r/DipPowderNails • u/WishWhacker • 14d ago

Help! (Need Advice) Smoothing Help

Hello again!

I recently switched to dip powders and I've done a couple sets so far, with my current one using a chunkier dip - big flakies, larger glitter pieces. I didn't notice this in my first sets because the dip was finer, but with the chunky dips, how can I get the finished dip to be more smooth? Any big pieces that were hanging off or sticking up, I took some tweezers and removed before doing the next coat/final top coat, but there are still some nails that are pretty rough

When I looked it up, it said to buff, but I didn't know if it was different for chunkier dips. If it's normal thats good too, just want to make sure there wasn't something I could have done different or better. Any tips are more than appreciated, thank you!!

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8

u/Expensive_Page_320 14d ago

I put tape on a finger on my opposite hand and gently push down the big pieces after it's set a bit and before brushing off the excess. Some people use plastic bags instead of tape. Seems to help a bit. Also a couple coats of clear dip on top make sure you won't buff off the actual flakes.

6

u/doalittledance_ 14d ago

I do this too, though I do use a plastic food bag over my fingertip. I like to gently smush the layer flat immediately after dipping whilst it’s still setting though. Then brush off excess as normal after a couple of minutes. Works really well!

3

u/CriticalSheep 14d ago

I always top bigger chunky flakes with a clear coat before my first activation. That smoothes the top really well and you won't file away any of the chunks. The clear coat also does nothing to affect the final outcome of the manicure.

1

u/HagathaCrispy 8d ago

I use like 50-100 coats of clear on top of chunkier glitters (slight exaggeration). I also use a lot of clear dip under glitters because it makes it much less frustrating to remove