Ten Top Tips for Gel!

If you could give your gel application a score from 1-10, where 1 is a disaster and 10 is remarkably good, what score would you give yourself? If you gave yourself a 9 or a 10, don’t read this post.

These are ten of my own top tips to make your gel application great.

If you have any questions you can email me on info@sambiddle.co.uk or if you wuld like me to email you a PDF copy.

1. Preparation is the key, make sure that the natural nails are completely dehydrated. All the non living tissue is removed and you have a rough surface to apply your gel to.

2. If you are using a tip, you need to take off the shiny surface, otherwise the gel will not be able to cling to the tip, and this will leave you with little shiny mirror pockets. This applies to white tips and clear or natural ones.

3. To prevent lifting; When you apply gel for the first time, apply a very very thin layer over the whole surface of your nail, ‘rub’ or ‘brush’ this into the surface of your nail.. when I say thin I am talking thinner than polish…..then you will need to freeze cure this for a few seconds, this first layer will shrink onto the nail and leave you with a tight hold, now continue to apply your gel as normal.

4. Have you got the correct strength lamp bulbs, remember the bulbs have a shelf life, and if they are old they won’t be as effective. You won’t get your gel to cure at the right speed, and this may cause lifting.

5. Be gentle with gel, you have to guide it…not shove it with your brush, you should be able to apply gel using just a tooth pick……use your brush to ‘show your gel the way’. Your gel (assuming it is a god quality, self levelling building gel) is intelligent enough to do most of your job for you….let it!

6. The more you play with your gel, the thinner the viscosity….in other words it will get runnier and less controllable.

7. After applying your final gel layer, place the finger into the lamp up side down for the first few seconds, gel will ‘relax’ when it goes under the light, and by drawing it down, it won’t settle on either side of the nails…making the nails look heavy and fat.

8. When doing pink and whites, or creating detail with colour, it is easier if you have a second clean gel brush. Wipe along the applied gel to give you a clean sharp line. It sometimes helps to dip this brush in some cleaner.

9. Apply the brakes! If you don’t want your gel to go in a certain place on the nail, for example; the free edge if creating a reverse smile line, then don’t apply that first thin layer in this area. The rough surface, will act like a natural stop sign for the gel.

10. You can add anything to gel to colour it, bling it up or even tint it, from polish, pigments, acrylics, glass paints, glitter and foils. Don’t be afraid to experiment.