You’ve probably heard the word “lifting” in connection with gel nails a few times. It’s an important point when it comes to nail modeling because as a nail stylist, you have to do everything you can to avoid those little air bubbles. 

However, there are various circumstances that cause liftings that do not necessarily have to originate with the nail stylist. It is particularly important that you carefully remove any air bubbles that have formed so that you can avoid further lifting of gel nails. 

What Is A Lift And What Are The Consequences?

When the gel detaches from the natural nail plate, a whitish air bubble is formed. This means that the gel is no longer connected to the natural nail and a so-called cavity has formed. The air bubble can then cause the gel layer to flake off. This not only looks ugly but can also be quite harmful to your health. 

A lift can occur on just one nail, but also on all ten nails! Avoiding the lifting of gel nails during professional gel polish modeling should be the top priority of every nail designer.

A lift doesn’t look nice in the first place and changes the aesthetics of the nail image. However, if germs, bacteria, or even water get into the cavity, this can lead to inflammation or nail diseases. The damage can be temporary or long-term. Avoiding lifting with gel nails is all the more important for this reason!

How Is A Lift Created?

As a rule, a lifting occurs because you have not matted the nail bed properly (shiny areas) or you made a mistake in the process. The gel cannot stick to a smooth surface. If you can rule out this mistake, you should consider the following possibilities to avoid lifting on gel nails:

• Only use high-quality nail products! Cheap products without a certificate usually do not have the appropriate quality.
• Damp or greasy nail bed
• The tip was not glued properly, maybe too big or too small
• Bad primer
• Filing dust that has not been removed
• Unclean work
• Large temperature differences (e.g. in winter)
• Products used are old