Acrylic infills: how to successfully fill in the regrowth

I’m struggling with acrylic infills. How do I successfully fill in the regrowth? 

The aim of an infill service is to make the nail look brand new again and this involves removing any lifting product, prepping the nail and applying new acrylic.

First things first, never file directly over the lifted area as you may find that you make the lifting worse. You should file right next to the lifting, on the edge of product that is still attached, leaving natural nail prep until you’ve removed it.

The product has lifted for a reason so you need to ensure the natural nail is perfectly prepped before reapplying product, otherwise you’ll just experience lifting again. Plus, it needs to be removed to make sure bacteria doesn’t get sealed in when fresh acrylic is applied.

When moving on to application, a good-quality liquid and powder should reapply easily, colour-matching the existing product so no join can be seen. Also, if you keep product application thin at the cuticle, then infills are easier to do and less lifting will be present.

After treatment, suggest clients use a good-quality cuticle oil daily to keep the natural nail hydrated and flexible, which helps prevent the product lifting. However, if you’re still struggling with infills, get in touch with your training provider who should be able to help you within a classroom or one-to-one environment.

Jan Soar is head of education at Nail Harmony UK, distributor of Gelish and All That Jazz, managing a team of more than 30 educators.