Preparation makes perfect
How to prepare the nails for a gel manicure? What do you need to prepare the nails for gel application? All this and more in this guide about nail preparation for gel manicures.
What is Nail Preparation?
Special nail preparation is reuqired when doing a gel manicure. The nail preparation is the process of preparing any nails in any condition (natural nails, nails with a gel manicure or with gel extensions) to any kind of treatment. This process is slightly different depending on which manicure you're doing.
Before you go ahead with nail extension or even just covering your nails with gel polish,
you should always prepare your nails as best you can so the product you're going to apply will adhear better to your nails and remain intact for long.
Good nail preparation is the difference between a gel manicure that hardly lasts 2 weeks and an amazingly kept long lasting manicure of four to six weeks, depending on your nail growth rate.
In the process of nail preparation we remove any current unwanted product from the nails, we shape the nails, we manicure the skin and cuticles around the nail, we buff the nail surface and dehydrate the nail surface from any natural oils.
We always finish nail preparation for any gel manicure by applying a base coat of soft gel (rubber base), preferably in a clear or nude color. This layer is the protective layer for any manicure or nail extension treatment to follow, or even just two coats of color gel polish or a design.
The biggest part of the nail preparation process explained above, is the manicure. There are so many ways to do a manicure - which is basically a cleaning and grooming of the skin around the nail, and the cuticle.
The better a manicure is performed, or the better you clean the cuticles and exfoliate the nail plate, the longer the gel manicure will last, with your nails and hands looking better for longer between each treatment.
How To Prepare Nails for Gel Nails Extension
The Step by Step guide to nail preparation before doing gel nails extension in any method
Always start with washing your hands well. Best to use disinfecting soap if you have it, since your dealing with the skin around your nails, you want to make sure they are kept healthy. Be sure to have removed any product from the nails (including gel / regular nail polish).
The Cuticle Pusher Is Your Best Friend
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Use the pusher's rounded edge to push back your cuticles. You want to detach the cuticle's skin from the nail plate if possible. Do this gently. The sharp edge of the tool can be used to exfoliate dead skin around cuticle.
Remember that any cuticle you push back leaves room for your nail product, so you can apply it evenly around your cuticle.
File your nails to a short rounded smile line. This will make sure they grow out nicely under your extension. Then file the surface of the nail to rough it up, use your nail file in one direction instead of side to side. Spray or rub off with rubbing alcohol (70% or more) using a lint free pad. Go in with a bit of dehydrator near the cuticle and around the nail and then apply a bit of primer / bonder on your natural nail.
Finally, apply your rubber base coat - a thin smooth layer, covering the entire nail, cure in the nail lamp for 1 minute.
How To Prepare Nails for a Structured Manicure Fill
If you've recently applied any nail extensions or strengthened your natural nail with builder gel, you still need to prepare the nail very similarly, but there a few points you want to focus on when doing a fill - where you fill the gap between the cuticle and the grown out product that grew with your natural nail.
After hand washing, file off any design on the nail, removing the top coat and its shine, then smooth out the growth line of the product, blending it into the natual nail. Do the same on the sides, where product usually lifts due to the rounded cuticle shape. Make sure the lifting is fully removed, so any product you will apply later will be on a stable basis. Any lifting that remains will lift the next set of nails, so focus on this when doing a fill.
If you're filling your nails, you are filing a lot. Consider learning to E-File
After any lifting of the previous product has been delt with, go ahead and push the cuticles back and rough up the nail surface while exfoliating any dead skin on nails.
Finish the filing part by shaping the nails back to your favorite shape.
If you want to shorten your nails (as they now grow faster) do it now.
Spray the nails clean with alcohol, or use rubbing alcohol on a lint free pad. Now, some of the natural nail is covered by product, so apply dehydrator to the entire surface of the nail, while keeping the primer / bonder to the natural nail.
Follow with a layer of rubber base coat and cure in nail lamp for 1 minute. Now you can apply any kind of structure overlay and have your nails support their new length with the structure fill.