5 top tips to perfect your nail art stamping technique

Nail artist & MD of Moyra UK, Cheryl Ogden, became familiar with stamping at a trade show, and initially struggled to perfect a clean finish. When she became the exclusive distributor for Moyra in the UK, a brand renowned for its stamping products, she invested in education with Hungarian trainers, Alexandra Snoble and Norka.

“After four days, I fell in love with stamping, and am proud to offer a comprehensive range of Moyra products to UK nail pros, so they can fall in love with it, too,” she comments.

Cheryl Ogden

Cheryl’s top tips for happy stamping

1. Use polishes designed for stamping.

When I first started stamping, I used nail polish and it was a disaster. Stamping polish is not sticky like nail polish, and it dries much quicker. I found that with regular nail polish, I could not get it to release from the stamping plate, so could not pick it up easily. Stamping polish transfers well onto the dauber – but you need to work fast! Hold the finger and dauber in one hand and place the polish bottle on your desk. Apply the polish to the plate, scrape and roll the dauber over the design then straight onto the nail. Engravings on the plate are so fine that once scraped, you leave very little stamping polish on the design, so this will dry fast.

2. Be mindful of room temperature.

In a warm room, the polish will dry faster, making it more difficult to stamp. In this case, try a slower drying stamping polish. Moyra offers Smart Printing Stamping Polish, which is ideal for this.

3. Clean the stamping plate.

Many nail pros use acetone to clean their stamping plates. However, acetone dries quickly and can leave a residue on the plate, so you need to ensure that you wipe it well. Ideally, use a plate cleaner such as Moyra’s Stamping Plate Cleaner, which is formulated to lift the polish off the plate. It’s then easy to wipe away the cleaner, as well as any remaining polish. It also has a pleasing fragrance!

4. Consider your product choices.

Daubers are your main tool for stamping and jelly daubers are most popular – however they are not all the same. Soft and firm daubers are available, and intricate designs require a soft dauber. Invest in a selection.

Scrapers also come in various thicknesses, and the one you use depends on your technique. If you are heavy handed, you need a flimsy scraper, so that you are not scraping so hard on the plate.

5. Take care of your tools.

Do not file the top of your jelly dauber, as you will struggle to see through it: an advantage of a clear jelly dauber. Do not clean it with acetone, as this will dull its surface over time. A lint roller is best for cleaning, and to remove stubborn marks, I recommend purchasing a Stamper Head Cleaner.

To purchase Moyra products, visit www.moyrauk.co.uk