Not Sure Where to Start With Picking an Acrylic Powder?
When you first start getting into doing your own acrylic nails, it’s both exciting and overwhelming. There are techniques to learn, gear to get, and plenty of inspiring pictures and videos of beautiful designs online to motivate you. Acrylic nails are an incredible means of letting your creativity flow and your personality shine. There’s plenty to learn, too, including what the best tools are to get the job done.
In this helpful guide, we’ll cover the key tools and ingredients you’ll need to do your own acrylic nails at home. In addition, you’ll learn how to pick the best acrylic powder, one of the most important components in acrylic nails.
What is Acrylic Powder?
Acrylic powder is a polymer that becomes spreadable when combined with a monomer in the form of acrylic liquid. When the mixture of acrylic powder and liquid is allowed to sit and air dry, it solidifies. This mixture is responsible for giving acrylic nails their structure and shape. Underneath the acrylic mixture sits an artificial tip on each nail, which attaches to your nail and extends it and gives it increased shape and definition. The combination of the tips, liquid, and powder makes your acrylic nails complete. However, you can definitely opt to top them off with some gel polish. Gel polish can give acrylic nails their distinctive look.
How do You Use Acrylic Powder?
Acrylic powder is kept in its own designated bowl during the nail applying process. In another separate dish, you’ll have your acrylic liquid. When you’ve affixed the artificial tips to each of your nails with glue, you’ll finish the nail assembly process by using a brush to mix the acrylic liquid with the powder in small increments.
Each time you blend the liquid with the powder, you create a small bead of the mixture that is malleable and spreadable. These beads will rest on the tip of your brush until you spread them on your nails. When you spread the mixture on your nails, always make sure to do so with strokes in the same direction. The best way to spread the mixture is by brushing from the bottom of your nail to the tip.
When you apply the acrylic mixture to the nail , start just past the cuticle, making sure not to spread the mixture over it. Early on in the process, you’ll push your cuticles back towards your knuckles, making room for the acrylic mixture to be spread. Your proximal nail fold should still be visible at the base of the acrylic nails. With your proximal nail fold still visible , acrylic nails look more natural and appear to be growing like real nails. In contrast, if you paint over your nail folds, your acrylic nails will take on an unnatural, overextended look.
The mixture of acrylic powder and liquid takes a few minutes to dry, but once it does, it solidifies. The solidified mixture provides the structure of the acrylic nails and can be topped with colorful polish. You can even find acrylic polish infused with glitter for an extra boost of texture and sparkle.
What to Look for in an Acrylic Powder
A good acrylic powder will mix easily with acrylic liquid to create durable acrylic nails that will solidify without any bubbles or unevenness. When you first start looking for acrylic powder, you’ll notice there are numerous options for tones for acrylic powders. However, remember that acrylic products come in different pigments to achieve different colors and patterns.
When starting with acrylic powder, it is often an excellent option to go for a "bare" or colorless option to cover with enamel. For a great powder option, whether colored or nude, choose Briller Nail System powders. The Briller Nail System acrylic nail system brings you the highest quality products on the market, from powder and liquid to many colors of polish.
Why Do Your Own Acrylic Nails?
Now that you know where to look for great acrylic powder and other acrylic nail gear, it’s time to learn how to do your own acrylic nails at home. There’s plenty of opportunities to get creative and take your look in different unique directions with acrylics, but it’s also essential to know the basics of what goes on under all the colorful products. Doing acrylic nails at home takes some patience and time, but it’s well worth it.
When you do your own acrylic nails at home, you end up saving money in comparison to getting acrylics done professionally. Professionally-done acrylics can set you back several hundred dollars, but when you learn to do your own, all you need to pay for is the cost of high-quality products and tools like powder, liquid, brushes, and gel polish. Plus, when you do your own acrylic nails at home, you’re learning a valuable skill that you can pass on to friends and family.
With acrylic nails, there’s infinite potential to get creative and express yourself. You don’t need to be a pro artist to benefit from doing your own acrylic nails, but if you are looking for a new creative outlet, doing your own acrylic nails at home is a perfect option.
Acrylic Nail Maintenance Tips
Now that you know how to take care of your nails before doing acrylics, it’s essential to have a sense of how to steward your acrylic nails in the weeks after you do them. As your natural nails grow out, you’ll need to use the mixture of acrylic mixture and liquid to do routine fills. Begin by removing any gel polish that has been applied with either a hand file or an electric file. Exposing the growth and acrylic product that needs to be rebalanced to create a fresh look
After you’ve removed the nail polish, use the mixture of acrylic liquid and powder to touch up your nails. Since your natural nails have kept growing underneath the acrylics, they’ll need an additional layer of the acrylic mixture to keep looking good. Let the mixture sit and air dry for ten minutes before buffing and evening out the freshly applied product. After a fill, you can opt for a different color polish, or even try your hand at a creative acrylic design. Your nails are your little canvases, and when you do your own acrylic nails, you get to be an artist!
