Frequently Asked Questions

The short and simple answer is simply acrylic powder. When used with one of the liquid systems (more details in a minute just stick with me) will strentghen the acrylic to give you the effect of traditional acrylic nails. 

Now I'm going to breeze over this a minute because it's important for you to know if you are buying dips from multiple companies. Some companies use dual purpose acrylic powders, which means it can be used with any liquid system, other companies use dip powder acrylic, which is finer milled and a bit more powdery, but with this type of acrylic you can only use it with certain liquids. So depending on the liquids you choose, you will want to know what type of acrylic powder the company is using as the base. All of our dips here at Acrylic Fetish are made with a dual purpose acrylic so they can be used with all 3 systems. 

The 3 liquid systems are dip liquids, gel liquids, and monomer. 

We are going to start with my preferred application method...

• Dip Liquids  dip liquids consist of a bond, base, activator and top coat. Most systems you can use the base coat as the top coat (this is what I do with the liquids I use.) This method is just like painting your nails just with a small twist.  You put it on your nail just like regular polish and then dip your nail into the powder. It really is that simple. We will cover the full steps from start to finish in a minute just bare with me a little while longer. 
• Gel Liquids  gel liquids consist of the base coat and top coat and the application process is similar to dip liquids just with one extra step. You brush it on just like regular polish, dip in the powder, but after each layer you need to cure it under the UV/LED light to cure it. 
• Monomer  Monomer is your traditional way of applying acrylic nails. It requires a brush,a little skill to shape the nail just right and a small learning curve to get just the right consistency of liquid to powder so that its not to dry or not to runny. 

With proper prep and application, a set can last anywhere from 2-4 weeks without chipping or cracking! Pretty great right?! 

Not at all....   unless you have zero patience for removal and choose to pick or pry it off your nails instead of proper removal. Picking it off your nails can take off layers of your natural nail and not only is that damaging but, can you say OUCH?   Done right, removing a dip mani is easy and non harming to your nails. We will cover removal just stick with me.                   

Yes! Dip powder is easy to remove. All you do is file away the shine and soak in acetone for 15-20 mins and it comes right off! If you dont want to remove it, it is easy to do a fill-in using dip powder as well!

We are starting with my prefered method.

What you need:

• cuticle pusher or orange stick ( i love my glass one)
• nail buffer
• nail file regular or efile ( I prefer an efile) 
• dip liquids ( I use Triple Vitamin)
• dip powder a color or glitter and clear (this encapsulates and protects your color)
• brush soft or stiff bristle to remove excess powder ( i use both)
• cuticle oil 
• blue dawn dish soap (Optional)   (to remove excess oil from hands before starting.) 

Here is my process:

1. First I wash my hands in the Blue Dawn, making sure to get my fingertips and around my cuticles really well.
2. Using the cuticle pusher, Push back cuticles paying extra attention or the invisible cuticle area that sticks to your nail. 
3. I take my efile, (if you don't have an efile use your buffing block) and go around your cuticle and brush the surface of the whole nail to get the top layer that would have oil or hidden cuticle area. 
4. Using the stiff bristle brush, brush off any dust from your nail and around your cuticles. 
5. Next, you are going to use the bond, which is a dehydrator and will soak up any remaining oils on your nailbed. If you don't have bond, you can use alcohol and just wipe your nail with it.
6. Now take your base coat and starting about 1/4 of the way down from the cuticle brush on the base and dip your nail into the color or glitter powder. Using the orange stick go around the cuticle and the sides of your nail. using the brush ( soft or bristle) brush off the excess powder. Using the base, start where you started the first layer place the brush there push down and fan out the bristles and push back toward the cuticle ( do this so the liquid does not pool up by the cuticle) brush the liquid over the entire nail and dip in the powder, go around the cuticle and sides of the nail with the orange stick, and brush off the excess powder again. Repeat this step, but for this last dip you will dip in clear to protect your color from buffing and filing.
7. Take the activator and brush it on the entire nail.
8. Take your efile ( or regular nail file) and file and shape your nail, go around the cuticle. You want it to be smooth and slope down to your cuticle area ( or your hair and things will get caught on it. Go over your nail and smooth out any lumps or bump areas that are not smooth. Finish with the buffing block to smooth it. 
9. Brush on the activator again on the whole nail. ( There is two different ways to do this part, My process is I'm impatient and I don't wait. The way you are supposed to do it is wait 2 minutes after the activator, and wipe the nail with alcohol)
10. Take the Base / top coat and Brush on a fast layer and wipe the brush off immediately in case there is any activator on it. Then go back over it with a second slower more detailed careful layer. 
11. Apply cuticle oil and rub into the cuticles to keep them soft and healthy. 

There you have it, you have just completed your first dipped nail!! You can do one nail at a time, or your whole hand one step at a time. Don't get frustrated if you don't think it's perfect! None of our first or even second manis were perfect! Now you are more relaxed and the next one will be even better! Just keep practicing.

Gel Application

What you will need:

• all the stuff above except dip liquids
• gel liquids
• UV/LED light to cure the gel

Prep your nails the same as above. The only difference is after each dip in the powder after you clean up around the cuticle and the sides of the nail, before your next layer, you put it under the gel light to cure it after each layer. (times can vary) After your last dip layer, use the base coat again, place under light to cure. File, shape, buff. Then apply the top coat and cure.. Apply cuticle oil and you are done. 

Monomer

What you need:

• Monomer
• Acrylic nail brush
• gel top coat
• UV/LED light

1. Prep as above.
2. Dip your brush into the monomer to get all the bristles wet and wipe on a paper towel. Next dip the tip into the monomer. Place the wet bristles touching the top of the powder (color or glitter) and you will see the powder bead up on the bristles. Take that bead and place it on the nail. Use your brush to pat the powder down and brush in long strokes down the nail smoothing it all out. Repeat for a clear layer.
3. Once dry, file, shape and buff surface to make completely smooth.
4. Brush off excess dust, and wipe with alcohol.
5. Apply gel top coat and cure under UV/LED light.
6. Apply cuticle oil, and you are done.

What you need:

• 100% acetone 
• Liquid coconut oil (optional I use because it's more healthy for skin and nails)
• ziploc bag
• bowl
• 1 or 2 cups of rice OR a bowl of hot water
• paper towel or dryer sheet

1. File the shine off. (This is optional but will speed up soaking time)
2. OPTIONAL, BUT USE EXTREME CAUTION!! (THIS IS WHAT I DO BUT YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL SO YOU DON'T BURN YOURSELF AS IT GETS EXTREMLY HOT!!) I place the rice (or water) in the bowl and put it in the microwave for 45 secs (be careful it will be HOT!!)
3. Fold the paper towel or dryer sheet and place it in the bottom of the ziploc bag. Place the ziploc bag into the rice (or water) and pour just enough acetone to soak the paper towel and just a little bit of coconut oil.( I put in two squirts.) 
4. Put both hands (carefully because it might be HOT ) into the ziploc bag and let them soak in the acetone and against the paper towel for about 15 to 20 mins. You can rub them around on the paper towel to help speed up the process. 
5. Once completely off, wash your hands with the Blue Dawn dish soap to prepare for your next mani. 
6. Throw the ziploc bag in the trash (DO NOT POUR DOWN DRAIN) Put your rice into a ziploc bag to save for next time.

You are ready to now apply your next mani! 

I get orders out as quick as possible. I am one person that is behind the scenes. I handle everything myself. I make the orders in small batches and jar them up once you place an order. You won't get something that has been sitting on a shelf pre jarred. So this will mean that normally processing time is usually 3-5 days. During a big sale processing times could be 7-10 days if there is a lot of orders, however I strive for quicker than that. This doesn't include shipping times. In the US, the shipping times listed are  3 to 5 days but we can't control the USPS and can't guarantee shipping times. Although most of you know that I don't waste time lol and from the time you place the order to the time you get it, is usually pretty quick.