Collection: Nail Tool & Accessories

What is on this page?

Everything around a dip or gel set that isn't powder or liquid. Files and buffers by the pack, the replacement brushes that keep our bottles working, the cordless UV/LED lamp that cures every gel product we sell, the French dip mould, soak-off solution and cuticle care, and the table hardware: pedicure towels and an armrest. A row of BlingStones rhinestone boxes sits here too; they also have their own rhinestones page.

Most of it is consumable, priced by the pack, and the same whether you run a salon or do your own nails. The one durable is the lamp.

The catalog, by job

Which file grit do you need?

The number is the grit: lower is coarser, and a file with two numbers has a different grit on each side. Every SNS file comes in a pack of 25 at $25.00, a dollar a file, so the question is which combinations to keep at the table.

Two rules save nails. Never use an 80 grit on a natural nail plate, and never file all the way through a set to remove it; file the top thin, then soak.

The cordless UV/LED lamp

One lamp cures every gel product on the site: base and top gel, GelStar color, builder gel and cat eye gel. Dip powder never needs it.

• Output: 54W hybrid UV/LED, sized to cure all five nails at once.
• Timer: 30, 45 and 60 seconds, plus a low-heat 60-second mode with a pause function for clients who feel the cure on a thick builder layer. Digital display with countdown.
• Cordless: rechargeable with extended-life batteries included and a battery indicator, so it moves between the manicure table and the pedicure chair.
• Tray: matte surface to reduce LED reflection into the eyes, and acetone-resistant.

It is $215.00, the only item on this page over $30.00, and the one purchase a salon makes once. Our note on UV exposure and why we built the lamp with a low-heat mode is in how SNS approaches a safer UV gel manicure.

Brushes, caps and the two bottle sizes

Our dip liquids come in two bottle formats and the brushes are not interchangeable. The PRO 0.5oz bottles, the salon lines under Dip Essentials, take the replacement brushes sold in twos and tens. The DIY 0.34oz bottles take the replacement cap and brush pair. A base brush that has gone stiff from activator dust is the usual reason a set goes on lumpy, and a new brush costs a dollar; keep a pack in the drawer and drop the working brush in Brush Saver between clients.

How does the French dip mould work?

Instead of painting a smile line freehand, you dip the tip of the nail into the moulded well and the white powder lands exactly where the shape puts it. The French Dip Mould 2.0 is our redesigned version, air-tight and two-sided, so you choose a flat or a curved smile line by turning it over. It works with the pink and white powders and Gel Base, and it is the reason a dip French takes minutes rather than a very steady hand. The walk-through is in how to do a French manicure at home.

Removal and care

• Taking a set off: file the top layers thin with an 80 or 100 grit, then soak in Soak Off Solution or acetone, wait, and push the softened product away with the cuticle pusher. Never pry. The full method is in how to safely remove dip powder at home.
• Dust: brush the nail clean between every file pass and before every coat. Dust under a coat of base is the start of a bubble.
• After the set: the Signature Serum Pen on the cuticle, at the table and at home.
• Files and buffers: one client, one file. At a dollar each there is no reason to reuse.
• Lamp: wipe the tray clean between clients, and keep gel bottles out of its light between cures.

Related collections

• Dip Essentials The liquids the brushes fit: base, activator, top, brush saver.
• Base & Top Gel What the lamp cures first and last.
• Starter Kits Powder and liquids bundled for a first set.
• Nail Art Chrome, glitter, ombre and rhinestones.
• Rhinestones The BlingStones boxes on their own page.

Related reads

• What you need for dip powder nails
• How to safely remove dip powder at home
• How to do a French manicure at home
• How SNS approaches a safer UV gel manicure