why is gel polish sticky

Why Is Gel Polish Sticky? | Guide 2023

You’re in your favorite fluffy boudoir slippers and silky dressing robe, watching Netflix while giving yourself a professional home manicure. You’ve got a lovely new nude gel paint, base coat, top coat, and an impressive-looking UV lamp; you’ve even applied the base coat, yet your nails still feel sticky! Why is gel polish sticky? It’s so annoying when a manicure doesn’t turn out how you expected it to—with silky smooth, glossy nails.

Why is my top coat sticky? Once your gel coats have cured, they will have a sticky texture. Tackiness is what makes successive coats adhere. Use an alcohol wipe or a non-wipe topcoat to set your manicure’s smooth, glossy, hard gel finish once you’ve applied the base coat, gel polish, and final topcoat. 

Let’s Discuss Why Gel Polish is Sticky?

Here we will examine the quick explanations for why a home gel manicure may leave sticky nails after a gel manicure. Why is gel polish sticky? There are four common causes for gel polish sticky after curing and one less frequent cause to consider.

After Curing, All Gel Manicures Will Have A Tacky Texture.

Once your gel coats have cured, they will have sticky nails after a gel manicure. Gels are responsible for this since tackiness makes it possible for one layer to adhere to another.

So it’s possible that you didn’t do anything wrong on the application. That’s the nature of gel manicures, so it’s sticky! Below, we’ll explain why and how to get a flawless, stick-free shine when you’ve finished your manicure.

You Haven’t Waited Long Enough For Each Layer To Cure Before The Next.

Gel manicures are a three-step technique that involves applying a gel base coat, gel color, and gel topcoat. Ensure you follow the manufacturer’s directions to determine how long each step needs to cure.

  • Don’t rush to the next step until you’ve given them proper time to cure.

May Be You Applied Thick Layers

Gel nail polish is significantly heavier than conventional nail polish. For the paint to cure correctly, you must avoid applying too thick of a coat.

Why is gel polish sticky? If you apply the gel too thickly, the UV light won’t be able to permeate through it to cure it. The top coat can become dull and discolored if gel polish is not fully cured. It can produce bubbles, wrinkles, and peeling.

Thin layers are essential for a lovely, smooth, and glossier gel manicure!

You’re Using A Light-Incompatible Gel Polish

Always test a small amount of polish on your nail lamp to ensure compatibility. In contrast to earlier UV lamps, today’s nail lamps are almost exclusively LED lights. To top it all off, LED lamps may be used with most gel nail brands.

  • However, if you’re using an older lamp or polish, there’s still a chance that you have a problem.

Why Do Gel Polish Sticky After Curing?

Even after curing, a gel manicure will remain sticky. You must ensure that you are waiting the proper amount of time between layers to prevent the previous layer from affecting the next one.

And remember just to use a thin gel coating at a time. Unfortunately, gel nails always leave behind a sticky residue, so your manicure will still be complete.

Assuming you have applied your gel manicure correctly by using thin layers and curing each layer before moving on to the next, the next step is to use a gel cleanser or alcohol gel nail wipes on the cured top coat.

This method will result in a highly polished, shining, excellent look. In contrast, you might use a no-wipe top coat, which, once dry, would leave a glossy surface without the usual stickiness or subsequent wiping.

I hope you loved this article on why is gel polish sticky and find it helpful. Also, you may be interested to read about how to remove tacky layers on gel nails.