Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Tip Tuesday

Today's tip is about prepping the surface of the nails before painting them.  <3

Think about what happens when fingers touch glass - they leave behind smudgy prints that are comprised of skin oils.  These skin oils, along with moisturizing products, inevitably get on the nails.  This is a good thing unless you are just about to begin painting your nails.  Oils create a barrier between the surface of the nail and polish which can lead to chipping, poor wear, bubbles, and application problems.

There is an quick, easy way to prep the nail surface right before painting which significantly reduces these oils.

Read on after the jump for photos and all the details!

 

I personally like to moisturize my hands and apply cuticle oil to the skin around my nails before I begin prepping the surface of my nails for painting.  I let the moisturizers soak in for a bit so my hands aren't too oily to open bottles and handle things.  If I make a mistake while painting it's easier to clean up because the cuticle oil repels the polish, keeping it from adhering to my skin.  <---Another tip!  ;D  You can moisturize before prepping your nails if you like, but it's not necessary.

For this easy prep step only two things are needed:  
100% pure acetone and cotton swabs.

♥ Dip a cotton swab in pure acetone and swipe it over the surface of each nail on one hand.  Take care not to allow the pure acetone to touch the skin.

♥ Repeat this a second time, going over each nail again.  The nails should now look almost cloudy.

♥ Apply nail treatment or base coat to the nails on this hand.

♥ Repeat for the other hand.  The reason it's best to do one hand at a time is because skin oils are likely to get on the nails of the working hand from fingers brushing up against them.

By adding this simple prep step your polish should last longer, wear better, and apply more easily!  <3 

5 comments:

  1. Doesn't pure acetone damage your nails? I mean doing this at a regural basis.Cause I 've heard so many times we should never leave acetone residue after removing polish and wash hands and nails throuroughly.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Dee I haven't found acetone to be damaging to my nails personally, though I find it is quite harsh to the skin and cuticles which is why I always apply cuticle oil to the cuticles and skin around my nails prior to the use of acetone. I change my polish about 3 times a week with a solution of acetone, glycerin, and essential oils (my own recipe). The addition of glycerin and essential oils make the initial removal process less harsh and drying. I wash my hands after removal and then moisturize. I then use this step where I clean the surface of my nails with pure acetone with cotton swabs.

    If you don't feel comfortable using acetone I've heard of people using rubbing alcohol to reduce the oils on the surface of the nails prior to base coat application. Another option is Rescue Beauty Lounge's Base Coat Prep which can be used prior to base coat to help create better polish adhesion.

    I got this week's tip from watching one of Ji Baek's videos on Rescue Beauty Lounge's site. In the Base Coat Prep video she shows a step where she uses acetone to remove oils from the surface of the nails prior to applying RBL's Base Coat Prep. Here's a link to her videos:

    http://www.rescuebeauty.com/Nail-Polish-Videos.html

    Her videos are really interesting and definitely worth watching. I've found my application and wear to be so much better since I added this step to my manicures.

    Hope this was helpful! :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. May I also add that Acetone is highly volatile? therefore, it cannot leave "residue" behind. It is an organic compound that even your own body produces, so it is essentially safe to use it often. It can be drying on skin, but so is taking a shower or going to the beach, that's why it's good to moisturize.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Are you for real?? ahahahaaha, I DRINK NAIL POLISH is about one of the funniest blog names I've seen so far! ahahahaha.... I'm a follower as of NOW!
    Marta

    www.fazendoesmalterapia.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Beatlemarta The name was conceived in a room heavy with Seche Vite fumes. XD Welcome and thank you so much for reading! <3

    ReplyDelete