How to glue stickers on gel polish

Beautiful nails and flawless manicure are the dream of any woman. This is not only a sign of grooming, but also a way to stand out from the crowd, to show your individuality. Today, the nail industry market offers a lot of original products, with the help of which any manicure acquires a special style and allows a woman to be in the spotlight. One of the most spectacular attributes of a perfect nail cover are sliders. What are their features and how to glue such stickers on gel polish?

Nail sliders are one of the most popular manicure techniques. This term, translated from English, means "slide". These are special stickers, which are thin films with a pattern of various subjects. Due to the special composition, such films are securely fixed on the surface of the nail plate.

Slider design successfully replaces art painting, it looks flawless.Applied to gel polish and coatings on top with a fixative, it prolongs the life of a manicure, while not losing color saturation and glossy sheen.

The advantages of such a nail product include ease of use: you can design nails with stickers not only from a professional master in a beauty salon. Such pictures can become an adornment of all fingers or show off only on a few, which looks no less beautiful and impressive. They can be of different sizes, completely cover the surface of the nail plate or only the part chosen for the design. Such pictures are also appropriate on the jacket, if you stick them closer to the base of the nail.

Decorative stickers are safe for nails. They do not harm their structure, are applied easily and are rarely capricious when removed. In addition, sliders are freely available in many specialized stores, so it will not be difficult to buy them according to your preferences.

Such nail decorations have a wide price range, which allows you to choose both luxurious and expensive ones (from 500 to 1000 rubles) and more acceptable drawings (20 - 100 rubles), which are not inferior in beauty to expensive counterparts.

Colorful pictures can be bought at any cosmetic boutique.At the same time, their subject matter often strikes the imagination and baffles: you want to buy everything, no matter how beautiful it is. The most popular image motifs on such design elements are:

• animalistic drawings (all kinds of kittens, dogs, snakes, tigers, panthers, leopards, bears);
• birds (peacocks, seagulls, birds of paradise);

• ornaments (geometry, scalloped lace, stripes);
• prints (floral, abstract patterns, compositions with butterflies, reptile skin designs and animal skin color);
• lace (web, all kinds of lace patterns, made in one or more shades, imitation of textile textures);

• portraits (famous people, female faces, silhouettes);
• cartoon characters (relevant for young people);
• Japanese patterns (sakura, geisha, anime sketches, etc.);

• New Year's theme (snowmen, snowflakes, bullfinches, deer, Christmas compositions);
• fruits and berries (various patterns with one or more items);
• rock style (skulls, crosses and similar paraphernalia);
• glamor (hearts, bows, stars, gold or silver letters).

Patterns can be colored, monochrome, flat, with a small relief. Some drawings imply symmetry, others do not need it. Today, a free theme is more often used, in which accents are glued to just a few nails.

Today, the choice of such products is quite wide. There are many varieties of stickers for nail design.

Water stickers are a thin film located on a white paper base. A feature of decals is the need to be based on a translucent base, so they need careful selection of the shade of varnish.The background should be in harmony with the color palette of the pattern and not merge with it into a single incomprehensible spot.

The disadvantages of this type of stickers include the likelihood of damage to the workpiece in the process of fitting it in size and shape.

Such drawings are a photo design (fragments with an adhesive surface located on a special substrate). Their feature is independence. In order to stick them, it is enough to separate the sticky layer and stick the fragment on the surface of the nail.

By themselves, stickers can represent individual items of a particular pattern or be a full-fledged object. They come in the form of a variety of sets of 10 plates, designed specifically to cover the entire area of ​​​​the nail. The sets created for the jacket are made in the form of stripes.

Stickers of this type differ in volume. They are slightly convex, unlike the usual flat pictures. This kind of sliders can be a full-fledged decorative element or a nail accent.

These stickers are water-based and adhesive-based. In general, they are not difficult to work with, although sometimes difficulties may arise (when designing a manicure on the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe nail). The presence of a small relief (bulge) does not interfere with everyday life, it does not scratch or cling to clothes and other objects.

The advantages of 3D stickers include the ability to combine them with other decorative design elements (such as regular stickers). They are easy to use and often look more beautiful than their counterparts. The disadvantages include the difficulty of removing the sticker when removing the coating. Special gel polish removers are not designed for such procedures, so this sticker will have to be scraped off.

There are several methods for applying nail stickers. Each technique is unique in its own way, so you can choose the most optimal option. Implementing a slider design step by step is actually much easier than it might seem at first glance, it does not take much time.

The sliders are cut to the size of the nails, then lowered into the water. You can use a napkin soaked in water, attaching a cut-out fragment to it on one nail. The film with the picture will peel off easily in both cases.

One of the most reliable slider design methods is the method when pictures are applied to a non-dried layer of pigment. Experienced craftsmen advise using a brush when smoothing the sticker. So the drawing will not tear and lie flat on the surface of the nail plate. The brush allows you to tightly fix the sticker to the base without air bubbles and waves.

The advantage of this method is excellent durability, as the coating layer dries along with the slider. The adhesion of the slider to the coating with this gluing option will be as strong as possible. Therefore, in this case, one layer of fixative (finish) is sufficient.

This method is very convenient and the easiest. Sliders are applied to the topcoat layer after the pigment. Unlike the base coat, the top coat has a denser and thicker consistency, which simplifies the procedure for applying pictures to the surface of the nail plates.

The sticker is straightened with a brush, and then fixed with a top coat. It is necessary to try so that the size of the sticker, if possible, does not go beyond the lateral borders of the nail plate.

This method allows you to update an already finished manicure.If the nails are painted with gel polish, but after a few days you want a change, this is the perfect solution. At the same time, it is not necessary to remove the old coating at all in order to change the design of the nails.

In this case, in order not to create an extra thickness of the coating and an unnatural look, it is better to stick the slider design on an ultrabond (acid-free primer). It does an excellent job of fixing stickers and will not create obstacles in work. After completing the design, you need to fix the manicure with a top coat without a sticky layer.

In the process of work, you need to trim the stickers in shape and size that is most suitable for each specific nail. However, it is not scary if the film protrudes beyond the edge of the end of the nail: then it can be cut with scissors and, after drying, processed with a file.

Straightening the slider design with an elastic brush, you need to remove all voids. If the sticker does not fit well on the surface of the nail, small cuts can be made. Some experts use an orange stick to straighten the film with the design.

After gluing the film, it is fixed with a layer of topcoat without a sticky layer. It is better if the top is glossy: the look of the pattern will be more attractive. In addition, you should not stick such pictures on a dark base if the picture is faded and made in translucent muted colors.

Working with slider design will appeal to every woman, no matter what method of gluing pictures is chosen. The duration of the procedure will not take more than 10-15 minutes, provided that the work will be done calmly and accurately.

Not every experienced master can draw such patterns, and for much more time. The main rule of all stages of design is accuracy at every step.The technique of gluing water-based sliders is somewhat reminiscent of decoupage.

With the proper execution of the design, the stickers stay on the nails for at least two to three weeks and even more. The durability of such a manicure is affected by careful handling of the coating. This is especially true for household work, during which hands come into contact with water and aggressive detergents and chemicals.

In order not to have to wonder why the stickers do not stay on the nails for a long time and the beautiful coating quickly peels off, you need to follow all the rules of manicure with gel polish at each stage. It is important to perform all actions carefully, without defects. Any slightest imperfection in bonding will spoil the flawless appearance of the nails and eventually lead to the fact that the coating will have to be removed.

In addition, the durability of the colorful design with stickers is affected by the use of quality components in the work. It is better to buy gel polishes from reliable companies that are time-tested and have positive feedback from experienced craftsmen working with this type of coating.

Gel polish slider design technology requires knowledge of the techniques of the masters working in the salon. To prolong the life of a colorful design, you need to correctly and step by step follow all the instructions, starting from the very beginning.

Before applying the base coat, it is necessary to treat the nails and do a light manicure without soaking. In this case, it is necessary to remove the cuticle, trim the shape of the nails, carefully process the free edge of the nail. Not only the quality of the coating, but also its durability depends on how even it will be.

In addition, you need to consider that the perfect manicure implies the same length and shape of all nails. If oil or cream was used in the treatment of nails, they must be removed.

After that, the surface of the nail plate must be polished with a soft file for natural nails (bafa). This should be done delicately, removing only the gloss. If you press hard on the buff, you can damage the structure of the nail, removing not only its natural protective layer. Filed nails will look matte.

The next step is to use a degreaser (dehydrator). It will remove the residual sawdust after grinding and the remnants of cream or oil, if they were used at the very beginning. At this stage, it is important to pay special attention to the end of the nail, the inside of the free edge and the side ridges. If an untreated area remains, it can lead to a violation of the resistance of the coating.

Having completely removed the keratin layer, you need to use an acid-free primer. It is especially necessary in cases where the nails are thin and soft. This component of manicure helps to improve the adhesion of coatings to the surface of the nails, strengthening their structure.

After preparing the nails for coating, apply a base coat. It should be thin, evenly distributed over the entire surface of the nail plate. It is important not to forget about the end of the nail and the sides.The base coat has a sticky layer, which must not be touched: it makes the adhesion of the nail to the pigment maximum. When working, you need to try to do everything carefully so as not to violate the integrity of the coating.

A distinctive feature of the entire manicure using gel polish is the need to dry each applied gel-based layer. Imperfections must be removed before polymerization in a UV or LED lamp. A thick layer can quickly crack, which will affect the quality and durability of subsequent steps.

Buying a special lamp can confuse unenlightened shoppers. However, this is an important tool for manicure, because it is thanks to it that gel polish, base and top harden.

After the base coat, a colored gel polish is applied. It usually has good dense pigmentation, so one or two thin layers will be enough for an even background without stripes and unpainted areas. After applying each layer, they are polymerized in a lamp. Drying time depends on the type of lamp.

The LED device is more powerful and reduces the overall time for creating a manicure. Drying of one thin layer in such a lamp is 10-30 seconds. However, manufacturers often produce nail products that are not designed to work with it. In this case, it is better to buy an ultraviolet lamp, it is a universal device for all types of coatings. The polymerization time of one thin layer in it is 2 minutes.

Sliders are glued to the prepared surface.Their design can be the most diverse, it depends on the imagination and style of the intended composition. The method of applying stickers differs from their varieties. This process is very exciting and creative. By gluing pictures, they can be decorated with small rhinestones and microbeads.

After the slider design, you can apply the finishing layer. The top is a fixer, it is applied in a denser layer, and therefore it dries a little longer. The polymerization time in the LED lamp of the top coat is 1 minute, in the ultraviolet - 3-4 minutes.

In addition to observing all the above rules, experienced craftsmen working in the nail field recommend choosing the main shade for stickers. thoroughly.

• If white is chosen, it is desirable that it be pure, without impurities. It is better to glue bright and attractive stickers on such a background. Such a base is ideal for any slider design, as it can make drawings richer.
• One of the actual shades of gel polish for pictures are flesh and beige-pink tones. Thanks to light shades, the picture will not lose its expressiveness and will be clear.

• When choosing a contrasting background for drawings, it is important to consider the color combination. The shade of gel polish should be a harmonious basis for the pattern.
• Before starting work, you need to prepare the necessary tools so as not to be distracted by searching for them during the manicure.

• When designing with water stickers, it is better to use warm water: this way the film will move away from the substrate faster.
• If the picture lay in the wrong place, as it was intended, do not try to move it. In this case, there are two ways out: redo it all over again or try to fix the defect with the help of other decor elements (rhinestone, sequin).
• A fully finished manicure should be protected from contact with water for at least half an hour after drying the finish layer.
• In order for the slider to be a durable and high-quality nail decoration, you need to pay special attention to sealing the free edge of the nail. You must not forget about it with each layer of coating, otherwise the stickers will begin to peel off after a few days.

Sometimes performing all the steps step by step, it is not possible to achieve an impeccable result. The reasons for this usually lie in the following:

• If the sticker falls off along with the topcoat layer, then the reason lies in the fact that the top coat or varnish layer has not dried well.
• The formation of wrinkles on the surface of the picture indicates that the quality of the sticker is low or its film is thick. However, the reason may be that the slider is too wet.

• Chips in the top coat may indicate that it lacked the minimum clearance on the side bolsters.
• Flaking of the coating may be caused by insufficient sealing of the butt of the nail. This is a mandatory step of the manicure, which is needed to form a kind of pocket that holds the sticker.

Make nails beautiful under the power of every woman. To do this, you need the necessary fixtures, coatings, stickers and desire. The finished result will delight the hostess and attract the attention of others.

Read more about how to apply stickers on gel polish in the next video.