Wave gel is applied onto a wet, uncured glossy top coat. Place dots or lines of wave gel on the top coat and let them spread for about 5 to 20 seconds, and the color blooms outward into soft waves and ripples on its own. Once the pattern looks the way you want it, cure the nail under your lamp to set the design in place.
The wave design has to be sealed. A'DOR lists its Diamond Top as the finish over wave gel: after the wave layer is cured, apply the Diamond Top over the whole nail and cure again for a smooth, glossy surface. Skipping the final top coat leaves the design unprotected and the surface less even.
The line has 12 wave gel colors numbered 01 to 12, each in a 0.5 oz bottle, and the Set 12 groups all twelve in one listing. Open each listing to see the color in its photos. Many techs layer two or three wave colors on one nail, so a set gives you room to mix combinations for different clients. Wave gel is a design layer that goes over a gel color, not the main color coat itself.
A'DOR's HEMA-free claim covers its gel color line, not its nail art gels, so this page does not sell Wave Gel as HEMA-free. For a client who reacts to HEMA, keep the wave design on a separate accent nail or choose a fully labeled HEMA-free system, and read each label before the service.
Work on one nail at a time so the top coat stays wet while the wave gel spreads. Start over a cured gel color base, place a small amount of wave gel, and give it a few seconds before adding more, because the color keeps moving until it is cured. A darker or contrasting base makes the waves easier to see.