applications + faq
UD Gel Polish Application & Removal
APPLICATION OVER NATURAL NAILS:
- Have your client thoroughly wash & dry their hands. Lightly push back the proximal fold with our Ugly Duckling Cuticle Tool or C-Curve Tool.
- Gently Etch the nail plate with our Ugly Duckling Medium Zebra File. If you prefer using our e-file, a Medium Arbor Sanding Band works great!
- Remove all dust. Do not use a cleanser that contains oil.
- Apply Ugly Duckling Prep to all 10 nails.
- Apply Ugly Duckling Primer to all 10 nails.
- Apply 1 coat of Natural Base or Build-A-Base being sure to wrap the edges and cure for 60 seconds in your Ugly Duckling LED Gel Lamp. Do not remove the inhibition layer from the cured base.
- Apply Gel Polish sparingly. Wipe one side of the polish brush completely clean, and 1/3 - 1/2 of the other side. Stroke evenly on the nail, making sure to wrap the edge of the natural nail. Apply 4 fingers and cure. Repeat on the other hand. Apply both thumbs and cure for 60 seconds in your Ugly Duckling LED Gel Lamp. Be sure each coat has a full cure: freeze-curing, or applying the product too generously may cause the product to wrinkle.
- Apply 1-3 coats until desired coverage is acheived.
- Top with your choice of Ugly Duckling Top Coat and cure for 60 seconds.
- If using our Tacky Top or Matte Top Coat: once fully cured, allow the nails to "cool" for about 45-60 seconds before cleansing the inhibition layer with our Gel Cleanse. Cleansing too soon after the final cure can risk the top coat dulling (Tacky Top) or not appearing as matte as possible (Matte Top Coat).
APPLICATION OVER ACRYLIC, SCULPTING GEL, VELVETEEN ACRYGEL & BUILD-A-BASE:
- Finish shaping your enhancement with our Ugly Duckling Medium grit Zebra File or if you prefer an e-file, our Medium grit Arbor Sanding Bands work great! Do not buff or finish the nail with anything finer than a Medium grit or you may risk the polish peeling.
- Remove all dust. Do not use a cleanser on the surface of the enhancement. Do not use alcohol or acetone as it will soften the grooves and create too smooth a suface for maximum adhesion. Apply Gel Polish directly over the dust-free enhancements.
- We do not use Prep, Primer or Base Coat over enhancements prior to Gel Polish application. Simply shape/finish file and follow steps 7-10 from above "over natural nails".
REMOVAL:
Although our gel polishes are a soakable formulation, we prefer to remove by filing. This minimizes over-exposure to chemicals. We suggest using a hand file or an e-file, whichever you feel most comfortable with.
FAQ:
Q: My gel polish is wrinkling after I cure it. What happened?
A: Wrinkling or rippling of the gel polish is a tell-tale sign that the product was most likely applied too generously or the product was flash-cured between coats rather than a full cure (60 seconds in the Ugly Duckling LED Gel Lamp) or a combination of both scenarios. It's also possible if you aren't using a UD Gel Lamp, that the lamp you are using is not compatible with our product(s).
Q: Why aren't the thumbs curing?!
A: Thumbs can be tricky, as hard as we try to guide our clients while they are going into the light, we can't always trust that their hand placement is correct. Incorrect hand placement inside the lamp is typically the reason why only part of the thumb nail (the part facing upwards to the top of the lamp cures fine, but the half of the nail facing down toward the base does not. This is because that part of the nail did not recieve adequate exposure to the curing light. To avoid this being an issue, some artists choose to cure their clients' thumbs separately (you can remove the base of our LED lamp(s) to ensure the light is directly over their thumb nails) to avoid any curing issues.
Q: Do I need to apply a gel base prior to gel polish application over enhancements (acrylic, sculpting gel, acrygel or Buil-A-Base).
A: No, you don't! We actually don't recommend it. Simply finish file and very lightly buff if you feel it is needed. Then remove the dust (or have your client wash and dry their hands thoroughly) and jump right into gel polish application!