How to use nail sliders?

Slider design is one of the most popular nail decoration methods today. This technique is an alternative to hand-painted, it allows you to diversify even the most laconic manicure. However, despite the fact that sliders appeared not today, not everyone knows how to use them correctly, confusing them with stickers on a sticky backing. This article will outline the features of the material, dwell on the technology for working with it, point out the causes of detachments and how to prevent them.

Sliders are special water pictures for decorating accent nails. They are offered in ready-made sets in the amount of 10 pieces. The sizes of the pictures are different, due to which you can choose the desired parameter for a particular nail. In this case, the set is divided into 5 symmetrical pairs.

In work, sliders are complex, it depends on the thickness of the film. If it is thin, it may tear. Other varieties are elastic, and therefore they can be stretched a little. The substrate for the slider on the nail should be thin so that a viscous mass does not flow out from under the picture when adjusting. You can remove it before drying, but a large layer makes it difficult to adjust.

There is an opinion that sliders are not only pictures that require translation technology, but also stickers on a sticky basis.In reality, these are 2 different materials for nail design. Each of them today has overgrown with its own variations. To understand the difference, you need to know the difference between slider designs and adhesive pictures.

Pictures with a sticky bottom layer are glued to a dry base, otherwise the decorative element will immediately come off. Outwardly, such decorations are a set in one theme. Moreover, their substrate can be either paper or thin plastic. Otherwise, such pictures are called 3D stickers. They are bulky, and therefore, for sealing, they may need not one, but several layers of transparent coating.

There are several types of slider designs today. They can be classified into two groups based on the type of substrate: transparent and opaque. At the same time, the two categories differ in marking, which helps the buyer to understand whether the slider design has a working white background or the picture is applied to a transparent base. Transparent options require a mandatory light tone of the substrate, since without it the sliders will not have the initial clarity of the picture and the purity of the shades.

Opaque products often have their own background, which is convenient and allows you to reduce the time to complete the underlay. However, everything is not so simple here: due to the different thicknesses, often white varnish under the picture becomes a prerequisite for high-quality design.

In terms of volume, sliders are partial or occupy the entire area of ​​the nail. However, regardless of the size, the technology of their fixation remains unchanged. By the type of drawing, pictures can be colored, neutral (black or white), gold, silver and holographic. At the same time, neither paint nor gilding affects the durability of the picture itself: it is determined by the correctness of the technology by means of which the decorative element is attached to the accent nail.

Sliders are easy to use, so you can use this decor yourself, performing a manicure at home.

A manicure with ordinary varnish is short-lived. Of course, it takes less time, but ordinary nail polish lasts, as a rule, no more than two days. Then he begins to split off, which, with the time spent on the design, will seem an annoying nuisance. Therefore, it is better to work straight away with modern hybrid products.

Such coatings will have to be applied in several layers, but the time spent is compensated by three weeks of the integrity of the manicure. Gel polish refers to coatings that combine both the properties of a gel and the quality of a varnish. The disadvantage of this option is the mandatory presence of a drying lamp. This problem can be easily solved: a household appliance can be purchased for 350-500 rubles by ordering from an online store, for example.

As for the nails, the gel polish fits perfectly not only on your own nails. It also adheres perfectly to extended plates, but it is better to refuse overheads. Such nails often bounce off the natural base at the most inopportune moment. If your length is not enough for the design, before starting the creative process, you need to build up the nails and give them the desired shape.

To glue the slider onto your accent nail, you need to prepare nail scissors and a flat brush. With scissors, you need to trim the picture itself to the shape of the nail plate. The brush will make it easier to align the slider on the nail itself.

In the work you will need a soft file to remove excess slider and a basic set for manicure:

• base;
• top;
• acid-free primer;
• pigmented gel polish.

Since the slider will have to be moistened during operation, you need to take care of the presence of a napkin or a small container of water. Tweezers can also come in handy to transfer the image from the substrate to the nail plate as accurately as possible.

The preparation of the picture will be as follows:

• choose the images they like based on the color and texture of the varnish;
• select a picture that is more suitable in size for a specific nail;
• using nail scissors, cut out the finished image according to an oval pattern, or crop a rounded rectangular picture on one side;
• remove a thin protective film from the front side;
• the slider is moistened, being careful not to wet the front side.

Moistening the picture can be done in water or on a dampened cloth. For immersion in water, a few seconds are enough; on a napkin, the picture can lie down for 30-40 seconds. This is enough for it to easily detach from the base.

There are 4 ways to attach the slider to your nail. Each of them will differ only in the material on which the picture is glued. It can be a regular base, a special white, replacing white gel polish, top or even ultrabond.

Glueing the sliders correctly is easy.

• Before taking the picture, a base is applied to the nail, but not dried in a lamp.
• A thin layer of pigment is applied to the base layer and dried in a UV device.
• The base will be sticky. The picture is removed from the substrate and applied to the base coat.
• Use a brush to smooth out the film, removing folds.
• With an acid-free primer, touch up the design, carefully dissolving the folds.
• The nail is dried, then covered with another layer of base on top and sent back to the lamp.
• It remains to seal the design with a layer of topcoat or top. It is applied in a thin layer and dried.

When the picture is attached to the top, it is important to take into account that such a substrate does not need to be dried. It is on the sticky top that it will be easier to distribute the sticker, and it has an even better consistency compared to the base. Therefore, it will not flow out beyond the side ridges and cuticle.

It is easy to work with the base, it allows you to make the coverage more reliable. If the used film is thin, you need to be especially careful when spreading it with a brush, avoiding tearing. The good thing about ultrabond is that it doesn't create much thickness. Its sticky layer does a great job of keeping the slider in place.

Sticky-based stickers have a completely different fixing technology. Such varieties are difficult to stick on the entire nail. For self-adhesive decorative elements, it is also better to use a hybrid varnish as a base. To some, they may seem uncomfortable and even short-lived to wear, since they often peel off already in the first few days after the manicure.

The secret to working with them is to use a completely dry, painted base. A picture is glued onto the dried substrate, trying to do this as tightly as possible. Excess decor is removed with a file.

Typically, quality work lasts at least two to three weeks on the nails. It happens that the nails grow back, and the coating remains without chips and detachments. However, often the beauty on the nails exfoliates after a few days from the date of the manicure. The reason for this is poor quality edge processing.

Let us note a few more main problems.

• Slides will be dim if too thin a film is glued onto a dark coating. You cannot skip the stage of creating an underlay.
• The unevenness of the picture on the nail is due to the thickness of the slider and the features of the nail plate. Even one air pocket will cause detachment, and therefore even small folds need to be smoothed out.
• If the coating is completely peeled off by accidental contact, this indicates insufficient drying of the varnish under the slider. The coating underneath needs to dry a little longer.
• The importance of the top layer cannot be ignored. If there is no top on the slider, it will quickly fade or deteriorate, move away from the base.
• Manicure spoils the constant steaming of hands. This can not only peel off the stickers along with all the layers, but also break off the edge. Gloves are required for constant hand washing.

For information on how to apply a slider design to gel polish, see the next video.