
6 Common Acrylic Nail Mistakes and How to fix them?
You can overcome all common acrylic nail mistakes by practicing on yourself first. Practice makes a man perfect and is a great way to take your time and develop those skills. A mixture of a powder and a liquid monomer makes acrylic nails very hard and rigid. Although this can be seen as a drawback, it makes artificial nails quite resilient. Acrylic nails can last for up to a month with the proper care.
Top 6 Acrylic Nail Mistakes to avoid
Every nail technician will make mistakes along the way, but by learning from them, you may improve as a nail technician in the long run. These are some Top 6 acrylic nail mistakes you should avoid:
1. Drippy or Dry Acrylic Nails:
It would be best if you put the exact acrylic bead on your client’s nails to hold a better shape. Try to avoid the following mistakes:
- Wet Bead Due to too much monomer, which forms a weak runny shape, and gets difficult for the brush to pick the bead up. Therefore, you or your client may develop an allergic reaction. This also happens when the monomer is mistakenly used as a primer earlier.
- Dry Bead Too Little Monomer, a too-powdery or crumbly snowball-like shape occurs, which not only sets right on the nail but will also damage your brush by hardening deep within its bristles.
Fix: You can fix it by applying a well-balanced liquid-to-powder ratio of 1.5 to 1. For seasonal humidity and temperature changes, you may need to accommodate your liquid-to-powder usage.
2. Bubbles in Acrylic Nails:
Bubbling is one of the most agitating acrylic nail mistakes. Perhaps you think you’ve done everything perfectly, but bubbles still appear in your acrylic. It can be beyond upsetting for you. Below are a few reasons why bubbling can occur:
- Brushes can pull air bubbles into the liquid picked and mixed up with powder on the nail, resulting in an airy structure.
- Overworking it after applying the product to the nail can form air bubbles.
Fix: Ensure your brush hairs are properly saturated in the monomer, then gently submerge it in the bottom of your liquid dish to release trapped air bubbles. Press and smooth the product to remove trapped air bubbles.
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3. Cracking Acrylic:
Cracking or breaking is also one of the common acrylic nail mistakes. If the enhancement is too strong and is created with MMA monomers, it can damage the natural nail if there is a strong enough impact. But, if you are using EMA monomers and your enhancements are cracking, there are a few reasons why this may be occurring:
- Too Wet causes excess shrinking, weakening the balance between strength and flexibility.
- Too Dry because you’re not using enough monomer to properly hold the enhancement together, leading to a lack of internal adhesion and lowering the strength of the enhancement.
- Overfilling results in a breakdown of the nails.
Fix: Apply a well-balanced liquid-to-powder ratio of 1.5 to 1, respectively. Avoid coarse, abrasive, or electric files. File gently.
4. Unclean Brush:
If you don’t clean your brush, the monomer on the bristles of the brush hardens, which you should avoid during the application of acrylic nails.
Fix: Clean the brush with a tissue after each bead placement. Gently clean your brush with a tissue to prevent buildup.
5. Wrong Angles:

When applying acrylic, angles matter the most. Always ensure that your client’s nails are facing you when using upward or downward. Practice working on your angles and see what suits you; it’s a trial-and-error phase.
Fix:
- Small Bead. Less Liquid, Higher Angle
- Medium Bead. Less liquid, 45° Angle
- Big Bead.
More Liquid, Lower Angle
6. Contamination:
Contamination produces unpredictable results during the enhancement of the product and causes the following devastating effects:
- Yellowing occurs due to contamination due to something you could have prevented.
- Acid-based primers chemically contaminate the liquid and powder mix, resulting in the nails’ yellowing.
- Discoloration occurs when applying acrylic to the nail before the primer completely dries.
Fix: Use a sculpting brush and only clean it with a monomer. Don’t use oils to condition the bristles. Also, use a non-acid, non-etching, and non-burning primer and allow it to dry completely before applying your acrylic, one of the mistakes you should avoid in doing acrylic nails.
Conclusion:
Acrylic nail mistakes can be avoided by practice, practice, and practice. Because once you have mastered acrylic nails and have avoided the frequent blunders beginners make, doing them is simple and enjoyable. So follow the techniques mentioned above, and then voila! You’ll be an expert for sure.
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