Refining Your Gel

Refining your gel is the key to a perfect nail so in this blog I am going to be covering the ins and outs of all things refining!

First off, what is refining?

Refining is making sure that your gel is perfect before you apply your colour/design.

Refining Steps

• Once you have cured your gel, wipe the tacky layer off with some finishing solution on a lint free wipe, this will set you up for a mess free refine.
  
• When you have applied your builder gel/hard gel sometimes you can lose your shaping. Filing the gel back into shape gives it that extra sharp, clean finish which we all love. Taking a yellow softie block, lightly buff over the gel which will smooth out any lumps/bumps that you may not have noticed before they went into the lamp to cure. It also gives you the perfect surface to apply your colour onto, you won’t get colour pooling in places or thinning out over bumps and your brush will be able to glide the colour on and give an even coverage.
  
• If you are experiencing shrinkage, it is always good to make sure you have refined the nail well, remove any dust with a nail brush and make sure that the nail is completely dry of any cleansing spray / oils. The veneer will shrink and pull back if it comes into contact with other products on the nail for example the tacky layer left on the gels after curing.
  
• If you find your veneer is flooding make sure you have given it a really good stir with the Cuccio Mix Stir Tool before you use it. Don’t load too much product onto your brush because as you are applying it to the nail, you will naturally hold the brush in a downwards position which in turn will bring the excess veneer to the brush causing flooding onto the nail.
  If you can, clean up the flood, I always recommend to use a dry brush, this is one of your gel brushes that you use for building/hard gel application, they give the best results for cleaning up – I love the Cuccio Flat Nylon Gel Brush for cleaning up any floods!

I always like to make sure my nails are perfect before they go into the lamp to cure as it is much easier to clean them up before the gel is cured. You can’t just wipe it away once is gone in the lamp so always double check before you get your clients to put their hands in the lamps.

Rhi x