I know many of you are interested in at-home gel nails. We like to bring salon-quality home. This is usually safer and quite easy to perform. Not right away though… Gel manicure is one of the things that girls like to do at home more and more often. How to do it for flawless effect?
The most popular gel-nail scenario looks as follows: you have your mind set on gel nails, get a lamp (after realizing its price is equal to one mani at the salon), nail polishes, acetone and other essentials. You apply the nail polish which… gets on the cuticles as well!
This is the point when you feel discouraged, hide the lamp and make a salon appointment. Stop! Don’t give up so easily. Every girl faces gel-nail fails at first. After all, it isn’t like regular manicure. Some mistakes and fails are inevitable and you should only learn from them. You can also use some great tips I share below. Hopefully, they will let you apply gel mani easily at home.
How to do gel manicure at home?
- Prime your nails. File the nails and push the cuticles. Always use a gentle nail file: paper or ideally glass one. This way you avoid ragged nail edges and the nail polish coming off.
- Speaking of the nail edges, you should cover them with the polish to make the effect longer-lasting. Of course don’t overuse the product: one stroke of a brush before each curing in the lamp will do.
- Do you know what a cleanser is? This is the nail artists’ secret weapon. Even if you’ve got a top-quality lamp, your mani won’t last long if you forget to degrease and slightly mattify the plates. So, get a cleanser and never skip it! This product is essential and that’s why it was made!
- Lint-free wipes rock! Have you ever wondered why nail artists don’t use the cotton pads we use for removing make-up? It turns out they have some tiny hairs that can effectively spoil your manicure in a second. They get on the nails and are cured under the lamp – this doesn’t look good and leaves you with bumpy nails. If the air gets under the polish it keeps the gel from lasting. This means you will need to do your nails again after less than two weeks.
- Nail polishes getting on the cuticles – this nightmare is known to all gel-mani beginners. How to handle this problem? Luckily, there are a few ways. Pushing the cuticles right before applying the color works best for me. I also try not to apply the polish too close to the skin, leaving approx. 1 mm gap (when you put the nails in the lamp the polish may spread to the sides a bit but your cuticles will be free from it anyway).
That’s it. I hope my tips will help you create stunning gel nails. Let me know what you think.
