Nails - Liquid & Powder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


chemistry a whole lot of


No matter what the trends in Nail Art, the classic French manicure in pink and white will always remain a firm favourite.


Ever since the classic look we recognise today as a ‘French’ was made fashionable by Orly founder Jeff Pink in the mid-1970s, a well-crafted pink and white can epitomise class and style and never goes out of fashion.


Whilst gel and polish can be used, there’s a crispness and longevity that using liquid and powder, or Acrylic, achieves that keeps this technique as a popular choice for nail techs and clients alike.


To some nail technicians liquid and powder is the bane of their life and they avoid it like the plague, due to its misunderstood reputation as a difficult technique as well as an abundance of myths surrounding its suitability as a nail treatment.


However, once you’ve learnt the skill of creating the perfect ‘bead’ of liquid and powder and practised your application method, this is a popular technique that could see you offering tip and overlays as well as sculpted tips and even 3D nail art making it a valuable tool to have in your repertoire.


Myth busting


To refer to liquid and powder enhancements as ‘acrylics’, can be a little misleading as all nail enhancements including gels and wraps are acrylic in nature, as Doug Schoon, scientist and nail industry expert, explains in his article Ten Top Myths Related to Artificial Nails, he explains that wearing liquid and powder nail enhancements do not damage the natural nail if applied and removed properly.


“Nail coatings don’t harm the nail plate and any nail damage is usually a result of improper application and / or


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removal…Overly aggressive filing causes the majority of nail plate damage seen in salons. This isn’t done just in discount salons, it happens even in high end salons and is indicative of an improperly trained nail professional.”


He adds: “Every type of UV gel nails and all types of so-called ‘acrylics’ (aka liquid / powder) nail enhancements are made from acrylic ingredients and are cured by acrylic chemistry, therefore both of these types of nail enhancement coatings are just as ‘acrylic’ as the other, regardless of how they are marketed.


“Other than marketing claims and application procedures, the only real differences between these two types of systems are in the way they harden (polymerize)… These two types of systems are very similar and one is not any better for the nail or safer than the other.”


Visit the Resources pages of Doug Schoon’s website at www.schoonscientific.com for more myth busting advice in his educational articles, and sign up for his e-blasts to receive periodically updated information.


The science bit…


Creating a perfect liquid and powder ‘bead’ is down to chemistry, and the ratio of monomers and polymer. Monomers are single molecules that can join themselves together, head-to-tail, to produce a polymer, this process is known as polymerisation, or more commonly the term ‘curing’ is used.


Cross-linking monomers are essentially the same as normal monomers but as well as joining head-to-tail they have extra arms to link with nearby chains. The result is a stronger more flexible working surface.


In liquid and powder systems, the ‘liquid’ is a complex mixture of monomers and the ‘powder’ is a polymer that contains initiator


molecules which provide the energy and encourages the monomers to link themselves together, thus forming the polymers When the heat-sensitive initiator molecule is exposed to room temperature, the curing process begins.


The growing chains of monomer wrap around the polymer, forming multiple microscopic strings. Once all the monomers have disappeared into chains, the initial reaction stops and although the resulting surface may be hard enough to file, it will take days before the chains reach their final lengths.


It is important to get the right consistency of liquid and powder, or mix ratio. The general consensus is that a medium-to-wet bead, approximately 1.5 parts liquid : 1 part powder, is the best consistency to produce strong, flexible enhancements that adhere well to the nail. According to Gigi Rouse in her book Nailclass, your ‘bead’ of liquid and powder should resemble “the look of wet sugar or wet snow”.


So let’s take a look at the different liquid and powder systems available to pro nail techs…


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