Frequently asked questions
Why do clients book dip before a holiday?
Because it needs no lamp, it is hard enough to leave the salon immediately, and on a client who is not rough with her hands it runs three weeks or more, which covers a trip from the week before to the week after. It also handles water better than lacquer and resists the chipping that sand and pool edges cause. The caveat worth giving at the first appointment is removal: a dip set is soaked off, so a client who wants a new colour every fortnight is better served by gel.
How do I get a neon dip shade to look right?
Lay a white or very pale dip layer first. Neon pigment is not opaque, so over bare nail it looks patchy, and over a pale base it reaches full brightness. Build three passes rather than two, since bright pigment covers slowly and forcing it with one heavy pass leaves a thick edge at the cuticle. Expect brights to soften in daylight faster than muted shades, which is the pigment behaving normally rather than a fault in the jar.
Should I buy the 1 oz or the 1.5 oz jar?
The 1 oz suits a colour used a few times a month and is right for seasonal brights with a short window. The 1.5 oz is for the nudes, pinks, and whites that run all summer at every station. Many shades on this page are listed in both sizes, so buy the workhorses large and the novelties small rather than standardising on one size, which either wastes powder at the end of the season or runs the wall dry in August.
Can dip powder be used on toes?
It can, but most salons keep dip as a hand service. Toes are harder to dip cleanly, the sidewalls are tighter, and a thick layer is uncomfortable inside a shoe. Where a client insists, keep the layers thinner than on a hand, skip the third pass unless the shade needs it, and file the free edge short. For most summer pedicures a lacquer or gel finish works better, and the same shades are listed on the summer lacquer and duo pages.
What is in the summer dipping powder collection
201 dip powder shades at wholesale, tagged for summer and drawn from three lines: LDS with 107 jars, OPI with 53, and NuGenesis with 41. Thirty-two are out of stock as this page was written. A hundred and sixty of the listings are colour dipping powder and 41 are 2-in-1 acrylic and dipping powders that also sculpt with monomer. Fifty-four jars are listed in 1 oz and 54 in 1.5 oz, with many shades available in both.
The three lines on the page
| Line | Jars | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| LDS | 107 | The deepest chart on the page, named numbers such as Breakfast at Tiffany's, Lilac Garden, and Beige Me, plus the LDS neon grouping |
| OPI | 53 | The named summer drops, the shades clients arrive asking for |
| NuGenesis | 41 | 2-in-1 acrylic and dip jars, so the shade also works at the acrylic station |
By colour the page leans pink with 36 jars, then blue with 31, purple with 19, coral with 15, nude with 14, green with 13, orange with 12, red with 10, and a small mint group. That order is close to the order a salon should stock a summer dip wall.
Why dip sells hardest in summer
Dip is the vacation service. It needs no lamp, it is hard enough to leave the salon immediately, and on a client who is not rough with her hands it runs three weeks or more, which covers a holiday from the week before to the week after. It also survives water better than lacquer and resists the chips that sand and pool edges cause, so the client who is going away for ten days books dip even if she wears gel the rest of the year.
The honest caveat is removal. A dip set is soaked off, and soaking takes time, so a client who wants a different colour every fortnight is better served by gel. Saying that at the first appointment prevents the complaint at the third.
Neon and bright powders
- Neon powder needs a pale first layer. Over bare nail it looks patchy; over a white or very pale dip layer it reaches full brightness.
- Three passes, not two. Bright pigment covers slowly, and forcing it with one heavy pass leaves a thick cuticle edge.
- Brights fade in daylight faster than muted shades, which is normal for the pigment rather than a fault in the jar.
- Seal properly. Activator over the whole nail, file, then activate again so the filed surface is resealed before the top goes on.
- Keep one white in the kit purely as the base under neons and as the French white.
A summer dip set, step by step
- Prep. Push back, break the shine to the sidewalls, dust, dehydrate, and bonder on the bare plate.
- Thin base. One thin coat away from the skin line, because flood lines show through and lift first in water.
- Dip at an angle. Tap the excess back into the tray and brush the surface clean with a dry brush between passes.
- Build two or three layers. Three for brights, pastels, and sheers; each pass stopping a hair further from the cuticle.
- Activator, shape, activator. Harden, file the shape, buff flat, then reseal the filed surface.
- Top twice. Two thin coats capping the free edge, which is where sand and water attack a summer set.
1 oz or 1.5 oz
The 1 oz jar suits a colour used a few times a month and is the right size for the seasonal brights that have a short window. The 1.5 oz is for the nudes, pinks, and whites that run all summer at every station. Because the same shade is often listed in both sizes on this page, the sensible pattern is to buy the workhorses large and the novelties small rather than standardising on one size, which either wastes powder or runs out mid-August.
Shades that work either side of summer
At ND many jars carry more than one season tag. Here 60 are also tagged for spring, 60 for winter, and 32 for fall, and those crossovers are the ones to buy deep: a coral, a milky nude, or a clean pink is worn most of the year. Thirty jars carry the clearance tag, which at ND means they sell at their regular wholesale price until the stock is gone and are not reordered, so a clearance shade going onto a regular client's card should be bought twice or matched to a restocked neighbour at the outset.
Keeping powder dry in the hottest months
Humidity is what ruins dip powder, and summer is when a salon runs open doors, pedicure steam, and air conditioning that cycles moisture through the room. Close every jar the moment a dip is finished rather than at the end of the client, keep the working jars away from the pedicure area, and pour into a tray instead of dipping a client's finger into the house jar, returning the unused powder through a sifter. A jar that has taken on damp lays a gritty layer that filing will not fix, and on a pale summer shade it is visible immediately.
Dip on toes, and when not to
Dip is a hand service in most salons, and there are good reasons for that: toes are harder to dip cleanly, the sidewalls are tighter, and a thick layer on a toe is uncomfortable in a shoe. Where a client insists, keep the layers thinner than on a hand, skip the third pass unless the shade truly needs it, and file the free edge short. For most summer pedicures a lacquer or gel finish is the better answer, and the matching shades sit on the summer lacquer and duo pages.
What clients should be told before a trip
A pre-holiday appointment is the one where aftercare advice actually gets followed, because the client has a reason to care. Three things are worth saying. Cuticle oil daily keeps the seal flexible, and sun and chlorine dry it out faster than anything else. Gloves for washing up and for sunscreen application keep oil off the edges of the set. And a nail that catches and lifts on holiday should be filed smooth rather than pulled, because a lifted corner picked at on a beach takes the plate with it and turns a small repair into a rebuild.
The salon side of the same conversation is the booking. A client leaving for two weeks should come in as close to departure as the diary allows, and the return appointment should be made before she leaves, which is the single easiest way to keep a summer diary full through the quiet weeks in late August.
Wholesale pricing at ND Nails Supply
Every jar on this page ships at wholesale pricing for everyone, with no business license, no minimum order, and no membership fee. Free shipping on orders $75+, and in-stock jars ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day.