Nail Art Topcoat Confusion!

[Av in nue Nails]

Hi Everyone, Im new to nails, and have been practicing with creative l&p since March, slowly getting better at p&ws. If and when I manage to perfect l&P I would love to try nail art, coloured acrylics, paint and glitter fades etc. Would love some info, to protect the nailart do you apply a coat of clear acrylic over the top, if so how do you avoid the nail becoming too thick?? Im a bit confused after reading a post about applying gel as a top coat over l&p. As a newbie I dont know much about other systems, but assumed they were all seperate, & couldnt be used together. Can you help?? :Grope: Many Thanks.x x

 

[sj1973]

i only use acrylic cant get on with gel it does not like me!!!!!! when i do the nail art let it dry then i apply top coat i do not seal it with another layer of acrylic and not heard no one else do that.when that top coat dry i apply another . as for glitters and fadding yes you will have to seal it as if you dont you will file what you have just put on,but nail art i dont seal hth

 

[Noodle]

Airshield or Thermoshield by NSI are good for sealing nail art.

 

[Hope]

You are right, if you use coloured L&P, or do a glitter fade it is best to cap it with clear/pink L&P afterwards, and yes it does mean that you need to work quite thinly with the layers otherwise the nail would be bulky.

As for a Gel top coat, it is completely fine to use one over the top of L&P as long as you are using it on a surface that hasn't yet been buffed to a shine, using over a 180 grit finished nail is fine.

 

[Av in nue Nails]

You are right, if you use coloured L&P, or do a glitter fade it is best to cap it with clear/pink L&P afterwards, and yes it does mean that you need to work quite thinly with the layers otherwise the nail would be bulky.

As for a Gel top coat, it is completely fine to use one over the top of L&P as long as you are using it on a surface that hasn't yet been buffed to a shine, using over a 180 grit finished nail is fine.

Thanks loads for the reply. Still a bit confused though (got so much to learn) What are the benefits or differences between capping with clear l&p, or capping with gel over l&p?? I know very little about gel, & was wondering if it would be beneficial to learn gel after I have mastered l&p. Many Thanks x

 

[Av in nue Nails]

Thanks loads for the reply. Still a bit confused though (got so much to learn) What are the benefits or differences between capping with clear l&p, or capping with gel over l&p?? I know very little about gel, & was wondering if it would be beneficial to learn gel after I have mastered l&p. Many Thanks x

Hi again, the reason Im asking is that although I am still learning l&p (charging £10 for full set, £6 for infills - is that about right?) Im being asked if I can do something a bit more adventurous - coloured acrylic & glitter fades etc, but I dont really know where to start! Ive been doing basic designs with polish & art brushes but my guinea pigs now want something different. Ive been reading posts & learned that I can buy glitter to mix with my creative l&p, but I dont have a clue about any differences in application etc, or info that I should know. Should I invest in some coloured acrylic? Any suggestions or advice very welcome x x

 

[Hope]

Thanks loads for the reply. Still a bit confused though (got so much to learn) What are the benefits or differences between capping with clear l&p, or capping with gel over l&p?? I know very little about gel, & was wondering if it would be beneficial to learn gel after I have mastered l&p. Many Thanks x

Tbh there aren't any benefits to capping with either IMO. Capping is done so that you don't either file off the design you have done, or when using glitter you file the colour from the glitter leaving behind just the silver. If you are using L&P just cap with L&P and that will be just fine.

Hi again, the reason Im asking is that although I am still learning l&p (charging £10 for full set, £6 for infills - is that about right?) Im being asked if I can do something a bit more adventurous - coloured acrylic & glitter fades etc, but I dont really know where to start! Ive been doing basic designs with polish & art brushes but my guinea pigs now want something different. Ive been reading posts & learned that I can buy glitter to mix with my creative l&p, but I dont have a clue about any differences in application etc, or info that I should know. Should I invest in some coloured acrylic? Any suggestions or advice very welcome x x

If you are charging a learning rate that is fine, lots of us start out that way, although beware that you will find it very hard to up your rates if you leave them at that level for too long :hug:

TBH I personally think that the best idea is to get confident at producing a well structured consistant set of nails before you start trying out different designs using coloured L&P, but that is only my opinion. If you feel that this is something that you can already do then go for it. You will find loads of tutorials on this site for different things to try.

Hth's xx