Artificial Nail Enhancements (Tips, Wraps, Acrylics, Gels)
Four systems, four chemistries
Tips are pre-shaped plastic extensions glued to the free edge and blended into the natural nail; sizing must match sidewall to sidewall without pressure. Wraps use a fabric (silk, linen, fiberglass) saturated with resin or adhesive to add strength. Acrylics combine a liquid monomer with a polymer powder; the initiator in the powder starts polymerization, so the product cures chemically, not by drying. Gels contain photoinitiators that cure only under the correct UV/LED wavelength and time; a soft gel is soak-off, a hard gel is filed off.
Prep is the whole game: sanitize, push back cuticles, remove shine from the plate with a fine buffer, dehydrate, and use primer or bonder only as the manufacturer directs. The classic acrylic bead should hold a soft peak and then settle into a smooth dome - too wet, and you get shrinkage, bubbles and lifting; too dry, and the product is brittle and cloudy. Keeping product off the skin prevents lifting and prevents the allergic contact dermatitis that comes from methacrylate overexposure.
Traps: any option that accepts MMA (methyl methacrylate) monomer - it is banned or restricted and EMA is the salon standard; claims that acrylic "dries" or that gel "evaporates"; confusing primer with adhesive; believing a heavier bead is stronger; or recommending a heavy hand with an e-file on the natural plate. Removal: acrylic and soft gel soak in acetone for roughly 10–20 minutes after the surface is broken; never pry or force product off.
Worked example: a client's acrylics lift within days at the sidewalls. The cause is usually product touching skin or incomplete prep - not weak powder.