FREQUENTLY ASKED STAMPING QUESTIONS
What is stamping? how do i do it?
First, welcome to our world of nail stamping! Nail stamping is a technique that revolutionized the way at home nail artists and DIY'ers are creating art onto the nail with the use of: stamping plates, stamping polishes, stamper and scraper. The creative possibilities are endless and vast!
Here is a step by step tutorial showing the stamping process:
do you have any tips before I get started?
Here are some simple tips we can offer for a stamping beginner:
- All plates come with a tight, protective blue film. This film ensures that your plate arrives unscratched or undamaged during the shipping process. The film needs to be removed before any stamping can begin.
- Gently remove the stamper head from the holder and wash it with gentle dish soap, warm water and your hand. This makes sure any oily residue or debris is removed from the surface. Pat dry with a paper towel and carefully insert the head back into the stamper holder.
- The KEY to stamping is to work quickly. Make sure your creative work space is prepped and ready with all tools cleaned and on-hand before applying your stamping polish to your nail plate.
- Do not work in a space that has extreme lighting or fans/air conditioner pointing directly onto the plate. This will cause the polish to dry even quicker and will also hinder a good image pick up.
- Scrape 1-2 times at most to prevent the polish from drying on the nail plate.
- On designs with more etched areas, use a lighter hand when scraping to not scrape out too much polish from the design.
- Roll the stamper quickly but gently over the design for the perfect pickup! One of the biggest issues we see with partial pick up or no pick up is due to pressing too hard or too long on the stamper.
- When the design is transferred onto the nail, gently pat down any parts of the design that is lifting off from the nail to secure the design on the nail.
Advanced Stamping: How do you color in stamped designs?
This technique is called reverse stamping and there are several ways of achieving this technique. Paulina's Passions created an in depth video showing how this technique is achieved:
Nail Stamping Plates
How do i CLEAN MY stamper AFTER use?
To preserve the clear property of your stamper, you will need to treat it gently with care. Using acetone on the stamper will wear it out quickly and cause it to become cloudy over time. To clean the surface of the stamper head, we recommend something sticky like: scotch tape, sticker type lint roller or our Sticky Stamper Pad:
Should I clean my nail plate after each stamp?
Yes. For best results, we recommend using 100% acetone as it will remove the polish and clean the plate without leaving any residue on the surface. We recommend using a cotton grabber tool, a nail art tweezer, or even clothes pin if you are in a pinch, to hold your cotton pad soaked with acetone to clean your plate so you don't accidentallly ruin your beautiful manicure while cleaning!
HOW BIG ARE YOUR NAIL PLATES?
Our rectangular nail stampingvplates are 6.5cm x 12.6cm.
Do you have images to fit larger nail beds?
We have tons of nail designs that can work for larger or small nail beds. Images that are considered full nail are designs created to have full coverage over the nail in one stamp. These designs on average are 2.4cm x 1.5cm.
Do you ship your plates to my country?
We ship to over 50+ countries. Check our Shipping and Returns page to see if your country is listed.
STAMPING POLISHES
What is stamping polish?
Stamping polish is polish formulated for stamping. The formula of the polish is thicker and has a lot more pigment while drying quickly. This allows the design to POP over your base polish when you stamp.
Our stamping polishes are also dual-purpose, so you can use it as a base color as well. Due to the difference in consistency in comparison to regular polishes, we recommend applying in 2 thin coats even though most of our polishes are opaque in 1 coat.
Can I stamp with regular polish?
Yes! The main difference between stamping polish and regular nail polish is that stamping polish is usually thicker and is packed with pigment. Some regular polishes will work for stamping, but the results will vary and so will the opacity. Try with regular polishes that are opaque in 1 coat and they should work. Avoid sheer, glitter, or any specialty finishes as they will not work well.
Tip: Older nail polish tends to thicken up over time, use your old nail polish for stamping.
Can you ship your stamping polishes to my country?
We do allow our stamping polishes to be shipped to select countries. Please check our Shipping and Returns page to see if your country is listed.
ARE YOUR NAIL POLISHES CRUELTY FREE?
At Maniology, we love our furry, 4 legged friends and value the importance of recognizing and protecting the rights of all animals and the cruelty against them for animal testing. Our final nail polish products are not tested on animals. We also do not commission any third party to test any of our final nail polish products on animals.
What does it mean to be 5-free?
High-five! Maniology stamping polishes are 5-free. This means that our stamping polishes are not only made without 3 of the most common harmful chemicals:
- formaldehyde
- toluene
- dibutyl phthalate a.k.a. DBP
found in many nail polishes. But we've given the boot to 2 other yucky chemicals as well:
- formaldehyde resin
- camphor
These chemicals can be harmful to reproduction, developmental growth, and may even cause cancer with prolonged exposure. (Yikes!) Formaldehyde resin and camphor can cause allergic reactions like dermatitis, yellowing, and dried out nails. (No, thanks!)
Now, you can breathe easy with Maniology; scrape, stamp, and swoon to your heart’s content. We’re here to help you feel beautiful, look beautiful, and stay beautiful longer.
STAMPers + scrapers
Does my stamper need priming?
For our clear stampers, we recommend giving it a wash using mild dish soap, water and a light rub with your hand to get rid of any oily residue that occurs naturally from production and storage. Do NOT file or buff the surface of our clear stampers. Our stamper heads can take a lot, but buffing it's surface may cause rips, tears or crumble the stamper head making it completely useless.
My stamper doesn't work! what is the problem?
If you haven't washed your stamper head yet, please do so (preview the previous question above). Your stamper head is very squishy and soft. Therefore, any hard pressure is unnecessary for picking up an image. A light, soft touch that lightly kisses the surface of your plate is what is needed to pick up the image.
As for technique, it depends on the stamper, but rolling or using the up and down method are the two most common techniques.
Is it normal for my stamper to be extremely oily?
Stampers are created using silicone material. The oiliness created by silicone materials is natural and we recommend washing your stamper head with dish soap before use. Subsequently, you can simply clean with tape, a lint roller, or our Sticky Stamper Station.
I purchased a starter kit and I can't get the clear stamper to work!
If this is your first time using a clear stamper, it takes a slightly different technique than a regular solid rubber or silicone stamper. Please follow our checklist below to troubleshoot!
- Clean the stamper head gently with dish soap and water, dab dry with a paper towel. You can clean the stamper in between uses with scotch tape or a lint roller for easy cleanup.
- Use a quick light rolling action when picking up the design from the plate, just barely touching the plate. The MOST common issue we see is pressing too hard or too long. Use a light touch, just a flick of the wrist!
- Make sure there are no fans or A/C creating a direct draft toward your workstation. It can dry out the polish quicker.
- Play around with pressures and rolling movements to find what works for you.
- Clean the plate with 100% acetone only after EVERY attempt. Other types of remover will not clean the plate properly leaving behind residue that will affect your results. So none of those "nourishing nail polish remover" stuff.
Here's a video on the Dos and Don'ts of using a clear stamper:
mani x me monthly club subscription
Do you sell the nail plates separate from your mani x me subscription?
All of our nail plates designed for our Mani x Me Monthly Club subscription are made exclusively for our subscription and will not be sold outside of our subscription.
Click if you're interested in becoming a Mani x Me Monthly Club member:
What is the cut off date for your mani x me?
A new Mani x Me collection comes out every 23rd of the month and ends on the 22nd of the following month.
How do you pronounce the "x" in mani x me?
It is pronounced "by", so it sounds like Mani by Me.