French manicure was invented for actresses who had to quickly change their image in the frame. The name did not come from the fact that this trend was invented in France, although she is a trendsetter. It just needed a pretty definition, and it seemed natural to choose that one.
As befits French fashion, this type of manicure quickly conquered the whole world and is now considered a classic. How to make a French manicure so that the result pleases his mistress? Where to begin? What tools and supplies will you need?
French manicure options
If your natural nails are strong and long enough, you can make a jacket with a regular varnish. This option is also suitable for those who like variety and repaint their nails every three to four days. If the nail plates are weak, often break off at the tips, it is better to apply a gel polish.
And what if one nail broke off, and the rest remained long? In this case, lengthening the nail with a material forextensions. And then gel polish is applied to the transparent gel substrate, as well as to the rest of the fingers. In the case of heavily gnawed, short nail plates or very thin, soft nails, extensions are the way out.
It is best to consult a specialist, but sometimes there is nothing left but to do a French manicure at home on your own. In this case, it is necessary to prepare all materials and equipment.
Preparing materials for coating
Depending on how the decorative coating will be done, one of four sets will be required.
1) To make a French manicure with varnish, you will need:
- varnish base;
- varnish haze;
- white lacquer;
- top polish.
2) To make nail extensions on tips:
- UV or LED curing lamp, buff to remove bumps.
- Ceramic hoof for cuticles.
- File with 100 grit, for sawdust design.
- Tips white.
- Glue for tips.
- Primer (acidic or acid-free primer).
- Three-phase (it includes a base gel, a transparent design gel and a top gel) or a single-phase system for nail extension. If a single-phase system is used, it is best to use a clear gel.
- Gel brush (usually number four).
3) French manicure with gel polish:
- UV or LED curing lamp.
- Buff for polishing.
- Degreaser.
- Primer (acid-free primer).
- Three-phase gel polish system (gel base, pale pink gel polish, white gel polish, top gel polish).
4) Performing a jacket with colored gel polish on a gel substrate with lengthening nails:
- Forms for nail extensions.
- UV or LED curing lamp, buff.
- Ceramic hoof for cuticles.
- 100 grit nail file.
- Gel base for extensions.
- Building camouflage extension gel.
- Gel brush.
- Vials of white and top gel polish.
Speaking of how to do a French manicure at home, you need to be reminded of the thorough preparation of nails. The adhesion (adhesion) of the material and the duration of its wearing depend on this stage.
Nail preparation
The procedure for preparing nails for coating includes the following steps:
- Shape the free edge with a 180 grit file.
- Buff remove sawdust.
- Push the proximal ridge (near the cuticle) with a pusher.
- Clean out the eponychium (skin).
- Cut burrs with tweezers.
- File (180 grit) lateral (side) rollers if the skin on them is rough.
- Degrease the nail plate.
Performing French varnish
The procedure for applying varnish includes the following steps:
- Applying the base.
- Mist application (palea pink polish that gives nails a he althy, beautiful color).
- Drawing a smile. The varnish dries quickly, sometimes it is not possible to run the brush twice in one place, correcting the smile line. This should be taken into account when choosing how to do a French manicure - gel or varnish.
- Top coat.
- If desired, you can cover the jacket with drying varnish.
The downside of lacquer is that you have to wait until it dries completely. And an additional difficulty can be drawing a smile. To make all smiles the same, you need a certain skill. The use of paper forms-stickers helps: for this, they are glued onto a dried layer of the base and, after applying the white tip, they are removed without waiting for the varnish to dry. If you delay the removal a little, then a surface film of dried varnish will form and the border will turn out to be torn.
What to choose - gel or gel polish?
How to make a French manicure so that it lasts long? Gel polish is used for natural nails. It is designed for two to three weeks, then it is removed and the coating is re-coated. And the extension gel is periodically adjusted. What to choose is up to the hostess.
If you need to lengthen your nails a little, the best way is to choose a gel. It has a tough texture and lasts a long time. It is unlikely that it will be possible to independently perform a competent build-up without prior training. But if you use tips, you can handle it yourself. The main thing is to purchase products from trusted manufacturers in professionalstores.
Performing French with gel nail extension
The procedure looks like this:
- Prepare your nails. Cut off the entire free edge, push back the cuticle with a ceramic hoof, clean the nail bed from the stuck skin, remove the oily sheen with a buff, wipe the nails with alcohol.
- Pick up tips and stick them on.
- Degrease nails.
- Apply primer.
- Apply a thin layer of the base only on the natural nail (if the system is single-phase, apply on the nail with rubbing movements of the brush, stepping back from the cuticle and the sides of the nail). Cure in a 36 W UV lamp for 2 minutes, in LED - as required by the material manufacturer (but not all extension gels can be cured in LED lamps).
- Apply the builder gel to the nail and tips, turn the finger over and wait for the gel to form an arch. It should be like a big drop, the convex surface should be flat. When this happens, put your hand into the lamp. Polymerization - two minutes.
- Remove the dispersion layer and use a 100 grit file to shape the nail. Most likely, you will have to trim the sides of the free edge, remove excess material from the sides of the nail in the nail bed area and remove excess thickness from the tip.
- Top gel top coat. In the case of a single-phase system - just paint the nail with gel, as with ordinary varnish. Polymerization - two to three minutes.
If a colored tip is required, the operation varies slightly.
Performing a colored jacket on a gel substrate
How to do a French manicure to lengthen nails and make colored tips? Here you will need forms for building up. After preparing the nails for extension (or one nail that has broken off), a primer and a base coat are applied. Polymerize and put the paper form.
After polymerization, lengthening is done with a transparent building gel. Removal of dispersion and filing does not differ from the standard procedure for extensions.
Further French manicure with gel polish does not differ from the usual method used on natural nails.
How to do a French manicure with gel polish
Procedure:
- Nail preparation (hygienic manicure, shaping).
- Remove natural shine from nails with a buff (nails should become matte).
- Degreasing.
- Primer coat.
- Base coat and curing in a lamp (usually two minutes with UV and 30 seconds with LED).
- Misting and curing.
- Drawing a smile: remove the dispersion layer from the nails with alcohol, stick stencils and draw a smile. Cure in a lamp. Remove stencils.
- Top coat application and curing (usually in UV lamp this operation takes three minutes, and in ICE - from 30 seconds to 1 minute).
In the process of applying gel polish, it is better to apply and polymerize the material with one finger at a time. So there will be no streaks on the siderollers. Keep your hand in the lamp without turning it.
If you take your time and do everything carefully, then everything will work out and the question of how to do a French manicure yourself will no longer arise.