How to Apply Press-On Nails

Hello! So glad you're here! If you are on this page you may be really interested in all there is to know about wearing press-on nails! I want you to know that I am here to help! I would love to take some time to explain, in detail, what you need to know for the BEST possible adhesion! It's a lot, so let's get started ;)

First things first. I am doing this because I want you to have the best adhesion possible!! THE BEST! Also, I am focusing on applying nails with glue on this post. Because, well… I figure this is the best for long-term wear. We’ll talk about cons and how to remove your tips at the end if you’re interested.

Here’s the no-detailed summary (in case you only want the basics):
Start with clean hands and size your nails. Lay out your press-ons in the order you will apply them.

1. Using a cuticle pushing tool, push your cuticle back
2. Trim and shape the free edge of your nail
3. Buff your nail plate surface slightly to remove shine and dead skin cells by the cuticle area, then dust off excess debris
4. Cleanse your nail plate of dust and oils completely with cotton or lint-free pad soaked in alcohol 
5. Apply a small bead to your natural nail and another small bead to base of nail tip. be careful not to touch your skin 
6. Apply your press-on while trying to avoid bubbles.
7. Continue to apply pressure for about 10-15 seconds or until glue is dry. 

Ok, and now for a detailed description, and important information on why. 
STEP 1
Preparing your nails

Your nails need to be completely dry, and completely free of dust and natural oils for best adhesion! Why? Because if there’s anything between the glue and the surface of your nail, it won’t stick to its full potential, and you won’t get the best use out of them. This is also true in prepping your nails by a professional nail tech for any enhancement :).

1. Wash and dry your hands. Seems like a no-brainer. So much so that some people might not even think it’s important. This is really because its best to work on a clean surface.
*SIDE NOTE: It's best to not apply press-ons right after a shower, or when your nails have been wet or soaking for long though, as your nail has expanded and is now more flexible, which means that when your nails dry down, they won’t be the same shape as when you applied your tips. Uhm… ok, so what? Well that means that the bending and re-shaping may cause weakness on the adhesion, so your nail tips may not last as long.

2. Size your nails. You’ve either received a set of custom nails, ordered a set of pre-made sizes, or ordered a set of all available sizes for you to pick from. Regardless, I feel all of these mean you need to sit and figure out which nail goes where. Some sellers may have sent you your custom tips pre-marked on where they go, but I assume they may not. A good fit means your nail tip sits comfortably on your nail without squeezing too much and goes from sidewall to sidewall of your nails, without touching your skin.
*SIDE NOTE: if press-on nails is your thing and you thing you may do this long term, it’s best to know what size your nails are for future reference.   More info on sizing here. 

3. Shaping your Press-on nails (optional). This is tricky and I hope that you don’t have to do much of this. Everyone's nails are different from the way they're shaped to the direction they grow. But, nail tips have a specific set shape at the cuticle (base) area, so we may need to adjust some or all so they look more natural. You may need to file the cuticle edges a bit so it looks closer to the shape of your own natural curve, or you may need to file off a bit of the side for a better fit. If you do this step, keep any filing to a minimal. You DO NOT want to break seals that may cause layers of color or designs on your nails to start peeling or cracking off. For that exact reason, I do NOT recommend re-shaping or filing the “free edge” portion of your nail tips at all!

OK... now that we know that our hands and our tips are ready, here's the nitty gritty!

4. Prepping your cuticle area.
In reality there are dead skin cells that are stuck on the nail plate and there are ways to get rid of that, depending how much cuticle prep you are willing to do. But again, we’re looking for BEST ADHESION. There are a couple of ways to do this depending on your level of DIY manicuring. Some people have never done this before, as where others own a personal e-file and use it to buff their nails. I will not really be talking about e-filing for cuticle prep in this post .
​The goal: removing skin and dead skin cells from the nail plate so that the glue has full contact with your nail plate. Like we mentioned earlier, we want the BEST, right? 

• OK so firstly, you have to push back the cuticle with a cuticle pusher, whether that is a disposable wood one, a plastic, or metal one. This will expose more nail plate. 
• Remove those skin cells! Either lightly exfoliate that area with a buffer, -OR- apply cuticle remover. Instructions and time depend on the brand you are using, so follow package instructions. If you use a removal product, make sure you scrub off dissolved skin cells, then rinse hands with soap and water to completely remove product, then dry your hands
• Clip off excessive dead skin using cuticle nippers if needed.

5. Prepping your nail plate. this is much easier than prepping your cuticle area. We basically want to just remove surface shine and shorten your nails, so you will do just that. Why shorten your nails? because as the free edge grows out, it takes on a different shape and form than your nail bed as it extends out, and since nail tips are pretty straight, it’s difficult to adhere the entire nail when a portion of it is growing in a different direction and has different curves. Phew, that was a lot. So… just shorten it, okay? Okay. 

• Use clippers to remove as much free edge as possible
• File the free edge to a smoother shape
• As far as the nail plate itself, you remove the oils and create a slight texture for better adhesion simply by buffing the surface of the nail. YOU DO NOT want to go hard on this. This is not about filing off layers of your nail plate. Do not use any significantly abrasive files or buffers for this step. You just want to use a 180-240 grit buffer to give a light pass over your whole nail, and you’re done. You also want to make sure you’ve passed over the cuticle area, side walls, and edge to edge at your free edge.
• Use a brush to remove all dust and debris.
• Cleanse nail plate with alcohol. You really want all dust and oils gone. get into the base of your nail (cuticle area), side walls (grooves), and even cleanse your free edge as best as possible. REALLY get in there

7. Applying your press-ons with nail glue. Uhhh… Im really going to try to describe it as best as possible, but you may want to actually watch the video for that. It goes without saying that this needs to be done rather fast, in order to avoid glue drying incorrectly, but quick enough to not create any bubbles or pockets of air.

• Apply a small amount of glue to your nail and only enough to make a very thin layer across your entire nail plate. I prefer brush-on glues for this reason. My favorite glue to use has been IBD’s 5 Second Brush-On Glue (definitely not sponsored or anything)
• Apply a very small bead to base of nail tip, you already have some on your nail plate, you don’t want too much, otherwise you will have an overflow of glue to clean up and that’s not really a pretty sight. Excessive glue would also be hard to clean up, and you could ruin the aesthetic of your press-on.
• Place nail tip at base of nail tip near the cuticle, without touching the skin (meaning leave a small gap from cuticle and where you place the tip) at a 45 degree angle.
• While allowing bead of glue to make contact with the nail, slowly lower and place nail tip on to natural nail to ensure glue makes complete contact AS YOU are lowering it.
• Once completely lowered, do not release your grip, but continue applying pressure. I would say a good 10-15 seconds to make sure glue is mostly dry. Even fast-drying glues can take a bit longer.

THAT’S IT!

Next, let’s talk removal, products, and pros and cons.

Removing press-ons you've attached with glue:
I ONLY recommend you try to preserve the integrity of your nails. Which means, please don’t pick off, pry off, pull off, or rip off (however you want to call it) your nails. If you'd like to re-use your nails, I have luckily made a video and post on that ;) 

1. Use nail clippers to clip off free edge
2. File off the top layer of each nail
3. Soak in a bowl of pure acetone until all product is removed.

*If you have removed your glued on nails and want to keep them to re-use, you may use a file to remove glue that may be adhered to the bottom of your nails. I also recommend washing your nails with soap and water and a small brush to clean the underside before re-applying.

Recommended Products

General items to have:

1. Cuticle pusher
2. Nail file (Nothing more abrasive than 180)
3. Nail buffer (Nothing more abrasive than 180)
4. Soft nail brush
5. Alcohol Pad or Alcohol and cotton
6. Nail glue

Additional Items for cuticle prep:

1. Cuticle pusher- I recommend just getting a metal one. No need to be fancy, but at least you know you can wash those and disinfect them, even if it’s just for you. However, it’s perfectly fine to have a plastic one, or disposable wood ones.
2. Cuticle remover cream- If you prefer to use a cuticle softener or remover, use as directed. This will ensure there is no skin tissue left on the nail plate, which will give you better adhesion.
3. Cuticle nippers- if you are comfortable using them, you may use to clip off hang nails or dead skin by the cuticle area. DO NOT cut into your living skin.

Additional Items that can be helpful:

1. Pure Acetone- BEST for removal. Generally, nail polish remover will not be effective.
2. Lint-free wipes- preferred over cotton. To be used with alcohol if alcohol pad is not available. These can be purchased on amazon, or such online stores, but they are also available at Sally’s Beauty in the US.
3. Brush-On Glue- my favorite is the IBD 5 Second Brush On Glue. I find the brush applicator extremely convenient and it really dries faster than many other glues I have tried. It's available at Sally's Beauty as well, or you can search online.
4. ​Hand-held E-file- I am ONLY recommending this for two reasons. 1. It can be very helpful to remove top layer of the products on your press-ons to break that seal and then soak them off easily -AND- 2. can use a cylindrical bit to remove the glue easier from the inside of your nails after use. These machines should be used with extreme caution and should NEVER be used on the natural nail by a person who has not been properly trained, as you can cause traumatic injury to nail and surrounding tissue. 

Pros of using glue for press-on nails:
Honestly, the reason for glue is longevity. If properly applied, you don’t have to worry about things like daily handwashing and such. You will get the most single-use wear out of using a good glue and following these steps for the best adhesion.

Cons of using glue for press-on nails

• One time wear- Proper removal to keep the health and integrity of your natural nail means soaking it off, which means your press-on nails will be destroyed. You can try to wear them until they naturally fall off, preserving your tips, but I personally found that extremely irritating, and non-efficient. Once the nails start lifting, there are gaps. SO that means hair and other things get caught in there. Also, I don’t like the idea of water, or food particles going into any gaps and staying in there, because that means risk of infection.
• Nail damage if taken off improperly- per my experience: Once it lifted about half way, I ended up pulling off the rest, and it brought layers of nail plate along with it. I knew my nail would be damaged and I was okay with that. I knew it would happen so I made my peace with it, and went ahead ad pulled it off. Yea, it was very damaged. 

Remember I have a video and post on how to re-use press-ons, along with other options for application and removal. 

I think this is it for this topic. I REALLY hope this has been helpful. 
<3 Mely

Here are the videos mentioned:
How to Size Your Nails
How to Re-use Your Press-ons