Okay here we have it!!! Nail technician secrets for a natural manicure! I’m going to give you tips to have a long lasting manicure for natural nails. The products recommended in this post are mainly 15 free of chemicals and we are striving for no chipping. This is a manicure that after one week will look like a gel manicure and shine. Disclaimer none of these products recommended in this post are sponsored. This is my own trial and error with products throughout the years and what I have found works for me. My main goal with this manicure is low chemicals.

About Me

Just starting here with the manicure information. (You can skip through this section if not interested.) When I went to manicure school I was in Hawaii on the island of Maui. I had a really good teacher and the school added reflexology to the nail tech program to add to our education. As with all nail tech programs we had to learn acrylic nails. Let me just say that gluing on the tips and trying to make a thin line of acrylic was not my forte. I had decided during school that doing acrylic nails wasn’t going to be for me. I didn’t love the technic for acrylic nails. I didn’t feel I was good at it and I wasn’t into the chemical aspect of acrylic nails. It was at that time during my nail technician training that I decided to only work on natural nails. From that point on, when I finished the program I only worked on natural nails.

Why No Gel

After I finished my nail program I was hired at a spa in Kaanapali. One thing in Hawaii you have to be good at is doing French manicures. On the islands, there can be a wedding everyday of the week and most brides choose a French manicure for the photo of the rings. At this time and still to this day the spa brands of nail polish that were offered were Essie and OPI. These would probably be the two main brands used around the world. Then they came out with gel polish and the gel lights to cure the polish. Each brand of nail polish has created their own gel line to keep up with the times.

I’m going to be brutally honest here and explain why I do not like gel nail polish on nails and offer a manicure alternative that looks like gel. My personal opinion on gel polish and the procedure. Note, I do love how long a gel manicure can last (usually two weeks) and how shiny it looks but here is a list of the negative effects. Just sharing in case anyone has gone through this with their own nails and to know that you are not crazy if your nails had this symptoms.

First of all the process of using a UV light to cure the product is not the healthiest for your nails or skin. Some people are sensitive and when you do the base coat and cure the first layer of gel polish it can hurt your fingers. You can feel almost a burning sensation because you need to put that first layer on and then it acts as a barrier. That burning pain you can feel cannot be good for you? Also you can feel that sensitivity if you have been receiving gel manicures for awhile because the nail bed gets thin and will be sensitive to a UV light.
The gel polish is great because it last two weeks but your nails get no break to breath in between. NAIL TIP: I always suggest to people who constantly have their nails with polish on them. You always want to give your nails a break and let actual oxygen and water touch your nail bed. My suggestion would be if you had a manicure for example last 10 days and maybe you are going to get a new manicure. The night before if you can remove your polish and then when you shower or wash dishes your nails are coming into contact with water. This is good for your nails to help with staining. Meaning, not getting a yellow stain and gives them a break with product on them so the nail can receive exposure to oxygen and sunlight. When you get a gel manicure and you have it removed and then do a new gel color the nails never get a break from chemicals on them.
I do not like the removal process one bit. I will say there is a new removal product that you can brush on the gel and it eats the polish off and breaks it up faster but that is still chemical. To me when you have to break the seal on the gel then put a huge amount of acetone on a cotton pad, then your wrapping foil on the finger. Just imagine your getting all that acetone on your skin, which is a highly toxic chemical. Your wrapping it on your finger and having it go right into the skin barrier. Massive chemical exposure and drying to the cuticle skin and nail bed all while the acetone is getting into your system. Then, when the foil is removed and a lot of times not all the gel comes off, your getting your nail scraped with an orange wood stick or maybe even a metal tool. Depends who does the removal. Basically every time you remove a gel manicure your are getting a layer of your nail scraped off. It is making your nails thin.

Chemicals

I’m going to explain a little here about chemicals in polish. As stated above you can visualize how acetone seeps into your system through your skin and thin cuticles and nail bed. Nail polish can have just as strong of an effect on your system but mainly is not entering your system through the skin just the nail bed. So one strong ingredient that can be found in nail polish is formaldehyde. When dissolved in water it is called formalin, which is commonly used as an industrial disinfectant and as a preservative in funeral homes and labs. Formaldehyde can also be used as a preservative in some products, such as antiseptics, medicines, and cosmetics. Sometimes, even when formaldehyde is not an ingredient in a product, substances that release formaldehyde are. These have been found in cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, lotions and sunscreens, and cleaning products. In a nutshell formaldehyde is a gas at room temperature and used as a preservative. This can be cancer causing to the body in high concentrations as the odorless gas is not good to breath.

That is one main ingredient in nail polish that people have been starting to avoid. Some other ingredients that are not good for the body are toluene, formaldehyde resin, camphor, acetone, xylene, phthalates (including DBP), triphenyl phosphate (TPP), parabens, bisphenol A (BPA), sulfates, e-series glycol ethers, benzophenone 1, 2, nonylphenol ethoxylate. I am putting this quick list of ingredients here so that you understand the newer nail polish brands that say 10 free or 15 free are starting to omit these ingredients from their nail polish. It is a much more health conscious awareness of chemicals in the products. So I have found a 4 step process for a lasting natural manicure. I will share here.

Steps for a Natural Manicure

Clip and shape the nails. You also want to buff the nail surface a little to dehydrate the nail.
Make sure all nail polish and products are removed from nail. You can use a nail brush and either pass alcohol or acetone remover over the nail. The less oil on the nails the better the polish will stay.
First step is to use base coat. You always want to use base coat on your nails to protect them so that the nail polish does not stain your nail bed.
Once you have your color picked out you will want to do two coats of nail polish. The first coat you will paint on thin and the second a little thicker.
Top coat. You always want to add a top coat you protect the polish that you just painted on.

These are the basic tips for a lasting manicure next step I will give you the EXACT polish top and base coat that I use for a lasting natural manicure.

Base Coat: https://nailtopia.com/collections/base-top-coat/products/bio-sourced-chip-free-base-coat-started-from-the-bottom This is the best base coat I have ever used. My pedicure will last over 5 weeks and when I remove the polish you will see no yellowing of the nails. Truly the best. I would start the manicure with a thin coat.
Polish for a no chip manicure that can last 2 weeks:https://www.pacificabeauty.com/products/plant-magic-polish?variant=39784629698648 This polish is 16 free and truly does not chip when applied right. Because the polish is 16 free there are limited colors to keep the chemicals out but this polish has a great leveling effect and spreads amazing. Side note if your looking for a good chalk white polish this is it.
Top Coat: https://www.wetnwildbeauty.com/product/fast-dry-af-nail-color/ This top coat is it. Gives you a shine and makes the manicure look like a gel manicure and protects the polish. This brand has been making polish since 1979

If you follow the steps to the manicure prep and then use these 3 products your manicure should last chip free for 10 days. Here is a secret tip to last longer. After you do your manicure and wait two days. Make sure you haven’t bumped any nails and there are no chips. You want to take a paper towel and wipe your nails very good so there is no oils or cream on the polish. Then use the Wet and Wild top coat and add another coat of top coat. Your nails will look a little thicker and shine and will be protected from chipping. It should take about ten minutes for the top coat to fully dry. You can also put your hands in the freezer by the fan for polish to harden or run your nails under cold water to harden the polish. I have had my manicures last more than two weeks with this tip. One other tip when you are painting your nails, if you have time I wait 5 minutes in between coats before I paint the next coat. By the time you finish waiting 5 minutes between each coat your nails are almost dry and ready to go. Again you can finish running under cold water to harden the polish.

These are some tips for a natural polish manicure to last two weeks. If you have any other tips or questions feel free let me know in the comments or the contact form.