Types of Acrylic Nails
Some just like to be showy and others like the subtle differences
that acrylic nails offer. There are also people that have bad nails and
use acrylic nails to cover this up. Whatever reason you might have for
using artificial acrylic nails, there is a lot of thought put into
choosing the right kind.
The original artificial nail is the acrylic nail. These are very
common but have been losing ground in the last few years to the newer
gel nail. Acrylic nails have a material that is placed directly over the
nail you are choosing to cover. There is a mold placed that is shaped to
the nail followed by the use of 1 of 2 adhesives. One is called acryl
blend and the other one is ethy-methacrylate. These solidify within
about 40 seconds and offer a very good hold. They can also be cleaned
and polished after about 20 minutes. This is the faster portion of the
general nail options.
Gel
nails require the use of a special light application in order to fasten
the nails. This takes a great deal longer to do and they are also quite
a bit more expensive than the traditional acrylic nails. But it should
also be pointed out that the gel nails are infinitely more stable and
last a bit longer than standard acrylic nails. They will also appear to
be more natural looking than the acrylic. Every woman knows how
important that natural look is!
 Artificial
nails have greater advantages over the natural nails such as being
harder, and not needing any special kind of preparation like base coats
or constant filing down to keep them in shape. However, you should also
understand and realize that artificial nails can, and will, harm your
natural nail. The traditional acrylic nails that use the chemical
fasteners can peel away layers of the nail when they are removed, or
snap off. While the gel nails don't do quite as much damage, they can
still damage the nail if they are broken or removed prematurely.
Another choice is the wrap nails. These are thin layers of
fiberglass, paper, silk, or a type of linen. These are extremely
sensitive and will break or tear off easily as they are the softest of
the artificial nails. They are fastened to the natural nail in layers
with a gluing compound. After they are dry, they are painted and gently
filed to add more shape.
What ever kind of artificial nail you decide to get for yourself, you
should always keep in mind that it is very easy to pick up bacterial
infections. The bacteria will adhere to the nail when it is placed on
your nail and can actually thrive under the conditions of being glued
down. It is rare that you would ever get this but it can occur if the
salon you are using isn’t as meticulously clean as it should be. Make
sure that whoever is doing your nails has enough light to work with and
is keeping their work place clean. You don’t want your nail technician
digging into a bag of chips and drinking a soda while setting your
nails.
One other thing you should realize is that if you are getting your
acrylic nails done and your technician is using a UV activated clear
coat sealant, you won’t be able to just take them off. This sealant will
have to be removed by soaking in a light solvent solution that your nail
technician has available for this. Once the sealant is removed, then you
can have the acrylic nail taken off by soaking in the removal solution
and all is good. The sealant will not let you remove the acrylic nail
with out doing serious damage to your natural nail that it is attached
to. Some nail salons do not use UV activated clear sealants. You should
ask your nail technician, or your prospective nail technician, if their
salon uses this type of sealant with their acrylic nails.
In fact, ask all the questions you can when you go in the first time
to check out the nail salon. You may think that your questions sound a
bit crazy or silly, but it is your health and the health of your nails
that are at stake and you should feel as comfortable as possible with
the person performing the work on your nails. They won't mind answering
your questions and offering you their learned tips and tricks of the
trade to make everything go over as smooth as possible. |
