Is regular polish compatible with gel polish?

I asked this question without knowing the procedure for performing a manicure using gel polish. I knew something about the benefits of gel polish, but superficially, because. In the old fashioned way, I used ordinary varnishes, although lately it has become more and more active, buying new colors one by one and experimenting with designs. The only thing that bothered me at that time was the catastrophic fragility of the manicure.

I confess that I have recently fallen in love with often repainting my nails, but nevertheless it’s a shame when, after spending an hour and a half of time for painstaking work, the next day or two you find chipped varnish. And this is just an inevitable situation for those who are constantly forced to do something around the house, especially when there are small children - washing dishes, washing, cooking - in this case, you can’t save a manicure from being in the water for a long time. Therefore, when busy days were ahead in terms of household chores, it was generally more expedient to postpone the manicure.

Well, I first met gel polish on other people's hands, I really liked the effect - super-shine and a dense coating that really envelops the nails in the form of a gel, I initially assumed that this was an expensive pleasure. So it was 3-4 years ago, well, in some salons the price tag is rather big to this day. However, since then, cheaper Chinese gel polishes have appeared that fully correspond to their name and purpose, in no way inferior to the American Shellac, so now you can often see ads in inexpensive hairdressing salons - gel polish coverage is 250-350 rubles. Well, quite a gift, after all)

Later on social networks, the manicure master assured me that gel polish lasts from 10 to 3 weeks in any case, and does not depend on housework, the main thing is to refrain from water procedures in the first 12 hours after gel polish is applied. After that, I fell ill with the idea to find out everything about gel polishes at home. Well, of course, to begin with, I made myself a manicure with gel polish by a professional master in order to see with my own eyes the whole process and technique, which I intended to master myself later.

Thus, puzzled by the idea of ​​switching to gel polish, as a guarantor of a resistant, strong, durable and glossy manicure that does not fade all the time, I also began to think about how to deal with the accumulated goodness of a wide variety of ordinary nail polishes.

Can regular polish be painted under gel polish?

Is it possible to combine gel polish with regular nail polish or use colored regular polish instead of colored gel polish, covering the whole thing on top with a gel polish finish (top top coat).

What people say, masters on the forums about "gel polish with regular polish":

• 1) Firstly, that this is a perversion) you should not try, because such a manicure will not last, it will fall off, it will chip, but no specific examples are given, that is, apparently, such experiments, of course, none of the masters have carried out and will not think to carry out. And there was not a single woman from the townsfolk who would say that she did this (gel polish on an ordinary simple varnish) and what came of it by personal example.
• 2) Secondly, continuing the discussion about the incompatibility of conventional varnish and gel polish, gel polish is a polymer, each layer of gel polish has a sticky layer that adheres to the next superimposed layer. Regular polish does not have this layer, so theoretically it will not adhere to the base and finish when gel coated.

As an option for using a simple varnish with gel polish, if there is such an urgent need, you can apply a regular colored varnish on a finished manicure made with gel polish, i.e. on the top coat, which itself is an artificial polymer, and on artificial surfaces, ordinary varnishes will last even longer than on natural nails. At the same time, when the manicure gets tired, you can wipe off the usual varnish with nail polish remover without harm to the gel polish.

• 3) But still, there were units that did not reject this option of mixing ordinary varnish with gel polish, the main condition is to wait for the usual varnish to dry completely, and then you can cover it with a top (or finish)

What can I say, having conducted my own experiment on the use of ordinary varnish paired with gel polish)

Option 1: a) Regular polish was applied to colored gel polish without removing the sticky layer in order to make a simple design with dots using dots, as well as by applying another color diagonally across the nail.

With regards to the dots, no difficulties arose, the varnish lay down perfectly.

When applying a regular colored polish with a brush on a colored gel polish with a sticky layer, problems arose - a simple polish tried to mix with a colored gel polish to prevent this from happening, I had to dip the brush in the polish abundantly so that the gel polish would not be smeared.

Outcome: this option is not ice at all! Firstly, the varnish is smeared during application, and secondly, it is not very wearable. The places on the nails, covered with ordinary varnish and fixed with a top coat, nevertheless, after a couple of days, easily peeled off along with the top coat, and colored gel polish remained under these peelings. This method will be especially short-lived if you apply ordinary varnish closer to the edge of the nail, and also if you do not try to protect your manicure from any external influences.

b) And you probably still have a question:

Is it possible to make up a regular varnish between the base and top?

NOT worth it. This option is no better than the above, even worse. The top in this case keeps very poorly, the next day or two it will fall off (without varnish or with varnish, if it was applied to the sticky layer of the base). In this case, the adhesion will be at the base with the nail, and everything above will peel off like a regular varnish in the first days after a fresh manicure. And the usual hardness and density of the nail, as when coated with a three-phase system of gel polishes (base-color-finish), will not be. Read on for the best way to combine regular polish with gel polish.

Option 2: Regular polish was applied over the gel polish finish(i.e. for a finished manicure) and after drying, it was once again covered with a gel polish finish (top).

This is the option I highly recommend. By the way, this is how stamping is done on a gel polish manicure (for those who are not yet familiar with the concept stamping- stamps for nails, printing on nails, applying with a stamp and special stencil of all kinds of drawings on the nails, which help to create a complex and original design on the nails quickly and without much effort). Disks and plates for stamping - inexpensive Chinese analogues of excellent quality can be purchased at the Stamping Salon.

In general, for this method, I did a manicure with gel polish using a translucent pale pink color as a colored gel polish. Then, on a finished glossy manicure with a top coat and a sticky layer removed, I undertook to apply a regular colored varnish. Next, there was a procedure for waiting for the complete drying of the varnish, about 10 minutes. At the end - again a top coat for gel polish (in 1 layer) and drying in a UV lamp for 2 minutes.

Outcome: The option is good, deserves attention and is suitable for use. But there are moments that should be foreseen, and such a manicure will both look perfect and last a week for sure (I myself can’t stand wearing the same varnish for more than 7 days, so I won’t lie about the duration for 2-3 weeks). So, it is necessary to wait for the usual varnish to dry completely, otherwise, after top coating and subsequent polymerization of the top, the wet varnish (usually painted with a thick thick layer) will shrink, forming a noticeable crease or crack in this place.

The second point: On a regular varnish, you can apply 2 layers of top coat for durability, because. I note that while wearing such a manicure, after 3 days, the edge of the nails began to gradually wipe off, the colored varnish, along with the finish, was slightly worn off (since, using gel polish, I do not protect my nails from external factors affecting the manicure). Outwardly, however, it does not look as ugly as when chipping off ordinary nail polish, rather, the manicure is still aesthetic, but if you look closely, the wear along the edge can be noticeable. This is due precisely to the fact that ordinary varnish cannot adhere tightly, like polymer to polymer. Therefore, the best option for applying this method of combining conventional varnish with gel polish would be such a design, where there will be free space with gel polish along the edge of the nail, unpainted with simple varnish (french, diagonal coloring, any stamping, dots).

That is, for the best adhesion of the top, it is necessary that there are spaces on the nail that are not painted over with a simple varnish. Well, if you completely cover the gel-lacquer manicure with a simple colored varnish and cover the dried nails again with a top, then you can try to make 2 layers of the top - the wearability will increase slightly. Enough for a week) For example, in a week I already manage to come up with a new manicure for myself and part with the old one without regret).

Thus, if you want to experiment and combine simple varnishes with gel polish, then follow the main advice: there must be a colored gel polish between the base and the top of the gel polish (not an ordinary polish at all). You can purchase the color of some universal shade - flesh, transparent, light pink. You can always apply any other color from your collection of regular varnishes to this color. And it’s also worth buying a collection of basic gel polish colors, on top of which you can safely paint a regular polish (on top) of a similar shade: for example, you can paint various blue, purple and blue shades on a medium-tone blue color, so when the edges start to wear off, then it won't be as noticeable to others.

Actually, in the next article, I propose to learn more about how to combine gel polish and simple polish with examples and photos.

By the way, girls, I strongly recommend that you also read an article about allergy to gel polishes in order to save yourself from this problem in the future, and not so distant (especially if you started using cheap Chinese gel polishes)