Sliders for manicure: what is, design ideas and application rules

Slider design is one of the three best options for decorating nails today. It is used by women at home independently, it is also used by professional masters who work in nail salons, performing express nail design. Due to the fact that this concept often does not mean anything, it is worth dwelling in detail on the features and types of decorative material, clearly identifying its advantages, disadvantages, methods of application and measures to prevent common mistakes.

Nail sliders are decorative films with different patterns, located on a paper backing. At the same time, some varieties are distinguished by the presence of a thin protective film that covers the working picture from mechanical damage and contamination. As a rule, sliders are sold in the form of ready-made sets in a specific theme and color scheme. In total, a set can contain from 10 pictures or more.

In the first case, these are ready-made prints for 10 nails, in the second - serial drawings for different shapes of nails. However, regardless of the number, the principle of attaching the sliders does not change. They are transferred from the base to the surface of the nail by hand.

Nail sliders have many advantages. They can have a different texture, at the expense of you can enrich the design of the manicure with an unusual effect. In addition, coatings can have different techniques of execution, which allows you to create the illusion of hand painting with their help.It is often difficult to tell whether a slider is on a woman's nails or a drawing applied with a thin brush.

The decorative elements themselves can be called a real boon for design. It is not difficult to work with them, and therefore every woman who has a basic set for manicure at home can make a beautiful design of her fingers. Sliders are highly appreciated by professional craftsmen. To date, they have tried all known varieties and came to a unanimous opinion about the exclusivity of this decor.

It should be noted the richest assortment of such material. This fact allows you not to limit yourself in the flight of creative thought, embodying the most daring and extraordinary decisions in life. There is no need to come up with a pattern or ornament on your own: you can choose ready-made pictures that fit a specific clothing or existing accessories. At the same time, design decisions can be the most unexpected.

Slider color schemes can be very diverse. At the same time, the coating does not change the color intensity all the time the sliders are on the nails. Pictures are resistant to ultraviolet light, the images on them are distinguished by the clarity of the lines.

You don't need to undergo any special training here: the fixation process takes no more than a minute. Compared to other types of decor, this is the fastest method of decorating accent nails. In addition, the price of the sliders is quite affordable. Applying such a design in the salon will cost less than art painting on accent nails. The aqua stickers themselves are harmless to skin and nails. They do not provoke allergic reactions, do not destroy the nail plate.

Subject to all the nuances of technology, such a decor is held reliably and firmly. It does not need to be adjusted if it is well sealed on all sides. It is impossible not to mention that you can apply pictures not only when making a fresh design. Sliders can be used to decorate a laconic design without decor, which is worn for more than a week. For example, you can paste pictures on the nails of a classic manicure.

Despite the fact that the fixation itself is simple, you can tear the picture when it is spread over the surface of the accent nail. In addition, the roundness of the nail plates can be a problem. On convex nails, the picture does not fall so evenly, and therefore it is necessary to supplement the technology with the stage of correcting some defects.

Other disadvantages include not always high-quality film with a printed pattern. Some specimens tear or even crumble when pulled to remove wrinkles. Also, it may seem like a disadvantage to someone that the slider needs to be adjusted to the shape of a particular nail. However, you need to understand that everyone's nail plates are different, and therefore the manufacturer offers pictures with different sizes. Some of them allow adjusting the size and fitting to the shape of the nail.

The slider design includes several varieties of water stickers. All of them require preliminary soaking of the decorative element before separating it from the paper backing. Otherwise, the products are divided into two lines: options for the entire nail and pictures for a small part of it.

Regardless of the type of aqua pictures, they can have different thicknesses, which determines the complexity of fixing the decor to the nail cover. There are options with an elastic film. It is convenient when you need to slightly tighten the slider, covering the light substrate on the nail plate.Analogs with a greater thickness are more difficult to work with, it will take longer to give them the desired shape and concavity.

According to the type of background, nail sliders are divided into two categories: they come with a pigmented and transparent base on which a drawing or photo printing is applied. Transparent options are used to cover the main background. Due to this, they create the effect of hand-painted, such varieties are in price today. Analogs on a color basis are convenient in that, without undue persistence, they allow you to create the effect of a pattern applied to a nail evenly painted with pigmented varnish.

With regards to films with a color or monochrome background, it is worth noting that it is here that the determining factor of the technology is the thickness of the slider. The fact is that a thin film cannot completely cover the original color of the nail plate. In addition, such a slider will look clear and rich only if you first run a white substrate under it. It is useless to glue such pictures on bright and dark colors of varnish: this will make the image fade and may lose its original attractiveness.

A dense film here will be the best solution, because you don't need to paint the nail white under it. This saves valuable application and drying time per coat, simplifying standard sliders design technology. As for the differences between the pictures on the entire surface of the nail or part of it, it is the partial images that are performed on a transparent basis, although some masters painstakingly cut off the slider motifs for some special idea in order to glue it only on a part of the nail.

The main types of sliders are solid fill and applique options. However, both those and other options can be performed in the spirit of airbrushing. This is achieved through a three-dimensional image or the so-called 3D effect. For example, sliders can convey a gradient effect, an illusion of volume. This decor option is applied to any background of the substrate.

It is also worth considering that sliders are not universal pictures for arms and legs. In fact, companies produce different options, which is usually indicated by the product labeling, and often a special picture. In addition, the number of pictures for the feet is less, because in a pedicure, usually thumbnails are usually decorated with water-type stickers. Such images are larger than hand pictures.

Sliders can have a glossy or foil surface. In addition, they are monochrome, color, holographic and even somewhat voluminous. At the same time, the drawing itself may differ: in addition to photographic printing, manufacturers create designs for real watercolor, made in wet technique. This type of picture looks very nice, it is often used to imitate hand-painted painting.

Nail sliders are unique in their self-sufficiency. However, despite this, they allow further decoration of the nails. In addition, experienced craftsmen often use such pictures when their clients are late, but ask for a special design accents. And then acrylic-based paints, thin brushes and all kinds of sparkling elements come to the rescue of the master.

In view of the small image in the pictures, rhinestones should be selected for them, too, of a tiny size. It is even better to combine rhinestones with broths (microscopic beads for manicure). This will allow them to fit into the design more organically. Rhinestones can be dotted on images. For example, it can be:

• eyes on the wings of a butterfly;
• body of a dragonfly or spider;
• glare of cat's eyes;
• middle of flowers;
• grains of wheat spikelet;
• peculiar buds or buds on branches;
• the base of the crown;
• imitation of a glare on the logo of the Fashion House.

In addition, sliders can be used as a seasonal design tool, which is one of the fashion trends this season. It is the pictures that better than any decor can convey the desired mood of the season. For example, an autumn manicure can be decorated with prints of orange-fire leaves and ripe berries, drawings of a rainy city. It is worth supporting the winter design with knitted patterns, as well as pictures of snow-covered frosty patterns on the windows.

Sticking water pictures is not difficult, but it will take some time and accuracy. Prepare tweezers, a flat brush, nail napkins and some water. In addition, you will need nail scissors, tweezers to remove excess slider.

Regardless of whether the design is performed at home or salon, it should be done strictly according to the established rules for application and fixation. Prepare a base, a top, a UV lamp, a buff, a file, a dehydrator, an acid-free primer, the stickers themselves and, if desired, decor. In principle, all 4 methods adhere to a single technology, they will differ only in the means used for the selected picture.

To translate the slider correctly, follow several consecutive steps. Let's consider the option of working with a slider design using the example of a technique with a transparent base.

• The nails are given the same shape, the plates are rid of the regrown cuticles and the skin growing on the sides.

• The gloss is removed from the surface of the plates using a soft grinder (buff).

• The surface of the nails is treated with an acid-free primer or dehydrator.

• Next, a layer of base coat is applied to the accents and dried for about 2 minutes in a UV lamp.

• After the base layer, a substrate is created in the form of a layer of white gel polish with its further drying.
• Apply another layer of base, do not dry.

• The picture is cut out according to the approximate shape of the nail, leveling it at the base, the napkin is moistened in water and the slider is placed directly on it. After 30 seconds, remove the film from the substrate with tweezers and transfer it to an undried base layer.

• Spread out the design with a brush and dry with the base, increasing the time for complete drying.
• The upper edge with excess film is filed, thereby getting rid of excess decorative material. If there are folds, they are gently melted with a primer, barely touching the defects with a brush.

• The slider is sealed by covering it with a top and drying the top in a lamp.

• After 30 seconds after drying, residual stickiness is removed from the nails.

If you want to use a white base, skip steps with a clear base coat and white varnish. In addition, you need to take into account the fact that removing the protective film from the working base is a mandatory step before wetting the slider. If this is not done, the protection will become akin to the main film, which will significantly complicate the work with the slider. A picture is glued onto a regular varnish until the varnish is dry. After that, it is covered with a transparent material on top.

Alas, sometimes after two or three days the pictures begin to require replacement. Sometimes the slider can peel off completely from the surface of the nail. This happens for several reasons.

• The slider is poorly sealed. In order to prevent detachment, it is imperative to pass a top layer along the end of the nail.

• The picture is poorly smoothed, there are air pockets. This happens because parts of the picture are not smoothed with a brush, there are folds. The leveling must be thorough.
• The design is not completely dry. After the slider is applied to the base or other material, it will dry more slowly in the lamp. It is imperative to increase the drying time.
• The top is not applied to the whole picture. To avoid such an oversight, you need to walk over the entire nail several times.

An interesting option is to transfer pictures and seal them with a modeling agent with a transparent texture. This nail design is called aquarium design. Such a manicure looks voluminous and stylish. You can use a wide variety of pictures for it. They are applied to the base layer after the nails are extended with a polygel or acrylate. On top, the coating is sealed with several layers of modeling agent. With the correct implementation of the technology, the sticker with a different decor used inside will stick for a very long time.

The design with sliders can be very different, which demonstrate the original ideas of the photo gallery.

• The beautiful design in bright colors with lace accents on the ring fingers looks stylish and expressive.

• An extraordinary solution for fans of gothic subcultures goes well with voluminous decor.

• Floral designs can be a great theme for a dark manicure.

• Space design is especially popular today; such a design of nails can decorate even an ordinary outfit.

• Lace mesh on accent nails of red manicure looks incredibly feminine.

• Seasonal manicure in cold shades with a winter-themed landscape cannot fail to appeal to modern women of fashion.

• The original design with a combination of geometric themes and a slider for art painting cannot fail to attract everyone's attention.

• A laconic solution using sliders on a transparent base in a muted turquoise shade breathes a feminine element.

• Delicate manicure with a slider design in blue tones can adequately complement the everyday look of a modern city woman.

For information on how to make a manicure with sliders, see the next video.