Frequently asked questions
How does A'DOR Crack Gel work?
A cured metallic base, the A'DOR Crack Base Gel in gold or silver, goes on first. The crack color is painted over it and not cured; over the next minute or two it contracts and splits into plates on its own, the gold or silver showing through the seams. The tech cures when the pattern is right, which freezes it, and seals with a thin top coat. Twelve colors in 0.5 oz, singly or as the Set 12.
Can I use Crack Gel over a regular base or color?
The listing states the colors are formulated for the Crack Base Gel in gold or silver and that other bases give poor performance and durability. Over a plain color the effect reads as texture without the flash, so the metallic base is the rule. ND does not list the A'DOR base on its own at the time of writing; the LAVIS crack gel listings pair each color with a Gold Crack Base Gel.
How do I control the size of the cracks?
With the thickness of the coat. A thick coat of crack gel splits into large plates with wide metallic seams; a thin coat splits into a fine, close crazing. Curing stops the pattern, so a tech can cure early for a subtle crackle or wait the full two minutes for a bold one, keeping the hand still and away from the lamp's spill while it splits.
Is the Set 12 cheaper than the singles?
No. The set is priced as twelve singles, checked on the day of writing, and adds the swatch card. Eleven of the thirteen listings are waiting on a restock at the time of writing, so a salon that wants the effect now runs it with the LAVIS crack gel listings and adds the A'DOR set when it lands.
Which crack colors should a salon buy first?
The red and burgundy over gold for Lunar New Year, Valentine's, and the holidays, and the black and charcoal over gold or silver for the edgy accent nail all year; the white over gold is the subtle eggshell for spring and bridal sets, and the teal, green, and navy make the geode-style set for fall. Crack gel is usually booked as an accent on one or two nails per hand, a five-minute add-on to a gel set.
A'DOR Crack Gel: twelve crackle colors over a gold or silver base, singly or as the set
This page holds the A'DOR Crack Gel Collection at ND Nails Supply: twelve numbered crackle gels in 0.5 oz bottles, 01 to 12, and the Set 12 that boxes them with a swatch card, thirteen listings in all. Crack Gel is A'DOR's shattered-effect gel: a color gel that is painted over a cured metallic base and left uncured for a few minutes while it splits on its own into a crackle pattern, so the gold or silver underneath shows through the cracks like the veins of an eggshell or a cracked glaze. It is part of A'DOR's HEMA-free and TPO-free line. The set card shows the twelve over gold: a white, an olive, a pink, a lilac, a teal, a brown, a burgundy, a dark charcoal, a green, a navy, a red, and a black, the reds and blacks being the ones that make the gold crack loudest. The colors are formulated for the A'DOR Crack Base Gel in gold or silver and the listing says so plainly; a standard base under them gives a weaker crack. Everything is wholesale-priced for everyone, no license and no minimum.
What is on this page
| Listing | Count | What arrives |
|---|---|---|
| Crack Gel single, 01 to 12 | 12 | One 0.5 oz bottle of crackle color gel |
| Crack Gel Set 12 | 1 | All twelve bottles with the swatch card |
Eleven of the thirteen listings are waiting on a restock at the time of writing, so this is a page to watch rather than to build a tray from today; the set is priced as twelve singles (checked on the day of writing), and the LAVIS crack gel listings, which pair each color with a Gold Crack Base Gel, are the in-stock way to run the service meanwhile. The A'DOR Crack Base Gel is not listed on its own at ND at the time of writing.
How the crack forms
- The base does the shining. A cured metallic base, gold or silver, is the layer that shows through the cracks; over a plain color the effect reads as texture without the flash.
- The color does the splitting. The crack gel is applied and not cured. Over the next minute or two it contracts and splits into plates, the way a glaze crazes; the tech watches it and cures when the pattern is right.
- Thickness sets the pattern. A thick coat cracks into large plates with wide gold seams; a thin coat cracks into a fine, close crazing. The same bottle gives both.
- Curing freezes it. The pattern stops the moment the lamp goes on, so a tech can stop a crack early for a subtle look or let it run for a bold one.
How to do a crack set, step by step
- Prep and base. Prep, a thin gel base cured, then one coat of the Crack Base Gel in gold or silver, cured 60 seconds under LED or UV. For a colored flash, a cured color under a sheer metallic works too, but gold or silver gives the best crack.
- Crack color. One coat of the Crack Gel over the base, thick for big plates or thin for a fine crazing. Do not cure.
- Wait. Sixty seconds to two minutes while the cracks form; keep the hand still and away from the lamp's spill, which would cure the surface before it splits.
- Cure. Once the crack has reached the look the client wants, cure 60 seconds. The pattern is now fixed.
- Top. A thin top coat, cured, to seal the plates and level the surface; a thick top can fill the seams and soften the flash.
Designs from the twelve colors
| Look | Colors | When it books |
|---|---|---|
| Red over gold | 11 the red, 07 the burgundy | Lunar New Year, Valentine's, the holiday accent |
| Black over gold | 12 the black, 08 the charcoal | The edgy accent nail all year; Halloween over silver |
| Eggshell | 01 the white over gold | Spring and bridal sets, a subtle crackle |
| Jewel crackle | 05 the teal, 09 the green, 10 the navy over gold | Fall and the geode-style set |
| Soft crackle | 03 the pink, 04 the lilac over silver | The pastel set that wants a little texture |
Crack gel is an accent-nail effect for most clients, one or two nails per hand beside a plain gel in the same family, and a full-nail effect for the client who wants drama; a five-minute add-on either way, which is why it sells as an upsell rather than a separate service.
Why a crack gel will not crack, and the fix
- No cracks at all: the color was cured straight away, or the base was wrong. Leave it uncured for a full minute, and use the metallic crack base.
- The cracks are too fine to see: the coat was thin. Lay a thicker coat for wider plates.
- The plates slide or the surface wrinkles: the coat was too thick and was moved before it split. Keep the hand still and flat while it cracks.
- The flash looks dull: the top coat was thick and filled the seams, or the base was not metallic. Thin top, gold or silver base.
- The set lifts at the edge: the crack gel was capped over the free edge on its own. Cap with the top coat, not the crack color.
Pricing the crackle as a service
A crack gel accent is sold by the nail. The material is one coat of the metallic base and one of the crack color, a few cents of product from bottles that last dozens of sets, and the time is the two-minute wait while the plates form, so the charge is for the effect. Most salons list it as an add-on to a gel set, one or two nails per hand, and a full ten-nail crackle for the client who wants drama; a swatch card at the desk with the red, black, and white over gold sells it without a conversation. Because the set is bought once and only the reds and blacks are reordered, a crack gel tray earns its shelf space through the holiday season alone.
Where crack gel sits on the art tray
Crack gel is the fastest texture effect on the menu, no tools beyond the brush in the bottle and no drying time beyond the wait, and it pairs with the rest of the A'DOR art line: a crackle accent beside a Wave Gel marble, Poke Gel raised detail over a cured crack, and the Mirror Spider Gel for a line across the plates. Because the A'DOR line is HEMA-free and TPO-free, a crack set for a sensitive client stays HEMA-free from base to art to top. A salon that runs crack gel by the season holds the reds and blacks two deep from October to February and the pastels from March.
Crack gel, crackle polish, and the shattered-glass look
Crack gel is often confused with two other effects. Crackle polish is the air-dry lacquer that splits as it dries, sold for home use; it cracks as it dries in the air, cannot be stopped once it starts, and wears like a lacquer. A crack gel does the same splitting but is stopped by the lamp, so the tech decides the size of the plates and the set wears like gel under a top coat. The shattered-glass look is different again: it is a foil or a flake encapsulated under clear, a flat mirror shard rather than a crack, and it is made with the nail flakes and foils on the nail art pages. A client asking for a crackle or a crazed-glaze accent wants this page; a client asking for shattered glass wants the flakes. The crack gel is the faster of the two, one coat over the metallic base and a wait, and it is the one that works as a five-minute add-on to a gel set.
Storage and reorder
Keep the bottles capped tight and out of the lamp's spill, and roll rather than shake them before use. The set's swatch card lives at the desk so a client can pick a crackle from a finished tip. Reorder the reds and blacks as singles by number while the set is bought once; and because eleven of the thirteen listings are waiting on a restock, a salon that wants the effect now runs it with the LAVIS crack gel listings and adds the A'DOR set when it lands.
Wholesale pricing at ND Nails Supply
Every A'DOR Crack Gel listing is wholesale-priced for everyone, with no business license, no minimum order, and no membership fee. The twelve singles sit at one price and the Set 12 is priced as twelve singles with the swatch card; the metallic base and the top coat are bought separately. Free shipping on orders $75+, and in-stock bottles ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day.