the design possibilities, allowing you to combine decor with one or another texture of gel polish in the form of contrast reception.
How to glue?
Today, you can decorate your nails using various stickers on your own at home. It’s easy to do this step by step, but you need to apply various decorative materials correctly.This is possible in full compliance with the standard instructions used by professionals. We briefly note the basic methods of work.
Foundation preparation
The preliminary phase of the work will be a hygienic manicure, which can be either edged or European (unedged). In the first case, the nails are soaked, the cuticle and pterygium are cleaned, and the excess skin around the nail is cut. European manicure is performed using a special cuticle gel. At the same time, they do not use cutting tools at all, they do not cut the cuticle, but push it back.
The second stage of working with stickers for gel polish is the preparation of nails. As a rule, before applying the first coating, they are buffered. This process is nothing more than light grinding, which is performed by a soft grinder (buff). It does not polish, but removes the gloss that interferes with the strong adhesion of the varnish to the nail itself. You can’t use a regular file for this, since it will raise the scales and create grooves on the surface of the nail plate.
The third step will be to create the desired substrate. Usually it starts with a primer layer, which can be used as a primer.
It will strengthen the nails and increase the adhesion of the nail to the subsequent applied layers.
It is applied in a thin layer, then dried in a special lamp for the required time (depending on the type of lamp and can be from half a minute to two minutes). Further, the process will depend on the type of decorative material used.
Water stickers
To stick such a decor, are determined with its kind. If this is a picture with a transparent background, a colored backing is required. The dried primer is coated with a base coat and dried in a lamp. After that, the nail is stained with the desired color, the gel polish is dried. With insufficient pigmentation of the varnish, the stage with painting the nail and drying is repeated. Next, start working with the sticker.
The picture is cut out according to the approximate shape of the nail, the protective film is removed from above and put face up on a napkindipped in cold water. The base (top, ultrabond) is applied with a thin layer on the nail, it is not dried, the sticker is removed from the paper substrate with tweezers and spread on the nail. After that, the design is dried in a lamp, slightly increasing the polymerization time. The extra length is cut off, then the sticker is sealed with a layer of base and top. Each of them is dried after application.
When the picture has sufficient thickness, you can not run a substrate under it. You can glue it directly on the base, applied over the dried primer. If folds are obtained during operation, they can be dissolved with a light touch of the brush with the primer. You can seal the design with one top.
On sticky backing
It is not difficult to glue self-adhesive pictures, but you can’t do without basic steps here. First, the nail is stained, for which the base is applied and dried, then, according to a similar scheme, the step with the pigment is repeated.
It is important to dry the nail well in the lamp, because otherwise the sticky substrate will not be able to fix securely.
After the nail has dried, take a pre-prepared sticker, trimmed to the desired size, and stick to the nail.
Now you need to give him at least two to three minutes so that the material can take a rounded shape of the nail. If you do not wait a while, the sticker will very quickly move away from the base, despite the sticky layer. After the time has passed, you can fix the design with one or two layers of the finish coating. Residual stickiness must be removed without fail.
Glue foil
Regarding the fixation of the foil material, everything will depend on the type of foil. If it is a transfer foil in the form of a ribbon, special white glue is applied to the pigmented nails. When dried, it becomes transparent. As soon as this happens, begin drawing a drawing. To do this, prepare a piece of tape in advance, cutting it off to about the right size (preferably with a small margin).
Noticing that the glue has become transparent, the print is pressed tightly against the nail and pressed down. In this case, you can walk on it with your fingertips, but not with your nails, so as not to damage the coating.
Correcting the print will not work, but because you need to work carefully immediately.
By this principle, tear-off foil is glued. The strips are cut and glued to the dried pigment, cutting off the excess with tweezers.
Thermo
Stickers that need heating can also not be fixed on unprepared nails. To begin with, a high-quality hygienic manicure is performed with the processing of the nail plates, aligning their length and giving the desired shape. After the nails are sawn, buffed, they are degreased, thereby increasing the percentage of adhesion of the nail to all applied varnish materials. Then proceed to the preparation of the stickers themselves.
To do this, they are heated by sending under the light of an ultraviolet lamp in which the gel polish is dried.
After that, each sticker is laid out on the nail and straightened as accurately as possible, avoiding the formation of folds. You have to bend all the excess, so you need to adjust the size in advance. Next, the nail is dried in a lamp, shape correction is carried out, and the design is sealed with a layer of topcoat.
Design ideas
Sticker design ideas for nails can be very varied. As a rule, design depends on the desire of the client and the professionalism of the master. For example, stickers do not stain all nails, as this destroys even the high status of a manicure. Despite the fact that the client can independently choose certain pictures, they will be dosed so that they look spectacular and expressive in the design.
The master determines the type of manicure and decides how best to use the option chosen by the woman.
For example, if it seems to you that it is possible to put stickers on all the nails of a jacket, then a French interior design can have no more than three or four such accents.
From stickers you can create a french french pattern (for example, in the form of lace, monograms). As well as stickers, you can create a design with holes: you can stick geometric shapes at the base.
A design with a 3D effect will look beautiful, while you can seal a sticker with a picture not only with a modeling tool, but also with several layers of the top, creating a semblance of the aquarium effect. You can complement the design with sand, sparkles, colorful confetti, dried flowers. Such a design will look especially beautiful on long extended nails using the French technique.
You can design on the entire area of the accent nail, and then decorate it with rhinestone or crystal.
However, for inlaying, it is better to select pictures in which there are places for the arrangement of a sparkling decor.
For example, you can decorate with small stones a slider with the image of a web, a flower, a branch. Rhinestones imitating dew drops on a leaf will look beautiful.
If you want to give the sticker a look of art painting, you should choose an image using the watercolor technique. To create the desired illusion, a few touches will be enough, or even the contours created by acrylics or gel directly on top of the slider. They take a thin brush and paint on it the contours. By the way, you can supplement the watercolor slider with glitter, creating the effect of silver or gold pollen.
In other cases, you can use broth for decoration. A design with a print in the form of an ear can look beautiful if you supplement the ear with crystals instead of grains. Rhinestones can be used to picture a cat, decorating them with the eyes of an animal. By the way, sparkling decor can mask the flaws of the work. For example, with the same rhinestones, you can hide the resulting fold or tear on the film.
Beautiful examples
Assess the possibilities of decorating nails with stickers stylish examples of photo galleries will help:
- a chic option for decorating an evening outfit;
- a stylish solution for bright personalities;
- option for vacation or trip to the sea;
- delicate summer design for a romantic nature;
- original design to complete the summer bow;
- spectacular ethnic design;
- bright manicure with a slider design;
- the use of seasonal themes in the design of manicure;
- beautiful decor of nails using floral prints;
- option using openwork lace on accent nails.
See how to make a nail design with sliders for gel polish in the next video.