From hesitantly painting polish onto our nails using our non-dominant hands to waiting patiently for the polish to dry, executing a hassle-free manicure at home is a real pain that only women (and a few men with impeccable taste) go through.
However, nail paints are not the only option anymore. To get pretty nails, we suggest you nail wraps, that are hassle-free, easy to use, and extremely handy. And, if you are not convinced yet, let us tell you more. Nail wraps don’t chip like nail paints and as rumor has it, it can resist chips for 10 days, if not more.
Furthermore, these nail stickers come in a variety of aesthetic designs that you can never paint on yourself unless you possess the skills of Picasso.
Read on to know everything you need to know about these hassle-free manicures.
What are Nail Wraps?
Developed in the early 1980s, nail wraps are thin nail vinyl made from paper, silk, linen, fiberglass, mesh, or other fabrics that can be applied to the nail for extra reinforcement. The nail wraps can be embedded within acrylics and gels or used as a natural nail coating or extension and sealed with resin.
Elaine Watson of Star Nail once described the nail wraps as a redheaded stepchild of the nail industry because of how popular acrylics became back in the ’80s. After a slump in the late ’90s and the first decade of Y2K, the nail wraps came back as women got more creative and the pace of like started running faster.
How to Apply Nail Wraps Without Cracking and Chipping?
Nail wraps are the fastest and easiest way to get the perfect manicure at home. Nail wraps are completely self-adhesive and do not require any activated heat. All it requires is for your hands to be clean and the most aesthetic nail stickers for your fingers.
Make sure to push the stickers down to the cuticle by simply smoothening and evening the edges and file away the excess, and you are done with your manicure of the week at home.
To extend the life of the nail wraps from a couple of weeks to about a month, apply a top coat over the nail wraps. With just a single topcoat, your nails will look gorgeous.
Follow these simple steps to get the perfect nail wrapped manicure at home every time:
1. Clean and Dry Hands
Moisture is the biggest enemy of adhesive, so much so that even a little moisturizer, sunscreen, soap, or even hand creams can prevent the nail wraps from sealing to your nail. Natural oils on the cuticles and the nails are also a big NO if you are trying to stick nail wraps on it.
Tips for nail wrapsTo stick the wraps properly to your fingers, wash your hands first and spray some rubbing alcohol to your fingers to get them sparkly clean.
2. Select the Right Size
Finding the right size of anything, be it a pair of denim to nail wraps, can take FOREVER and is often exhausting. But at the same time, it is important to get the right size of anything for future convenience. Finding the right size of a nail wrap can cost you some time, but trust us, you will not regret it.
3. Remove the Transparent Plastic Cover on Each from Each Nail Wrap
You may or may not have noticed, but there is a protective plastic cover on each nail wrap. It is important to peel these protective plastic layers off so that you can easily peel the nail wrap underneath and apply it onto your nails and smoothen it out, following the curve of your nails.
4. Peel From the Top
Peel the wrap you have selected from the top side of the wrap. Choose the side that can get filed away as excess. Avoid contacting the adhesive to anything before you stick it on your nail to keep it as sticky as possible.
5. Place and Push it Evenly
Align the bottom of the wrap at your cuticle carefully (do not paste it on your cuticle but at it). Using circular motion from the other fingers, smooth the wrap into place; begin with the cuticle, push down one side, then across the top of the nail, then back up the other side.
Try getting a tight, wrinkle-free seal at the tip to make your manicure look perfect and so that it lasts as long as you want it to.
6. File off the Excess
Using a nail file, file off the excess length of the wrap. You can also use a scissor to trim off the excess before filing it into the shape of your nail. While filing, make sure to file only in downward motion because filing the wrap any other way stops it from sealing to your nail and lets in the dust to accumulate under the wrap.
Dust also ruins the adhesive and makes the sticker come out in just a couple of days.
7. Apply a Topcoat
To make your nail wrap last longer, apply a top coat uniformly and let it dry.
Why are Nail Stickers Better Than Nail Polish Strips?
Nail wraps are basically nailed stickers that mainly function as nail art. These are typically available in pre-cut sizes that cover your entire nail, or as decals and appliques that add pattern and design to your existing nail. One of the great pros of nail wraps is that you can achieve intricate art details on your nails without paying a nail artist to do the same. It also indicates that nail wraps are economical and saves your wallet quite a bit.
Unlike nail polish strips, the nail wraps have a little dimension to them that makes the patterns often look like they have been painted on. The decals are usually available on clear sheets that let you decide its placement on the nail without peeling it off first.
Furthermore, the stickers are supposed to be easy to remove by just soaking your fingers in warm water before peeling it off. Adding to that, it does not damage your nails.
Also read- Marble Nails
