Are you ready to create the most beautiful nails? Before you get started with gorgeous colors and bold designs, it’s important to prep your nails properly to help prevent lifting, bumps, and bubbles — and help your nails last longer.
Products used in this guide:
1. Push back your cuticles
Start by gently pushing back your cuticles. This makes the nail plate fully visible and gives you access to a larger area, allowing you to apply the product to more of the nail. It is important to keep the cuticle pusher parallel to the nail instead of pressing down into it. Let the cuticle pusher glide gently along the nail towards the cuticle area.
The higher up you hold the cuticle pusher, the less pressure you apply to the nail. As you push back the cuticle, you should also remove any dead skin from the nail plate along the cuticle edge. You can do this using either an Orange Wood Stick or the curved side of our cuticle pusher. Simply push gently against the dead skin, and it will lift away from the nail.
You can identify dead skin on the nail plate by looking for matte or chalky areas, or by noticing if you feel resistance when using the cuticle pusher. Removing this dead skin, also known as the invisible cuticle, is important because it can lift away from the nail plate over time. If you apply product on top of dead skin, you may experience what is known as lifting, where the product lifts away from the nail plate because an air pocket forms between the product and the nail as the skin lifts. Pushing back your cuticles and removing dead skin therefore helps your manicure last longer and increases the time before visible grow-out appears.
2. Remove excess cuticle
Once you have removed the invisible cuticle from the nail plate, you can use a cuticle nipper to trim away any excess cuticle around the nail. Be careful when trimming the excess cuticle, and only cut away the dry, dead skin. It is important to avoid accidentally cutting the skin around the nail.
So how can you tell if the skin is dead? There are a few small signs you can look for, such as whether the skin feels hard and rough, whether there are dry flakes, whether the skin is lighter in color than the surrounding skin, or whether you can see small cracks or splits in the area.
As a rule of thumb, if you are unsure whether the skin is dead, do not cut it. It is better to leave a little too much than to cut into healthy skin. Not only can it hurt, but it can also make it more difficult to do your nails. If the area starts to bleed, blood may come into contact with your products, and you will usually need to wait until the bleeding has stopped before continuing with your nails.
3. Buff the nail surface
Once you have taken care of your cuticles, gently buff the nail to remove the shine from the surface. Move our buffer across the entire nail plate, and it’s perfectly fine to buff in different directions. Make sure to remove the shine from every area of the nail plate, including the area near the cuticle.
It’s important to avoid using too much force or applying too much pressure to the nail surface while filing. Instead, use a light hand. The goal is to make the nail surface slightly rough, so the product you apply later can adhere properly.
You can also file your natural nail into shape at the same time, if you wish.
4. Clean with CLEANSER
When you buff and file your nails, a small amount of nail dust will naturally form and settle on the nail surface. That’s why it’s important to clean the nails with our Cleanser & Lint-Free Pads. Moisten a Lint-Free Pad with Cleanser and wipe it over the nail plate. Make sure to get right down and clean thoroughly around the cuticle area with the Lint-Free Pad.
It is important to remove all dust, dirt, and other impurities from the nails. Even the smallest speck of dust can get caught in the products you apply, affecting both the appearance and longevity of the product. So make sure the nails are completely clean.
Once the nails have been cleaned with Cleanser, it is important that you do not touch them, as this can transfer oils or dirt back onto the nails.
5. PH Bond and Primer
For the best results, finish your prep by applying a thin layer of PH-Bond followed by Primer. It is important to let both products air-dry for 60 seconds. This means you should first apply PH-Bond to your entire natural nail and let it air-dry for 60 seconds, then apply Primer to the entire nail plate and also let it air-dry for 60 seconds.
It is important that neither Primer nor PH-Bond comes into contact with the skin. The products should only be applied to the natural nail plate.
You can also use PH-Bond and Primer separately, but for the longest-lasting result, it is best to use both. PH-Bond temporarily dehydrates the nail plate and removes excess oil, while Primer leaves a bonding layer that helps Base Coat adhere more easily to the natural nail.
Once this is done, your nails are ready for product application!
Feel free to check out our guide to applying Gel Polish if you want to get started creating beautiful, colorful nails.