Gel Nail Product Adhesion

What are the top 5 common issues in nail services that can interfere with either chemical or mechanical adhesion between the product and the nail plate? Let's take a look at the most common reasons for poor adhesion that can be mitigated during the manicure stage.

1 Old Product Removal

Removing up to 80% of old product is an important part of ensuring the best adhesion for newly applied nail products. After polymerization, UV/LED gel nail products achieve their intended structure. However, over time and with exposure to factors like sunlight (UV radiation), oxygen, and chemicals, the product begins to degrade. This degradation can affect its physical properties, causing it to wear out faster and become more prone to damage. This means that your product becomes more porous and more likely to lift, trapping moisture between the gel coating and the natural nail.

2 Prepping Sticky Cuticles

Just like nails, there are a variety of cuticle types which largely depend on the skin type of your clients. Sticky cuticles are thin and, as the name suggests, very sticky. This is why using metal cuticle pushers or scrapers can be dangerous in these cases, as they can easily traumatize this skin type, particularly around the sinuses area. Damaging this area can result not only in pain, redness, and sometimes bleeding, but, worst of all, it can cause product running and subsequent poor product adhesion. Furthermore, product contact with skin should always be avoided to prevent the development of allergies to nail products. Therefore, we recommend using a wooden cuticle pusher to push back the cuticles and an E-file bit to remove non-living tissue.

3 Trapped Dust

Trapped dust is the number one cause of product lifting or peeling around the cuticle area. Therefore, take a lint-free wipe soaked in an Isopropyl Alcohol solution (with a content of at least 75% alcohol), place it onto a cuticle pusher, and thoroughly cleanse around the entire area.

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4 Wait For The Dehydrator

Ensure that the dehydrator has fully evaporated before applying your Primer. The nail plate will have a slight matte or chalky look after the Dehydrator has completely evaporated.

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5 Apply Primer Correctly

Remove all excess product from the brush (it should be almost dry). Apply your Acid Free Primer only on the natural nail plate if this is an infill. Do not go over the same spot multiple times and always avoid skin contact.

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