All about manicure gel polish

Any woman wants to be attractive and refined, which is why it is so important that the appearance is impeccable. This applies not only to makeup, hair and wardrobe, but also to manicure. In recent years, more and more fashionistas have resorted to gel polish.

A few years ago, many representatives of the weaker sex dreamed of having long extended nails, and they took on a variety of shapes - round, square or pointed. As for the colors, here, too, the fantasy was not limited to absolutely anything - the trend includes floral ornaments, geometric symbols, and a French jacket. However, the era of acrylic extended nails is rapidly leaving - the latest trends have made a powerful roll in favor of femininity and naturalness, and today long artificial nails are often considered a sign of vulgarity and a complete lack of taste. And it’s inconvenient with them - they tear tights, interfere with typing on the computer and typing letters on the smartphone screen, and most importantly, the native nails under a layer of artificial ones become thinner and brittle.

Already from the name of the composition it becomes clear that gel polish combines the features of a modeling gel and decorative varnish. In everyday life, it is often called shellac - according to the brand of the first Shellac CND coating that appeared on the domestic market.Less often, but you can hear the definition of "varnish gel" and sometimes "varnish shea". Despite the fact that Shellac is positioning its products as an independent product, these two concepts are identical in the people.

It is believed that shellac differs from gel polish by the presence of a polymer of the same name. This is not true - there is no mention of the use of shellac resin on the coated bottle or on the manufacturer’s website.

The main components of gel polish.

• Film former - a special substance, which under the influence of UV radiation creates a strong film on the coating, due to which it becomes resistant to abrasion, cracking and cracking.
• Photo initiator - a substance that absorbs ultraviolet radiation and contributes to a more active reaction of the active components with each other.
• Active diluents - components that contribute to giving gel varnishes the required consistency, due to which the composition acquires an optimum viscosity for applying the composition.

• Pigment - this is a coloring matter of organic or inorganic origin, which is used to ensure that the coating has acquired one or another shade and could be used for the decoration of nail plates. Pigments do not have the particular ability to dissolve in gel polish and in no way interfere with the absorption of UV rays, although some types of components can reduce the rate of photopolymerization of the coating.
• Additives - these are the ingredients that are added so that the coating acquires some additional characteristics, for example, ductility, as well as gloss or viscosity. As a rule, they vary in the compositions of various manufacturers.

Gel polish has become the number one choice for women all over the world, and this is understandable, taking into account the amount of its positive characteristics.

• Quick freezing - gel polish dries under a special ultraviolet lamp in minutes. This is quite convenient and practical, especially if you recall how long it takes to wait for the usual varnish to dry and how often you have to update the coating, if during drying you accidentally touch such a manicure.
• Strengthening - shellac-coated nails become stronger and grow quite quickly. This is a big plus compared to nail extensions, as strips and acrylic make the coating heavier, and the structure of the nail becomes thinner and fresher.

• Durability - with the correct technique and the lack of contact with hot water for 2 days after application, the coating lasts from 14 to 21 days. Sometimes and after this time, the varnish looks neat, but it is better not to overexpose it - in this case, the health of the native nail may suffer.
• Versatility - gel polish can be applied to both short and long legs, and to wide and narrow, in any case, the coating will always look natural, and the hands are neat and elegant. This effect cannot be achieved with the extension procedure - acrylic nails are always striking and it is obvious to everyone that the nail plates are not real.
• Affordable price. Of course, gel polishing is more expensive than applying the usual varnish, but given that you get a lasting effect and you can forget about updating the manicure for a couple of weeks, ultimately, shellac is cheaper.

Thanks to gel polish, nails always look fresh, rich and aesthetically pleasing. This coating hides any defects on the nails, evens the surface and does not irritate with its chemical smell.

Gel polish has the ability to shine under any type of lighting, which is why the manicure always looks flawless.Due to the existing variety of techniques, shellac can be decorated with nails of any length and shape - it looks great on round, oval, almond-shaped and even square nails.

• Gel polish is applied only in salon conditions. Of course, you can purchase all the necessary tools and supplies and try to cover the house, but it will cost you a lot - a UV device is very expensive, and the accuracy of applying the composition at home often leaves much to be desired, especially on the right hand.
• Shellac cannot be removed habitual washing for nails, it requires special tools designed to dissolve the coating and break the adhesion of the varnish to the nail plate. Of course, if you wish, you can resort to pure acetone and remove the coating with them - but, I think, it’s not worth saying that such procedures significantly worsen the condition of the nails, make them dry and brittle.

• Shellac should not be worn constantly. After each 3-4 application, it is worth taking a short break and letting the nail recover, doing healing baths and masks that promote tissue regeneration.
• Do not forget about the risk of individual intolerance. In some cases, there is an allergy to one of the components of the varnish-gel, so carefully study the composition of the drug before use.

Some claim that the UV lamp is harmful, especially for women - it provokes cancer in them. However, this opinion has no scientific confirmation, although girls who have a genetic predisposition to cancer and often visit a solarium and take sun baths, there is always a risk of the disease. Although it is difficult to say with certainty that the UV lamp will be the culprit, it is rather difficult - after all, in the summer on the beach and in the tanning studio we get much higher doses of ultraviolet radiation than with the point effect of a manicure lamp.

Gel Polish allows you to implement a variety of ideas and techniques of the original coating on the nails: mosaic, veil or newspaper technology.

For adherents of timeless classics, a monophonic coating, as well as gentle options for moon manicure and a French jacket, will be optimal. Similar designs can be used for evening publication, and for daily decor.

Over the years, a manicure with drawings, openwork patterns and pictures has remained invariably popular, which is equally good for both short and long nails. These coatings are usually made using stamping.

A very stylish and effective technique is drawing on wet shellac. Such a blurry design stands out with its style and non-trivial design.

Matte manicure is very popular, and gel varnishes of various shades are usually used and combine such a coating with other techniques. Matte color looks great on dark shades, as well as harmonious on nude and light beige.

Ombre is always a fashionable technique in which a smooth transition from one shade to another is carried out. Most often they use light and dark shades of the same color, but in recent years they are increasingly stretching the gradient from contrasting ones.

The popular “cat's eye” technique is optimal on shellac, especially in this case, using black, green and dark blue shades.

The last novelty is a chameleon manicure, which involves a change in shade in different lighting conditions.

Another popular technique is craquelure. This is a rather peculiar and original textured varnish, which makes the nails truly unique and stylish.

Decor techniques are very common that make the cover extraordinary and always attract attention. In this case, pebbles, beads or rhinestones are applied to one or two nails.

Modern girls from a very young age try to look fashionable and stylish, so they often do manicures, especially on special occasions - birthday, New Year, September 1, school holidays. Schoolchildren from the age of 10-12 try to resemble their mothers in every way and ask them to cover them with shellac. However, the question of the appropriateness and, most importantly, the safety of such coverage for children does not yet have a clear answer.

It is traditionally believed that gel polish is a remedy for already grown up girls, at least high school students. Such a coating on teenagers looks too defiant and rude, besides shellac can not be called a completely safe product. With frequent use, the structure of their nail plates is destroyed. They become thin and brittle, quite often the use of such a composition forces you to resort to all kinds of healing drugs - oils and rubs that restore the nails.

It should be borne in mind that gel polishes are very sensitive to changes in the hormonal background in the human body, and it’s no secret that the concentration of individual hormones in the blood of adolescents is sometimes too high, and all this leads to the fact that the coating simply does not stick to the nails and falls off, therefore, there is simply no point in such an application.

Most stylists are sure that the girl should be accustomed to high-quality self-care from a very young age, they argue that only with this approach stylish and fully confident women will grow out of them, at the same time there are quite a few alternative techniques that are more suitable for children.

In the current season, several trends in the application of gel polish have been identified.

A manicure with rhinestones is very popular. Pebbles, rhinestones or beads go well with varnish. Such a design is most often done on one nail, but in some cases several or even all are involved - the idea of ​​decor here depends on the dimensions of the shining elements, their quantity and the concept of the original composition.

A novelty in the nail industry was manicure with kamifubuki. In fact, these are the same sparkles, only quite large. Visually, they look like confetti, although they do not have to be round at all. With the help of kamifubuki they create shellac manicure with incomparable originality, they form stylish beautiful compositions, laying them on the nails in an interesting sequence, they decorate the tips of the nails or decorate only a few fingers.

The use of velvet coating on gel polish has become a fashionable area. To do this, the nails are covered with acrylic powder, forming interesting patterns with a velvety texture. Such new items are especially relevant in autumn and winter - in the cool season they create a feeling of warmth and coziness.

As for the color palette, in the current season peach and terracotta shades, as well as autumn decors made in the colors of Marsala and Bordeaux are in fashion.Striped and rainbow designs, as well as space and fruit style, are very popular.

Gel polish keeps on nails for 2-3 weeks. This is an undoubted advantage of the composition, but at the same time a certain drawback, which makes it difficult to choose a suitable decor.

If a simple varnish can be changed to the color of clothes and accessories, as well as from the planned pastime, then the gel varnish should be chosen so that it fits perfectly with different outfits, and in addition, it should look harmonious both in the office and at the evening social reception.

You must admit that red varnish with rhinestones will not be entirely appropriate in a company where a strict dress code is dictated, and coating the color of a nude will look too simple at a disco or party.

The leader on the list is a French, better known as French manicure.in which the nail plate is covered with a light shade, and the smile line (the overgrown part of the nail) is drawn in a different color. In the classic version, these are white tones, but the fashion does not stand still and today the decor can be made in other shades, but certainly light.

Such a coating always looks elegant and elegant, gives women a sophisticated and well-groomed look and makes it perfect both in the office, at the children's party, and at a party with friends.

Reverse jacket is also a universal technique in which lunula is covered with varnish - the lower part of the nail plate. This varnish looks good on both long and short nails. Moon manicure makes the image stylish, expensive and carefully thought out.

Restrained conciseness is always in fashion and always out of place, therefore, a universal coating can be made using a technique in which the nails are coated with the same color, usually nude or black, and to give the manicure a slight zest, one of the nails is decorated with a picture or rhinestone. Thanks to this addition, the coating will be appropriate at ceremonial events, but the decor is minimal, so in strict surroundings it will not seem superfluous.

In order to apply a high-quality gel-varnish coating, you need to prepare quite a lot of tools that are used at different stages of work.

You will need:

• scissors - are used to adjust the shape of the free edge of the nail;
• pusher - removes the grown cuticle;
• buff - polishes the nail plate and removes the sticky keratin layer;
• Nail file - is required to align and smooth the edges of the nail;
• nippers - are required to treat rough skin near the nail;
• wooden sticks - used to push back the overgrown cuticle.

For the shellac application itself, the set of basic tools is slightly different:

• primers, various dehydrators and bonds - they degrease and dehydrate the nails, thereby contributing to the maximum adhesion of the nail to synthetic materials;
• disinfector - used for preventive treatment of the nail, which prevents the development of fungal diseases;
• base - this component prevents the varnish from penetrating into the nail, smoothes the surface and improves the adhesion of the coating; in addition, the use of the base avoids unaesthetic stripes when applying shellac directly;

• multi-colored varnish - usually professionals use two types of varnishes: three-phase - which require the use of a top, base and finish, as well as single-phase - which do without the above components;
• top - this is the final coating that is applied over gel polish and protects the coating from unsightly chips and cracking during mechanical damage.

And finally, a UV lamp becomes an indispensable condition for using gel polish.

To date, the cosmetics industry offers three types of appliances.

• Ultraviolet lamp. The main advantage of such a device is its low cost, such lamps are affordable for most of our compatriots. The power of such a device is 9-54 watts, while the smaller this parameter, the slower the polymerization of the coating. In some cases, such a lamp is additionally equipped with a motion sensor, fan and timer. If you are just taking the first steps in nail design, it will be enough to get a 36 Watt device. Such a gadget is optimal for home manicure, because it well polymerizes shellac of any density.

• LED lamps. These are more professional devices that are necessary for high-speed and highly effective drying of the base. In this lamp, polymerization takes 30 to 90 seconds, however, the cost of such a gadget is an order of magnitude higher than UV lamps.
• Hybrid lamps. These are universal devices that are used not only for the polymerization of gels, but also for shellac, permanent compositions and biogels. The principle of operation of such devices is based on combined technology, due to which the polymerization is quick and efficient. Such lamps are usually used in beauty salons.

If we talk about the manufacturers of these devices, then it is worth giving preference to such brands as Bluesky, Jessnail, as well as Kodi professional or TNL Professional. If you need a lamp for home use, then you can focus on budget brands that are not inferior in effect to their more expensive counterparts.

Well, of course, if you are determined to master the application of shellac, then you should prepare a place to store all supplies and tools used.

A special box or container is best suited for this purpose, the entire contents of which is protected from direct sunlight and dust. Stock up with lint-free wipes, which should be wiped the neck of the bottle after work, and the usual disinfectants for the treatment of hands.

Please note that the traditional cut manicure has long been considered an outdated procedure, which is completely incompatible with the extension of acrylic nails or applying gel polish. The fact is that before such a manicure, hands should be steamed well in a hot bath so that the nails absorb moisture - when using shellac this leads to detachment of the coating.

Hardware manicure is a procedure in which the nails are processed without the use of cutting tools. This process is carried out using specialized equipment, absolutely without damaging the skin.

Such processing is carried out using a tool that resembles a thickened marker or felt-tip pen. On one edge it is attached to the machine, and on the other there is a hole where suitable milling cutters of various diameters, sizes, shapes and degrees of abrasion are attached.

The rotation speed is set by the master. Usually it varies from 5 to 35 thousand rotations per minute. The minimum speed is set for delicate skin areas.

Before processing, you need to prepare the nails and fingers for manipulation. To begin with, the cuticle should be treated with a special softener, this is important so that the procedure is as painless as possible. The roller near the nail is removed with a diamond nozzle, while you should listen to your own feelings.If you feel a burning sensation or even the slightest pain, you should immediately turn off the device and choose another cutter. Pain is not allowed when touching the treated area - this is a signal that the rotation speed or the cutter itself was incorrectly selected, in this case, the treatment is stopped and returned to it after a couple of days, when young epidermal cells grow.

After the excess dermis is removed, the nails should be given the correct shape, then they are polished with a special nozzle. It is recommended to move it along the plate so that it remains at each point for no more than 0.5 seconds.

After the entire nail plate is processed, it must be greased with oil to soften the cuticle and wait a little while until the composition is completely absorbed. After that, hands and fingers are wiped with a means to remove the grease film and proceed to the staining itself. Keep in mind that at least a quarter of an hour should elapse between the application of the oily product and the shellac coating.

Combined manicure combines several techniques. It is believed that it is much more effective than hardware and trim, while the specialist uses instrumental and hardware methods for correcting nails so that even very neglected and complex nail plates become well-groomed and elegant.

Hardware manicure involves the combined use of cutters, nippers and scissors. Usually the cuticle is lifted with a small cutter, and then cut off, after which the turn of the apparatus for polishing and polishing the surface comes again.

So, after preparing the nails, you can begin to apply a decorative coating. The procedure consists of several stages.

• Drawing base. The base is applied in a thin layer over the entire surface so as not to leave a single piece of the plate unpainted. Pay the most attention to the end sections. It is very important to carefully ensure that the tone does not leak onto the lateral ridges and cuticle fragments. If this happens, you must certainly fix it.
• Application of color. Varnish is painted in two layers. The first should be quite thin, and you should not be upset if it comes out uneven. This will all fix the second layer. It should be applied as thinly, and if it turns out to be uneven, then it is worth applying a third layer. As a rule, first of all the middle fingers of the right hand are covered with gel polish, in addition to the thumb, and then the varnish is dried in an ultraviolet lamp. The same thing needs to be done with the left hand. Thumbs should be stained and polymerized separately.

• Drawing a decor. It all depends on your own imagination. Usually used sequins, various sliders, as well as rhinestones or acrylic dust, and then again dried in a lamp.
• Removing the sticky layer. At the last stage, a special concealer should remove the sticky layer. Keep in mind that this should be done only after completion of all work, since it is this layer that determines the effective adhesion of each subsequent coating to the previous one.
• Fastening. At the finish stage, a top layer is applied, and it should be applied rather tightly, since it largely determines the fixation of the entire coating.

Women who use gel polish give only the most positive reviews about it.This coating allows you to forget about the need to update the manicure for a long time and allows you to implement any design ideas and solutions on the nails.

Undisputed leader in the market of gel polishes are brands from the USAsuch as Gelish, as well as Jessica Geleration and Kodi. And for many years the palm has been owned by the CND brand, whose “brainchild” is well known to every Russian woman. The main difference between the products of these manufacturers is innovative formulas, a harmless composition and a wide color palette, however, and the price of such coatings is correspondingly high.

Products from German and Japanese manufacturers, such as OPI and Masura, are slightly behind in popularity.

Varnishes made in China are very popular in our country. - They are represented by the lines of Cristina, as well as Bluesky and the relatively new Canni. They are not as comfortable as their American or European counterparts, and they have a pungent odor, but the finish quality of the coating is quite high.

Domestic samples, for example, Aurelia, are just entering the market, and it is not possible to draw up a full picture of reviews about them. However, consumers have already appreciated their good wear and low cost.

The technology for applying gel polish, see the next video.