Camouflage Gel: Properties, Types, Pros and Cons

Contents

What is camouflage gel? According to professional nail artists, it’s an indispensable tool for building, straightening, and strengthening the nail plate. What are its advantages and disadvantages? How to use camouflage gel properly? Let’s find out!

What is Camouflage Gel?

Camouflage gel is an opaque viscous liquid. Its consistency depends on whether its one-, two- or three-phase product. The more liquid the polymer, the more equally it spreads over the nail plate, smoothing all the irregularities.

The colors of camouflage gels are very close to natural shades:

pink
ivory
beige
milky-white
peach.

This build-up gel can be used as a standalone coating or as a base for gel polish: camouflage gels are compatible with all colorful gel polishes. You can also use them to enhance the brightness of transparent and low-pigmented gel polishes.

What is Camouflage Gel Used for?

In French, ‘camouflage’ means ‘disguise’. And it lives up to its name: it covers and hides imperfections, smooths all irregularities and transitions on the nail plate. In addition, such a coating looks very natural.

So, what is camouflage gel used for:

Nail extensions. Camouflage gel looks very natural, firmly bonding the extension and the nail plate and seamlessly smoothing the junction between them.
Nail sculpting. It improves nail structure as it changes not only the length, but also the shape and surface of your nails.
Nail repair. Camouflage gel fills in cracks thanks to its liquid texture.
Nail leveling. Camouflage gel fills in the small ridges and depressions in nail plates, making them even and smooth.
Nail strengthening. An additional camouflage coating makes nail plates stronger and more resistant to physical contact.
Disguising imperfections for aesthetic purposes. A gel coating hides spots and white streaks on the nails.
Long-lasting French nails. Originally, camouflage gel was developed for French manicures. Subsequently, new ways of using this polymer were discovered. Nevertheless, camouflage gel is still considered an excellent base for French nail art.

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What are the Types of Camouflage Gels?

Before using camouflage gel, you should see the difference between its types so you can understand what product is better for you.

One-phase camouflage gel:

is pretty thick and doesn't bubble
polymerizes fast with a UV lamp
secures the nail plate and subsequent layers
is easy to file
can be used as a base or a top coat
is easy to use and beginner-friendly.

Two-phase camouflage gel:

is more liquid
is applied in three layers
requires the same amount of time as a three-phase gel, however, it’s not as popular as the final result is worse.

Three-phase camouflage gel:

is very liquid, so it is easy to apply and quick to dry
perfectly covers nail irregularities
can bubble up when applied
has the most durable effect.

Pros and Cons of Camouflage Gel

Benefits:

strengthens thin, brittle nails
prevents fungal diseases
prolongs the durability of manicures compared to classic gel polishes
looks natural
prevents splitting nails
is perfect for French nails.

Drawbacks:

costly materials and services involving
risk of allergic reactions
if broken or cracked, a nail with camouflage gel has to be replaced
risk of damaging the nail plate if the procedure is done wrong.

How to Apply Camouflage Gel?

This product can be used for getting nail extensions at home. It’s just that you might have to practice several times to get the desired effect.

Here’s how to do it:

Do a common manicure.
Make sure your hands are dry, apply primer.
Secure an extension mold to the nail plate so that the centers coincide, cover it with a base coating, and dry it under a UV lamp for two minutes.
Apply camouflage gel to the center of the nail and distribute it carefully, leaving one milliliter from nail walls and cuticles free.
Place your nails under the lamp for another two minutes.
Remove the molds and the sticky layer, file and buff the nails.
Apply a top coat, dry it under the lamp, and remove the sticky layer if you’re not going to apply any extra design.
Treat your cuticles with oil.

Camouflage gel is used to build, shape, and strengthen nails. To get a high-quality and long-lasting result, it’s enough to choose the right type of builder gel and practice applying it. Beautiful strong nails in natural shades designed with the help of camouflage gel are a sure-fire way to impress you and everyone around.

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Camouflage Gel: Types, Properties, and Tips on Application