Acrylic Overlay on Natural Nails: An Overview

An acrylic overlay refers to a thin coat of acrylic on your natural nails. This can make your manicure last longer and even protect your nails in the long run.

A lot of my clients have been seeing the hashtag overlay nails on social media and have been very confused. They keep asking me what it is because it doesn’t look any different to a regular manicure. If you are having similar questions, then let me break it down for you.

In this post I explain acrylic overlay on natural nails, how they are different to acrylic tips, the benefits of this manicure, and more.

What is Acrylic Overlay on Natural Nails?

Let’s start with the most important questions first:

Can you put acrylic overlay on natural nails?

And:

What does it mean to put acrylic overlays on natural nails?

Yes, you can put acrylic overlay on natural nail. Acrylic overlay nails are a hard coating that are applied to your natural nails. This nail product is a combination of acrylic powder and monomer liquid. When combined, it forms a durable coating on the nail.

Nail polish or other color pigments can be painted over the acrylic overlay.

One of the things that confuse people the most is the difference between acrylic overlays and acrylic nails. Is there even a difference?

Yes, there is! See, acrylic nails are essentially artificial nails. This is because acrylic tips or nail forms are attached to the existing natural nail. They are used as nail extensions.

Acrylic overlays, on the other hand, are simply painted over the existing nails.

So, can acrylic overlay add length to your nails? Unfortunately, this is not possible. You can think of a overlay manicure as a nail enhancement, though.

Acrylic Overlays vs. Gel Overlays

I do quickly want to cover gel overlays before going any further. While both the acrylic overlay and gel overlay are hard coverings for the nail, they do differ when it comes to the actual substance.

The acrylic overlay is made from acrylics while the gel overlay consists of hard gel. The acrylic overlay also lasts longer than the gel overlay.

Is Overlay Better Than Acrylic?

I would argue that one of these nail products aren’t better than the other and here is why – they both perform different roles.

Acrylic nails and acrylic overlay nails do have a similar base. They are both made from acrylic powder and liquid monomer.

These two products are used in a different fashion, though. The acrylic nails are attached to the tips of your natural nail. Or, a nail form is used to attach nail extensions to the nail plate. This is why they are considered fake nails.

In any case, the result is long nails.

In the case of the acrylic overlays, a base coat is first applied to the nail bed. Then, the acrylic nail product is applied directly on top of this. However, the nail overlay is only applied as far as the natural nail will go.

One of the perks that natural nails acrylic overlays have over acrylic nails is protection.

If you have brittle nails that are constantly tearing off, it can be tricky to grow your nails. The acrylic overlay, though, acts as a protective layer. Due to this, your natural nails are less likely to be exposed to water or any other factors that can weaken them.

Not only can this help to keep your nails in good condition but it can also be a great way to help your nails grow a little longer.

Another difference is that it is easier for you to do acrylic overlays at home than it is to do acrylic nails. For the latter, you likely will have to visit a nail salon and have a nail technician do your nails for you.

With an acrylic overlay on natural nails tutorial, you should be able to manage this process at home, by yourself. Of course, you will need a kit as you will need specific products for this treatment.

Then there is the cost to think of. The acrylic overlay nails cost is around $25 at most nail salons. Adding art and other features can increase the acrylic overlay cost, however.

An acrylic nail extension set, however, can run you around $35 to $45. For long nails, this does depend on the length of the false nail as well as if you are getting any nail art on your nail extensions. So, this can easily go up to $100 or even more.

How are Acrylic Overlays Applied onto Natural Nails?

The first few steps of acrylic application is like any other manicure. The nail tech will trim your nails – short nails without any chipping or dryness will work best.

Clean the nail bed so that the products will adhere to the natural nails better.

Then, a base coat or a primer will be applied to the nails. The tech will then set out two containers – one will contain the liquid monomer and the other will have the acrylic powder.

The tech will first dip the brush in the liquid and then dip it in the powder. A bead will form. This bead will be applied to your nail and then brushed out. This will form the acrylic overlay. The process will then be repeated for each nail overlay.

It can take about 10 to 15 minutes for the overlay to dry. The acrylic overlays will then be filed to make them more smooth.

After this, one or more layers of nail polish will be applied to the overlay nails. Here, as for your natural nails, you can choose regular nail polish, gel polish, or dip powder nails.

In general, the gel polish will last longer than traditional polish and the dip powder nails will last longer still.

If you are getting gel nails, then the nails will need to be cured under UV light for several seconds so it will dry properly.

Once this step has been completed, then nail art can be applied to your overlay nails.

How Long Does Acrylic Overlay Nails Last?

Traditionally, acrylic overlays can last up to two weeks at a time, sometimes maybe three weeks.

Keep in mind that this can depend on a few different factors. To begin with, this depends on the condition of your nails as well as the rate at which they grow.

If your nails are particularly oily, then the acrylic nails may begin to flake off sooner. At the same time, if your nails grow rather quickly, you are going to notice a gap forming between the natural and overlay nails.

If you are someone who works with their hands or spends a lot of time in water, then your overlay nails may not last as long.

Then, there is the nail art and polish to think about. As I mentioned, traditional polish can chip in as little as one week.

Gel polish can last up to two weeks but can begin to chip sooner than this. Dip nails, on the other hand, may be good for several weeks at at time.

If the polish begins to chip, then you will need to paint over the overlay nails to maintain your gorgeous nails.

How are Acrylic Overlays Removed?

The first thing I want to say here is that you should always get your overlay nails removed by a professional. While you can do this, yourself, the removal process does involve harsh chemicals. So, if you aren’t careful, you could end up damaging your nails.

You will need to use acetone to remove the overlay. The tech will dip cotton in acetone and then apply this to your fingernails. The cotton will be held in place by nail wraps or clips.

The cotton is left there for about 10 minutes and then removed. The nail tech will then use a cuticle pusher, nail file, or nail drill to buff away the rest of the varnish.

It is important to treat your nails after this process. So, apply cuticle oil to your nail bed and apply moisturizer to your hands.

Does Acrylic Overlay Damage Nails?

No, the overlays don’t actually damage the nails. In fact, in some cases, the overlays can help to strengthen or lengthen your nails.

What can damage your nails is removing the process. At the end of the day, even with professional help, you are exposing your nails to some harsh chemicals and processes. Therefore, if you put your nails through this too often, they are going to become rather dry and brittle.

This is why I would advise you to wait a few weeks between each application. This gives your nails time to breathe and recover so that they will be in good condition for the next time.

Now that you have the lowdown on acrylic overlay on natural nails, you can decide whether this is the right manicure for you. At the very least, you can decide whether you want to give this a try, especially if you are looking for a break from traditional acrylic tips.