What Can I Use Instead Of Nail Foil Glue?
Nail foils are a dream come true for anyone who likes variety and three-dimensional shine in their nail designs.
If you’re not familiar, nail foils are strips of colourful foil that have pre-printed designs on them.
These designs are usually sparkly, glittery, metallic, and flashy.
It would take you hours to create these designs on your nails by hand.
But with nail foils, it only takes a few minutes to apply these gorgeous designs onto your nails.
Typically, you need to use special nail foil glue to brush it over your nails and then apply the nail foils on top.
The glue picks up thin layers of the design and imprints them on your nails.
If you forgot to buy the glue or have recently run out, don’t worry.
There are a few other things you can use that you likely already have at home!
So, what can you use as an alternative to nail foil glue?
A few great options for using nail foil glue include clear nail polish, gel polish, and even school glue. However, each method has its pros and cons.
You’ve come to the right place.
In this post, we will discuss how you can use alternatives to nail foil glue, like clear nail polish, gel polish, or even crafter’s glue, to safely and effectively apply nail foils when you’re in a bind!
How Nail Foil Glue Works
Before we explore nail foil glue alternatives, it’s essential to understand how nail foil glue functions.
This makes it easier to think of other products you have around the house that could work similarly.
When doing nail foils, you typically follow these steps:
- Prepare your nails by trimming, gently removing the cuticles, and buffing them to a smooth finish.
- Apply base coat and nail polish of choice (you can use regular or gel polish).
- Once your nails are dry, apply a thin layer of nail foil glue to each nail.
- Allow it to dry for about a minute – usually, nail glue becomes transparent once it’s ready for the next step.
- Press the matte side of your foil onto the nail.
You can use different techniques here, such as dabbing the foil over the nail or pressing it across the entire nail at once, to achieve various effects. - When you pull the foil away, you’ll notice that a thin layer of the design is imprinted on the surface of the dried nail glue.
- When you’re happy with the design, cover it with a transparent layer of topcoat polish.
For a visual tutorial and some great hacks, check out this video from Paola Ponce Nails on YouTube.
As you can see, applying foils with nail foil glue is extremely easy.
So, what makes the nail foil glue so effective at imprinting the foil design?
The trick is that when the nail foil glue dries, it becomes slightly tacky on the surface.
The tackiness allows the foil to stick to it and retain some of the foil material when you remove the foil sheet.
If you’re out of nail foil glue or foil transfer gel, you need an alternative to put on your nails instead.
Something that will have a similar tacky texture when it dries.
This brings us to a few different products that you might already have at home.
They all work as great substitutes for nail foil glue, albeit some of them call for a slightly different technique.
Clear Nail Polish Or Protector
Clear nail polish can achieve a similarly tacky texture as nail foil glue if applied correctly.
If you don’t have nail foil glue, check your cabinets for some clear nail polish.
Any regular, clear polish, topcoat, or protector should do.
During our research, we found that this nail protector is very popular online as a substitute for nail foil glue.
Something about the way it dries makes it extra tacky, and foils stick to it like glue!
To use clear nail polish or protector instead of nail foil glue, follow the steps below:
- Prepare your nails by trimming, gently removing the cuticles, and buffing them to a smooth finish.
- Apply your base coat and nail polish of choice.
- When it’s scorched, apply a thin layer of your clear nail polish or topcoat.
- Allow it to dry just enough so that it’s still slightly tacky. You can test it by gently dabbing your finger over it to see how it feels.
- Once it’s the right level of tackiness, press the matte side of your foil onto the nail to create a design.
- Remove the foil and allow it to dry.
- Once dry, cover with another coat of clear top coat to seal it in.
This technique works well once you have the hang of it.
Initially, you may need to conduct some trial and error to determine how long the clear polish needs to dry before it functions as glue.
If you don’t wait long enough, you risk leaving smears and fingerprints on the nail.
If you wait too long, the polish may become too dry for any of the foils to adhere to it.
Feel free to experiment with this method until it works for you!
Gel Polish
The good thing about gel polish is that it’s naturally tacky until you put a top coat over it.
Gel polish is also cured using UV light, so it won’t smudge when you press foils onto it, making it a perfect substitute for nail foil glue.
Of course, you need to have access to gel nail polish and a UV lamp, which is not available to everyone.
But if you do – you’re in luck, because applying foils with gel polish is super easy. Follow the steps below:
- Prepare your nails by trimming, gently removing the cuticles, and buffing them to a smooth finish.
- Apply gel base coat and cure for 30 seconds.
- Follow up with 1-2 layers of gel polish of your choice, curing for 30 seconds after each layer.
- Dab or press your nail foils over the last layer of gel polish (before the top coat step), your nails will be hard, but tacky, and the foils will stick really well.
- Once you’re happy with the foil design, cover it with a layer of gel topcoat and cure for 60 seconds to seal everything in.
Gel polish makes it easy to mimic the stickiness of nail foil glue, eliminating the need to worry about timing.
You also don’t have to worry about smearing the nail polish while trying to apply nail foils because the nail polish you’re working with will have cured.
School Glue
Yes, if you’re entirely out of nail foil glue, transparent nail polish, or gel nail polish, you might be able to use regular school glue for your nail foils.
We’re talking about Elmer’s Glue or something similar, such as crafting glue or washable glue.Don’t use any kind of super glue!
School glues are safe for the nails and easy to remove.
They are tacky enough when dried for the right amount of time to transfer foil designs onto.
But the problem with this type of glue is that it’s usually very thick.
If you try to brush school glue onto your nails, it will look white and streaky.
So, if you’re going to put school glue on your nails, make sure to mix it with some water first, making the glue thinner and closer to a nail polish consistency.
Here’s how you can use school glue to do nail foils:
- Prepare your nails by trimming, gently removing the cuticles, and buffing them to a smooth finish.
- Apply your nail polish of choice and allow it to fully dry.
- Mix the school glue with some water. We recommend sticking to the 2:1 glue-to-water ratio and using a small cap to mix them.
- Once the glue has a similar consistency to nail polish, brush it over your nails in a thin layer.
- Allow it to dry for 30-60 seconds, until it’s mostly dry but still slightly tacky.
- Dab or press your nail foils onto the glue to create the desired design.
- Allow the glue and foil to fully dry.
- Apply a clear top coat over the foils and allow it to dry to seal everything in fully.
If mixed and dried properly, the school glue will behave just like nail foil glue.
To remove school glue, you can use acetone.
If the glue and foils are challenging to remove, you can soak your nails in a bowl of warm water with a small amount of dish soap to help loosen the glue bonds.
Final Thoughts
Although nail foil glue makes it easier to apply nail foils to your nails, you certainly don’t need it.
Any transparent and sticky substance can work – as long as it’s safe for your skin and nails, of course.
We find that gel polish and clear nail polish work the best; however, regular glue is also effective, serving as a last resort.
Many of these methods will require some trial and error to determine the correct timing.
We hope this blog provides you with some ideas for substituting your nail foil glue the next time you’re in a pinch! Enjoy your gorgeous nails.
