Acrylic is the oldest professional nail technique used around the world for many years. Acrylic nails are a way to strengthen delicate and brittle nails, and shape and lengthen them to perfection. Acrylic is particularly characterized by its high durability and resistance to damage (for example, knicks). In this blog, we are going to cover all the details of acrylic nails.
1. What is acrylic?
Acrylic is a nail technique where two substances are mixed together to create a thick mass. The acrylic mass created is then easy to model on your nail. As soon as the two materials are mixed, the catalyzing process begins. So you only have a little time to give the acrylic nails the shape you want.
To make acrylic nails, you need acrylic powder (polymer) and acrylic liquid (monomer). The two components are made for each other, so you should never mix different brands.
By mixing the polymer and the monomer, a chemical reaction takes place which catalyzes the acrylic mass. For acrylic nails, you don’t need a nail lamp. Acrylic nails are completely catalyzed after 48 hours.
2. Advantages and disadvantages of acrylic nails?
Advantages
- Acrylic nails are hard and strong. This guarantees good durability of the artificial nails.
- Acrylic stays on your nails for 4-5 weeks.
- Acrylic is easy to remove, thanks to the soaking method.
Disadvantages
- Acrylic liquid has a very intense odor during application. This is often seen as a nuisance.
- Achieving an acrylic manicure takes a little practice. You only have a limited time to shape your nails.
- Acrylic nails are low shine, but you can apply a gloss top coat to them.
3. Material for an acrylic manicure
To make an acrylic manicure, you need several materials. You need an acrylic brush, an acrylic liquid cup, a nail prep, primer, base coat and a top coat. You also need the appropriate acrylic liquid and the corresponding acrylic powder. Of course, do not forget about the tools you need to properly prepare the natural nail plate.
If you want to buy everything in one go, it is better to choose an acrylic kit. The acrylic starter kit contains all the basic elements needed to achieve an acrylic manicure.
4. How do you apply acrylic nails?
Before applying acrylic, you need to prepare the natural nail plate. Place your brush in the acrylic liquid and dab to get enough, but not too much, liquid on your brush, then dab your brush in the acrylic powder to get a ball. Take care that the acrylic bead is neither too dry nor too wet, as this will affect the catalyzing. To catalyze acrylic, you don’t need an external energy source, acrylic catalyzes through a chemical reaction.
5. Touch up acrylic nails
Acrylic nails show regrowth after a few weeks. If you don’t want to change your manicure, you can touch up your regrowth. When touching up regrowth, it’s important to take the right steps. So you don’t need to redo the entire manicure.
6 . How to remove acrylic nails?
Acrylic nails can be removed in three different ways. To remove acrylic nails, you can use the dipping technique, a regular file or an electric file. Be careful to remove the acrylic nails properly so as not to damage the natural nail plate.
After removing acrylic nails, your natural nails will be more flexible for 12-24 hours. This is because artificial nails increase the amount of moisture in the nail plate by 10-15%.
7. Shelf life of acrylic powder
The shelf life of acrylic powder depends on how you store the products. Temperature has a great influence on shelf life, but exposure to light also greatly reduces the quality of acrylic powder and liquid.
Always make sure you close the jar properly. Acrylic powder should be stored in a dry and dark place. The ideal temperature for acrylic products is between 15 and 20 ° C. Most acrylic powders from Mistero Milano have an expiration date.
8. Are acrylic nails bad for your health?
Acrylic nails are absolutely not bad for nails. You need to make sure that you are applying and removing the acrylic the right way. If you have damaged your natural nail plate, it is not because of acrylic products, but because of a bad gesture.
If you have artificial nails made with Methyl Methacrylate Monomer (MMA) based products, you need to be careful when removing them. MMA on its own is not a dangerous substance, but it is a very harsh product, so removing your artificial nails will definitely cause damage to the natural nail plate. Also, you have to file too hard to get enough adhesion, which makes your natural nail way too thin.
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9. Can acrylic nails be combined with other nail products?
Acrylic nails can only be combined with semi-permanent varnish. You can use a semi permanent varnish base coat, color and top coat in combination with acrylic.
Acrylic products cannot be combined with gel or polygel as they are all nail builders. They each have a thick consistency and their own elasticity. Semi-permanent varnish, on the other hand, has a liquid consistency and can be combined with other nail products. If you combine gel and acrylic, you will find that premature sagging occurs.
10. Does acrylic help prevent nail biting?
Sometimes acrylic nails can be the answer to nail biting, but that’s not always the case. Biting your nails is a compulsive behavior. People who exhibit this behavior often start to bite the acrylic mass when the urge gets too strong. In places where acrylic is cracked or chipped, bacteria can enter. This can lead to problems such as contact allergies or infections. For these reasons, artificial nails are generally not recommended for nail rodents in order to avoid possible contact allergies or more serious lesions of the nail plate.
11. Can we swim with acrylic nails?
You can swim with acrylic nails, it can’t hurt your artificial nails. The only thing that can happen is that your artificial nails will start to discolour due to prolonged contact with the chlorine present in the water.
12. Which file should I use for acrylic nails?
The 80/100 file is mainly used to shape and remove acrylic nails or to even out acrylic mass. The 80/100 file is a raw file, each side is used for different purposes.
The side with the 100 grit is used for removing artificial nails. The side with the 80 grit is used to file the hard material into shape. Do not use this file on the natural nail plate, otherwise you will damage it because the 80/100 grit is too rough.
13. How long does acrylic stay on the nails?
This of course depends on your own nail growth, but on average acrylic nails last 3-5 weeks. If you choose an acrylic manicure in a natural color, you can keep your nails longer because the regrowth of your nails is less noticeable. When retouching, a thick layer of acrylic is filed away and a new layer of acrylic is applied.
15. What is the correct ratio of acrylic powder to liquid?
In general, the proportions are 1.5 of liquid to 1 of acrylic powder. However, it is very difficult to determine the exact proportions. Making a good acrylic bead requires some mastery and experience. After a while, you will easily be able to estimate these correct proportions yourself. The wrong proportion causes the nail to harden too much or too little.
15. Can I switch from one brand to another for acrylic liquids and powders?
Acrylic powder (polymer) should never be used with any other brand of acrylic liquid (monomer). This is important because acrylic powder is specially designed to work with this particular liquid. The polymer contains varying amounts of benzoyl peroxide, changes in the amount of this substance will cause changes in the catalyzing process. Too much benzoyl peroxide causes excessive hardening and too little for insufficient catalyzing.
Excessive hardening can lead to overheating, discoloration and brittleness of the nails.
Insufficient hardening can lead to skin reactions which can cause contact allergy after prolonged and repeated exposure.
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16. Acrylic powder and liquid from the assortment of Mistero Milano
Acrylic powder
There are different acrylic powders for different uses. In the range of acrylic nails for nails from Mistero Milano, you have transparent, covering and white acrylic powder.
Clear acryl
Esperto clear acrylic powder has a transparent color that can be used to cover the entire nail to give your nails a natural look. You can also use this acrylic powder to apply the smile line technique in combination with the white acrylic powder.
Standard clear acrylic powder is a transparent powder with a very slight pink tint. It can be used to cover the entire nail, to give your nails a natural look or for the smile line technique in combination with white acrylic powder.
Cover acryl
Standard beige and Standard pink camouflage acrylic powders are used to cover the entire nail. So you can camouflage the irregularities of the nail plate. You can choose between beige color and pink color which gives your nails a perfect natural look.
White acryl
Fantastico Bianco white acrylic powder can be used for your entire nail or for a French manicure (smile line technique). With the white acrylic powder, you can also create 3D nail art.
Acrylic liquid
There are 2 different acrylic liquids, the Delicato and the Forte.
The Delicato is designed for people with a little sensitivity. It also has a longer cure time than Forte. This allows you to model longer with the Delicato.
The Forte is designed for people whose fingernails lift faster. It is necessary to work quickly when shaping the nails because the Forte hardens quickly. This is why the Forte is mostly used by experienced nail stylists.
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