Nail Tips, Wraps, and Sculpted Nail Enhancements
Tips, wraps, and sculpted enhancements
Every enhancement is judged on the same three things: the apex (highest point of the curve, placed at the stress area), the stress zone (free-edge-to-plate junction that takes impact), and the sidewalls (thin, even, never on the skin).
Nail tips: match width, not length; glue with a small bead and hold five to ten seconds; blend the seam so no ledge shows; then apply an overlay. Too much glue makes a brittle, cloudy tip; a tip that covers the sidewalls will lift.
Wraps: silk and linen are fabric, fiberglass is a mesh; all are applied with resin or wrap glue over a prepared plate, then trimmed and buffed. Fabric wraps strengthen; they do not lengthen on their own.
Sculpted nails: acrylic (liquid monomer plus polymer powder) is formed with a brush and sets by chemical reaction, no lamp needed; gels cure under UV or LED. Primer improves adhesion. Too much monomer makes a flat, shrinking bead; too little makes a dry, brittle one. The classic check is a bead that holds its shape like a pea and does not run.
Removal is a favorite exam topic. Acrylic and wraps are soaked off in acetone or filed down; gel is filed or soaked per manufacturer. Never pry, bite, or force an enhancement off the plate.
Rule of thumb: prep, prime, place the form or tip, build the apex over the stress area, refine the sidewalls, set or cure, then finish - and follow the manufacturer's ratio and cure time over habit.