Dear Nail Vinyls,
As much as we love the wonderful goodness of quick and easy manicures and the more affordable alternative to paying our nail techs an extra $3 for an additional rose design on one nail, we do have a tough relationship sometimes.
Sometimes you want to be friendly and work it out with me, but sometimes, you drive me crazy.
So, here I am to provide some tips & tricks for building a wonderful relationship between the two of you.
After all, nail vinyls are way better than the current boyfriend I don’t have.
Let’s start off with the absolute necessities when using nail vinyls:
1. YOU MUST APPLY A CLEAR, FAST-DRYING TOPCOAT BEFORE APPLYING YOUR NAIL VINYLS.
*This means a topcoat, not a clear nail polish.
Otherwise, the vinyl will lift up your base coat. However, you have to make sure your topcoat is a quality one! We have compiled a list of recommended clear, fast-drying topcoats from users just like you! I have listed them in order of how often they’re recommended:
- Seche Vite (Available at Sally Beauty, Ulta, and Drug Stores)
- Out The Door (Available at Sally Beauty)
- Nail-Aid Gel Finish
- ORLY Sec ‘N Dry (Available at Sally Beauty)
- Salon Perfect Top Coat (Available at Walmart)
*These are all available on Amazon.
Personally, we use Seche Vite and have never had an issue using it with our nail vinyls. I would avoid purchasing Seche Vite on eBay, as there are far too many dupes on there. Head to your nearest drug store, Target, Ulta, or Sally’s to pick up a bottle! Loads of users also recommended Out The Door. I personally haven’t tried it, but the consensus is that it works great.
I have also tried topcoats that didn’t work out well for me. They can work, but just not incredibly well. I don’t recommend the following with nail vinyls:
- NYC’s In a Minute
- Forever 21 Quick Dry Top Coat
- Sally Hansen’s Insta-dry
Are you using a quality clear top coat but your vinyls are still pulling up your polish?
IT’S YOUR BASE POLISH.
Say it ain’t so!
It’s true. Some polish formulas just aren’t meant to be used with nail vinyls. I can’t list brands here, because sometimes one polish in a brand will work and sometimes another won’t. One that I’m absolutely sure of, though, is Sally Hansen’s Instadry collection. There is trial and error to figuring out which ones will work for you. Don’t fret, though! Most polishes are perfectly fine.
2. YOU MUST PEEL YOUR STENCILS AT A TOTAL BACKWARDS-ALMOST-180 DEGREES ANGLE.
Just a few months ago, we improved our vinyls and the way they peel. If you peel them properly, they should leave your vinyl sheet without any cutouts attached. Check out my sister, Liz, peeling Twinkled T stencils below!
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Other recommendations for peeling your vinyl:
- Press hard down on the vinyl sheet before removing the stencil.
- If extras are still coming up, try peeling it from a different end of the stencil. Sometimes, it makes all the difference!
- If you are peeling a vinyl with horizontal lines, such as our Chevron Stencil or our Striping Stencil, peel it from the side, following the direction of the lines.
- If your vinyl has sharp corners like our Star Stencil, go slow! These are a little trickier to peel.
3. MAKE SURE YOUR POLISH IS COMPLETELY DRY BEFORE APPLYING YOUR NAIL VINYLS.
This one’s pretty self-explanatory. You can’t place vinyls on wet polish, or it’ll ruin your entire manicure.
4. IMMEDIATELY PULL YOUR VINYL OFF AFTER PAINTING YOUR POLISH COAT OVER IT.
When the polish is still wet, and you lift the vinyl, you’ll be left with crisp clean lines. As soon as the polish starts to dry, your vinyl could lift up stringy polish with it.
THIS DOESN’T MEAN RIPPING YOUR VINYL OFF SUPER FAST!
Peel your vinyl with patience. Follow the lines. Peel your chevron stickers in a zig zag pattern. Follow the wave!
(Press Play!)
5. PICK UP YOUR VINYLS WITH TWEEZERS.
Getting the oils of your fingers on the the vinyl will cause it to lose its stickiness!
The following tips aren’t necessary, but highly recommended.
1. SPONGE YOUR POLISH ON.
(Press Play!)
Painting polish on is fine, but sponging on polish will give you perfectly clean lines 99% of the time.
You can purchase sponges from our shop here.
2. CUT THE SIDES OF YOUR STENCILS.
By cutting the sides, the stencil can adhere to the curves of your nails better. This stops any bleeding through corners or awkward nail fails.
(Press Play!)
3. IF YOUR VINYL IS TOO STICKY, DAB IT ON YOUR HAND.
Some of our vinyls are super sticky. For example, we use our black matte vinyl for decals, because we know most customers use these as stickers. However, the remaining stencil is super sticky! Dab it on your skin just once, and the oils of your skin will help remove a little bit of the sticky residue.
4. PLACE YOUR STENCIL ON THE BACK OF YOUR VINYL SHEET IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING EXTRAS INSIDE.
If your stencil does have any remaining pesky vinyls on the inside, flip your vinyl sheet around and pat your stencil down. Once you lift it, the remaining extras should stick to the back of your sheet.
5. PLACE YOUR CYCLONE'S CENTER DOWN FIRST AND WORK YOUR WAY OUT.
This applies to all our Cyclones. Remove the vinyl from the sheet by pulling it at the outermost corner, and then place the middle down and slowly pat it down in a swirly circle direction. Also, check out our brand new easier Cyclones, which are much easier to work with.
(Press Play!)
Random Tips from Nail Vinyl Users:
1. VINYL STENCILS MAY BE REUSED.
(Like, twice. Maybe.)
I’ve never personally tested this, but lots of you have done it before! This tip only applies to stencils.
After you’re done using the vinyl, stick it on a flat surface such as a school binder, and leave it til the polish dries. Place it back onto your nail and reuse!
(Press Play!)
That's all we have for now! We hope this information helps you receive awesome results using Twinkled T Nail Vinyls. Check out our dozen new releases of Nail Vinyls, as well!
Please note, I consider this blog "to be continued" and will add information to it accordingly!
Please feel free to leave comments below with your own tips and tricks, what top coat you do or don't like, or even just leave a quick hello! Thank you for reading this. I had a blast compiling all this info!
“sometimes one polish in a brand will work and sometimes another won’t. One that I’m absolutely sure of, though, is Sally Hansen’s Instadry collection. "
You said you’re sure of S.H’s Insta-Dry, but sure about what… that it WILL work, or it WON’T?