AT HOME GEL-MANICURE TIPS (FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE THIS FOR YEARS)
Happy Friday, ladies! I posted a poll this past weekend about whether or not you would be interested in seeing some at home gel manicure tips. I’ve seen a ton of IG posts and stories of people trying it for the first time and really riding the struggle bus through the process. To be honest, I forgot how tough it can be to learn. Now that I have the hang of it though, it’s a complete no brainer. Rather than being step by step only, I am including steps, but I’m focusing on mistakes I see and solutions for them since, really, it’s not that different from regular polish: base, color, top coat, with a machine to dry each layer in between. I also recommend looking for a LED light or one with low UV to protect your skin. You cannot mix labeled LED-cured and labeled UV-cured products.
This post may contain affiliate links.
MY NAIL KIT // RED // BURGUNDY (The exact shades I used are discontinued, but these are similar.)
REMOVING GEL POLISH
Okay, to be honest, I was surprised how much of a thing this was online. I’ve literally never had issues with it and the key is removing the top layer with a nail file. If I forget that, I will be sitting and waiting for it to dissolve for hours. If you remove the shine, it’s pretty much completely gone after 15 minutes, 20 max. It takes a little longer now that I’m down to nail polish remover instead of pure acetone, but still not a dealbreaker.
I love these little caps I got from Sally Beauty because they make this so much easier (Ulta has something similar, you’re supposed to dispose of the pad after each use, but I just rinse it). I remove the shine completely first. Then I prep all 10 by saturating the pads with polish remover and putting them in the little tip thing, then I put them on, saving the thumbs for last. Brace them in your palm to help you if you need to. I kind of gently press it together with it placed at the base of my thumb, so that knuckle is doing the work if I’m struggling, but I honestly don’t have too many issues with dexterity with these on.
You can also use small squares of foil with saturated cotton pads or cotton balls, but it’s hard to get the foil on when one hand is already dressed. When I do this, I need Chris’s help.
REMOVAL TRICKS
What I have noticed though, is that this process of removal is just as bad for your nails as peeling the polish straight off. Here is an unfiltered picture of my nails where I’ve removed it, where I’ve peeled it, and where the natural oils have caused the polish to separate on its own. I feel that the removal and peel are fairly similar, where the natural separating has a lot less damage to the surface layer.
Another tip I can offer is to scrape away carefully. If the color doesn’t just come right off, pop the remover back on (that’s why I love these little caps as opposed to foil). It does dry your nails out, but that’s actually okay if you’re going right back in with color, and you end up scraping away less of the natural nail surface this way.
Remove the shine with a nail file.
THEN add the remover tips or foil.
Only scrape away what comes off easily, if it’s not coming off easily, put your nail back in the remover cap.
GETTING THE PERFECT AT HOME GEL MANICURE
Where I see most people go wrong with the actual painting step is forgetting to remove the shine and dry out the natural nail. You have to gently file away the shine from your natural nail, completely clean away the dust, and dry it out with an alcohol step. This is vital for the longevity for your manicure.
Another mistake I’ve seen is removing the sticky layer with alcohol after each coat. DON’T DO THIS! Let the sticky layer be until you have put on and dried the topcoat.
If you have a small light, don’t try to do all your fingers at once. I have a small light so I save my thumb for last. Sometimes I will do both thumbs at once, but unless you’re good at being super careful, I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s too easy to bump the thumb nail as you’re working.
THE ACTUAL STEPS
STEP ONE. Prep your nail by removing the shine. I save my oldest files for this so most of the grit is gone and I’m not removing a ton of the natural nail. Just barely enough. Don’t overdo this or you’ll ruin your natural nail. If I have a tiny patch that’s still shiny, I usually just leave it because it’s not worth further filing the area around that tiny bit and damaging the nail. But 99% of the shine needs to go.
2021 UPDATE: I started using these sanding blocks because I’m having HUGE issues with my nails lasting working at a job where I wash my hands or have them in water about 30-50 times a day and I’m loving them. Long term, this will do more damage to my natural nail, but if you also have your hands in water A LOT and are experiencing peeling, I suggest giving them a shot!
STEP TWO. Clean and dry. This is vital. Clean it off, and dry it out with the alcohol steps. Remove any little shavings from your nail so you have a smooth, not shiny surface.
STEP THREE. Apply the base layer (don’t mix it up with the top coat). Dry under the light. Press the skin back with one of your other fingers to help get close to the edge without getting on the skin.
STEP FOUR. Apply the color. Dry under the light. Repeat once or twice more (so 2-3 coats total), or until the color is as opaque as you want it. I would avoiding going ham, though, because more layers means thicker polish and sometimes that doesn’t fully set or last as long.
STEP FIVE. Apply the top coat and dry under the light.
STEP SIX. Remove the sticky layer using a lint-free wipe and the alcohol step.
STEP SEVEN. Oil around the cuticle. Honestly, I forget this step a lot but my skin doesn’t get too dry around my nails. If your’s does, you don’t want to skip this.
DON’T FORGET TO CLEAN YOUR NAIL AND DRY IT OUT WITH THE ALCOHOL STEPS BEFORE GETTING STARTED!
Start with a base layer, then 2-3 coats of color, then the top coat. Don’t mix these up. They are different.
Use your thumb or other fingers to pull the skin away from the nail to make it easier to get up to the edges and not get it on your fingers.
Don’t forget to run the polish along the tip of the nail to extend wear. Gel polish also sometimes shrinks up as it dries, so this helps keep it all the way to the end of your nail.
I dry for twice the recommend about of time, but don’t dry for too long.
Drag an orange wood stick carefully along the skin to remove the polish before drying.
Don’t remove the sticky layer until you are completely done.
LAST MINUTE TIPS
SOME POLISHES ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS.
And by this I literally mean some colors or some bottles. For example, this red that I used in this post chips so much easier than the burgundy color I removed to start with. I’m not sure exactly what the cause is, the red is thinner than the burgundy so maybe that’s it, but I have noticed this to be very true with many different colors. Even within a brand. So if you have a mani that chips super fast, try testing different colors before giving up completely.
OILY NAIL-BEDS MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
If you have oily nail-beds, your manicure won’t last as long. Making sure to do the alcohol steps and remove the shine will definitely help. But at some point, the oil will prevail. I generally know that the oils are the cause when the color starts to peel away, but not chip. The integrity of the polish is still there, but the oily nail-bed is causing the connection to release.
YOU CAN EXTEND A PEELING MANICURE WITH NAIL GLUE.
I tend to have my color start peeling away well before it starts chipping and gets dried out. So, I picked up some nail glue, like the kind for press on nails, and use it to extend the wear of my polish another few days when the corner or base starts to peel. I just have to warn that you need to apply it very carefully or you’ll end up with a big glob that ruins the shine – but that’s the case for press on’s as well.
PAINT THE NAILS THAT PEEL AGAIN.
One thing I’ve also been known to do is to just repaint a nail that is chipping or coming off. It does look a little weird when there’s growth, but sometimes I just do one nail poorly and it chips after a week. In that case, I remove that one nail’s polish, and redo only it. Really, it’s not that noticeable. And I’m lazy.
Hopefully these tips help! I can usually get about two to three weeks of wear with these tips! Let me know what other problems or questions you have so I can add them to the post! And check out all kinds of beauty tutorials here to keep you busy!
I save my thumbs to do last since my light is so small.
follow on: INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // PINTEREST // BLOGLOVIN’ // SNAPCHAT
✥✥✥