Every woman tries to ensure that her hands are truly well-groomed. An excellent assistant in this matter is manicure, which has long been positioned as a symbol of a lady’s neatness and wealth. At the height of fashion are nails with a metallic effect, which is achieved using specially designed manicure foil. If you want to make an original manicure at home, then you need to know how to use nail foil. This design of the nail plates will be a bright touch in any look.
- Nail foil: how to use?
- Embossed
- In sheets
- Transferable
- Liquid foil
- Zhataya
- Thermofoil
- Stickers and adhesive tapes
- Choosing glue for foil: the most popular brands
- How to do a manicure with transfer foil: instructions
- Lunar and regular French using foil
- Beautiful manicure with foil, gel polish and glue
- How to use foil: some useful tips
In order to carry out such a manicure, it is important to study the types of foil, choose the appropriate nail glue and perform competent nail art. In order to create the manicure of your dreams with your own hands, the publication studied:
- list of popular foil materials;
- safe nail glue in assortment;
- recommendations for manicure using foil;
- valuable tips for nail care.
Foil for nail design
We won’t be lying if we say that rhinestones have somewhat lost their former relevance, but girls still have a penchant for luxurious glitter on their nails. What to do - tame your desires or find a healthy alternative to them? For an experienced manicurist, the answer is obvious - use a trendy and unusual nail art design, such as a foil print, reminiscent of a glare of precious metal.
The best photos that reflect the essence of such a popular trend in manicure are collected in our inspiring selection.
"Liquid metal"
The second title is “Tears of a Unicorn.” Sounds unusual, right? So the design looks very impressive. Drops of liquid metal seemed to magically freeze on the nail, shimmering and changing the depth of color. Volumetric drops of various colors will favorably emphasize individuality and look very elegant on any nails.
What types of nail foil are there?
Before you run to the nearest supermarket or explore the deposits of your kitchen cabinets at home, find out for sure how suitable classic foil in a roll is for such painstaking work. The Prostonail guide will tell you about the variety of varieties of this material in order to choose the most effective and impressive specimen for the collection.
Transfer foil
Ultra-thin foil for nails in jars. Its standard length is a meter and width is about 3 centimeters. The main feature is a pattern or spraying applied to the surface that can be imprinted on the nail plate in a matter of seconds.
Liquid foil for nails
It has a thick, viscous consistency. Essentially the same gel polish or shellac with the addition of glitter of different sizes, diameters and degrees of shine. Convenient when working with brushes.
Holographic Nail Foil
When applied to nails, this type of decor acquires an unusual holographic finish, shining with all the colors of the rainbow. You can find the product in the assortment of popular mass market brands such as avon or divage.
Self Adhesive Nail Foil
Having this type of material in your arsenal, you can do without glue. This is because on the back of the product there is already a sticky layer to fix the design.
Screen foil
Foil with a pattern for decorating plain pigmented surfaces. Ideal for those who do not have special artistic skills.
Broken glass foil
The design of shattered Glass Nails looks stylish and unique, and its creation only takes a few minutes. A transparent thin plate of foil is cut into fragments and laid out on the nail plate, secured with a top coat.
Tear Foil for Nails
The name itself gives a direct hint at the principle of use. The instructions are as follows: tear off a piece of the sticker and attach it to the desired area of the nail.
Crinkled nail foil
Behind the walls of the miniature jar is hidden a very unusual crumpled foil, which must be fixed with nail glue.
Matte foil
Sounds like a phantasmagoria, doesn't it? And it looks no less impressive. The colored foil simply transfers its pigment onto the sticky layer of gel polish, polymerizing under the LED light.
Lace foil
In fact, another type of transfer foil. Only its print is stylized as lace, which looks luxurious in a French manicure.
Thermo foil
Film for nails, differing in the way it is fixed. In order for the designs to migrate from the roll to the surface of the claw, you need to preheat the material under the heat of ultraviolet light.
Foil for casting
A special casting technique replicates the metallic sheen of the same type of artistic activity. Silver or gold foil creates the illusion of a product “forged” by the hand of a skilled craftsman.
How to use nail foil
How many people - so many opinions. There are as many types of foil as there are features of their fastening. You will learn about the most important nuances from our training table.
| Type of foil | How to use |
| Zhataya | Similar to ultra-thin tinsel, soft foil. You need to take it with tweezers and lay it on a sticky layer. Used for extensions with an aquarium effect |
| Thermal film | After preheating some of the material under the lamp, attach it to the nail without using glue. |
| Sheet foil | Having cut out the desired pattern, apply glue to its reverse side and fix it on the plate. |
| Ribbon | Requires jeweler precision when applied. Used for geometric decoration in stripe style. The reverse side is sticky |
| Transferable | Tracing paper on an adhesive basis, which accurately transfers the print to the manicure by applying |
Popular techniques
Foil is an amazing material that allows you to create nail art of any complexity. You can easily verify this by studying the photographs posted in the article. Today we will reveal all the secrets of creating an impeccable design.
Men will pay attention to your nails
Bright design of marigolds
Mirror vestment
This technique also has another name – reflective. It is this that most clearly characterizes this masterpiece of artistic art on the nails. Buy smooth metallic paper from the store. Make sure there are no embossings or ornaments on it.
Delightful mirror
Advice! The planned experiment must be approached with the utmost seriousness, because if you are negligent, you will not achieve perfect coverage.
After completing all the necessary preparation procedures, apply gel polish to the plates, which will serve as the base. Place the material with the matte side facing down. To avoid the formation of bubbles, gently smooth the workpiece using an orange stick. Remove the protective layer. Add shine and apply finishing product.
Manicure with foil at home
Girls, looking with inspiration at the pages of their favorite glossy magazine, are perplexed by the complexities of metallic manicure design. In fact, the process itself only takes a few minutes and is easy to do even at home. Below we will tell you how to glue foil so that it retains its original attractiveness for a long time.
Nail foil for regular polish
The application algorithm is even more simple compared to the previous task:
- do a classic manicure by pushing back the cuticles;
- polish the nail plate, removing roughness;
- Apply primer to extend durability;
- use nail polish and wait until it dries completely;
- prepare the desired pattern by “trying it on” on your nails in advance;
- apply glue to the back side of the decorative material;
- apply the foil with the matte side to the coating, straightening it with a pusher or stick;
- remove the protective layer away from the nail bed;
- fix the result with a finishing topcoat, apply for a few hours after the end of the procedure.
Working with translation material
Before applying foil to gel polish, you need to do several standard procedures for such a manicure, since shiny tape is applied only to the colored coating. So:
- The prepared nail is lightly sanded with a buff to remove the natural shine.
- A degreaser is applied to the nail.
- After the latter has dried, the plate is treated with a primer. If this material is not available, you can skip this step, but you should remember that the longevity of the manicure in the future depends on the quality of nail preparation.
- Now the base coat is applied. Depending on its consistency, manufacturer and quality of the lamp, the drying time of the base will depend. This can be a period of 30-240 seconds, but usually 1-2 minutes is enough.
- The required color is applied in a thin layer to the dry base. If the shade turns out to be too pale, you need to apply a second layer, after drying the first. Applying a large amount of varnish at one time will lead to “flooding” of the nail and the manicure will be ruined.
- For better adhesion to the foil, the last layer of color can be left a little dry.
- Now foil is applied to the entire nail plate, carefully straightened along the edges with an orange stick and pressed against the nail over the entire surface with a cotton swab.
When the material is well straightened and pressed over the entire surface, the protective film should be removed with a sharp movement. If there are gaps left on the nail, the procedure should be repeated in a certain place. - A topcoat is applied to the transferred foil and dried. For better fixation, the time under the lamp can be increased 2-3 times or several layers of the finishing coat can be applied, each one being dried beforehand.
- At the end of the work, the sticky layer is removed with a degreaser and the manicure is ready.
It is important to remember that this option is easier to implement, but achieving a perfectly smooth foil coating will be difficult.
How long does nail foil last?
The answer to this question interests all lovers of experiments. Agree that when you visit a beauty salon and make a strong-willed decision to try an unusual design, you hope that at least the manicure will last for 2 weeks. Don’t let your soul be tormented by vague doubts - high-quality, well-glued metal decor lasts for 14-16 days. Things are somewhat different with nail art in its home interpretation. Unfortunately, the glossy design, when worn carefully, retains its presentability only for up to 3-5 days.
Decorating the hole
Recently, this nail art has become increasingly popular and in demand. Not wanting to lag behind fashion, modern ladies are looking for new techniques for creating this design. When choosing colors, focus on combinations that combine contrasting shades. Remember, metallic goes well with almost all existing palettes.
Beautiful lunar
A spectacularly dressed hole can be demonstrated at a reunion, dinner with friends, at a nightclub, and even on a romantic date. Your friends will appreciate your efforts and will certainly ask in which beauty salon this masterpiece was made. You can keep secret the fact that you learned how to decorate your fingers and did all the work yourself, otherwise you will not end up with clients.
Advice! You don't have to follow the natural contours of the hole. Nowadays geometric shapes are coming into fashion, so you can highlight this area using a regular and even triangle.
How to replace foil?
In the previous paragraphs, we have already clarified the fundamental rules and method of using metal foil. If you are wondering why overpay for a bundle of shiny material and how to replace it, we recommend the following methods as an alternative:
- cosmetic glitter;
- pigmented varnish or gel polish with glitter;
- decorative mica;
- mirror powder.
Manicure using foil is often called “Hollywood” and one cannot but agree with this. It looks stylish, catchy and quite expressive, so that even a calm everyday outfit in basic shades will sparkle in a new way, highlighting the impeccable taste of its owner.
Types of popular decor in nail art
Nail designs with foil are in demand among many girls. But not all fashionistas know that there are several varieties of this decor. And depending on the type of coating, the technique of performing nail design changes. So, this film comes in the following types:
- Transfer film is the most commonly used type of film. To transfer it you will need special glue. By the way, instead of glue, you can use gel polish. But the used PVA glue in this case will not help to glue the decor.
- Sheet - unlike the first type, this material is thicker; it is not reprinted onto the nail, but remains completely on it, leaving no protective backing.
- Thermofoil - its peculiarity is that it is applied after pre-heating. It does not require glue, since the sticker itself is already equipped with an adhesive composition.
- Tear-off is a very soft material; for design, it is torn into small pieces using tweezers. This film is applied to wet varnish or topcoat.
