Magpie ONLY recommend using a 240 GRIT zebra file on the natural nail as part of our nail preparation routine. One stoke on each section of the natural nail is enough to prepare the surface of the nail so our nail systems can adhere perfectly. If any higher grit is used to prep the natural nail, this can cause damage to the nail plate by removing the some of the upper layers of the nail plate, which can result in excessive thinning of the nail plate and prevent nail enhancements from lasting in the future.
Our expert leading industry scientist, Doug Schoon, states the following comments in an article which you can read by clicking here,
‘In my opinion, the natural nail can be properly prepared using a 240 grit.’
‘Rather than take the time to prepare the nail plate properly, some choose to do their nail prep work with a 180 grit file. This will remove surface oils along with a few of the upper layers of the nail plate. It can result in excessive thinning of the nail plate.’
’Anything lower than 180 grit is risky business when used on the natural nail plate. It is very likely to lead to excessive damage. In my view, the only reason for using grits lower than 180 is to reduce the thickness of the existing nail coatings for quicker solvent removal.’
Our 240 BUFFER should be used to lightly refine nail systems. The buffers texture is slightly too smooth to prep the natural nail with, it must be a 240 ZEBRA file which is used to prep the natural nail.
We only recommend using our 180 grit zebra and buffer files to refine nail enhancements. There is no need to use 180 grit files on the natural nail when preparing for a Magpie manicure using any of our systems.
Our 150 and 100 grit files should only be used to debulk enhancements during maintenance or removal services. We would never recommend using these (no matter how gently) on the natural nails.
Our priority has, and always will be the health of natural nails. This is why ALL of our products are manufactured at such a high standard and we would never recommend using anything harsher than a 240 grit nail file to prep the natural nail with.
