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What Do You Need For Gel Nails

Dont You Ever Get Manicures In A Salon

What You Will Need To Do Gel Nails At Home By Gelulicious

But wait a second, Mary, Ive seen you on instastories getting your nails done before! Absolutely. Im not saying I never get my nails done. Youre all well aware of how much I love Glamsquad, and having their in-home offerings every month or two is one of my favorite treats. I actually love these appointments as a way of maintaining proper cuticle maintenance with a professional trimming, which isnt necessary for me every single time, but rather just every 2nd or 3rd manicure. Also, getting your nails done is always a fun, relaxing self-care moment and certainly something I like to indulge in every now and then.

Right now, however, with the coronavirus pandemic keeping everyone at home, going to the nail salon is absolutely not an option. But, outside of global health crises putting all of us on lockdown, there are also times when you simply cant make it to the salon. When you have a busy schedule, work full-time and/or have kids, regular nail salon appointments arent always realistic. You also maybe just dont feel like dropping $100+ on your nails every few weeks. Whatever your reasoning, learning to do your own gel manicures is a skill that will pay off.

Gel Top Coat Vs Regular Top Coat: What Is The Difference

Why would I use a gel top coat instead of a regular top coat? To understand this question, you have to know the essential distinction between those two types of topcoats.

What is the difference between a gel top coat and a regular top coat? Gel top coat
The gel top coat adheres over the nail polish quickly. It needs hours to adhere properly.
Lasting days It doesnt dry out at normal temperatures. So, a bottle of the topcoat can be used for many days. It dries out by getting a touch of air. So, a bottle of regular top coat cant use for long days.

How Do You Apply Primer

Your primer is always applied first. Apply acid-free primer with an almost dry brush to each nail and let it dry for around 40-60 seconds. Acid-free primer wont fully evaporate, and its okay to work on it if its still slightly wet. If youre infilling, make sure you only apply a primer to the natural nail plate.

When applying an acid primer, put 1-2 small dots on the nail. It will then spread by its own across the nail plate. With acid primer, make sure it has fully evaporated before continuing with your gel manicure.

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Moisturize Your Nails Post

You need to do major moisturizing after you remove a gel manicure, Choi says. Soak your nails in a warm lotion that contains vitamin E and use cuticle oil as often as possible. Choi also suggests indulging in a salon paraffin treatment to aid in recovery. This will help repair any damage and strengthen nails. Continue the rehab process with these 10 surprisingly easy ways to grow strong, beautiful nails.

Why Choose Polygel Instead Of Acrylics

What equipment do you need for gel nails

Polygel base takes the best features of liquid and acrylic powder and LED hard gel in a patented formula that is easy to use. Probably the most annoying thing for nail technicians when working with acrylics is that theres a very strong smell and that can quite often give people headaches if they are not used to it. Acrylic also creates dust in the air and makes a mess. Some hotels and spas tend to not use acrylic for these reasons. Polygel opens up the possibility for these rooms to offer their nail clients to improve their service because it is free of monomers and turns harder so that it only falls on the table and dont stay in the air.

Polygel is also very lightweight, much lighter than acrylic, so you can hardly notice using it. This does not mean it is not so strong, in fact, it is stronger than hard gels and much more flexible than acrylic. Polygel base takes the best features of liquid and acrylic powder and LED hard gel in a patented formula that is easy to use.

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Let Your Natural Nail Breathe In Between Gel Manicures

Whether or not you opt for a gel or traditional polish formula, the truth is that regular manis of any kind can weaken your natural nails. “The manicure process can lead to dehydration and thinning of the nail plate,” says Dr. Adigun. “I’ve seen my clients come in with peeling, thin, breaking, discolored nails and even painful nail beds,” explains Jenna.

But that fact isn’t to deter salon regulars, nor those who live for an at-home manicure. Unfortunately, according to Dr. Adigun, by not looking at your natural nail at least every two weeks you won’t be able to properly assess its condition, plus you might even be missing infections and in certain, severe cases, tumors. The thick, armor-like coating of polish also blocks nails from being able to transfer oxygen, explains Jenna.

Dr. Adigun encourages patients to avoid back-to-back gel appointments to prevent lasting damage. “I always tell my patients to go on a gel ‘honeymoon,'” says Dr. Adigun. “This break will allow their nails to rehydrate and repair.”

How To Put On Gel Nails At Home Instructions

I find it so, so much easier to finish one whole hand and have it dry before I start on the other! This process should take you about 30-40 minutes start to finish.

Think thin, thin, thin coats!

Step 1. Nail Prep Do Not Skip!

We are assuming here that you are starting out with washed, cut and dried nails that are free of all lotions- oils causes gel polish to lift!

Buff the top layer of your nails to help the gel polish better adhere. Most importantly push the cuticles on your nail bed back. Afterward, rinse your hands with water to remove any dead skin, and dry thoroughly.

You dont want any polish touching your cuticles if you want it to stick a long time!

Step 2. Rubbing Alcohol Onto Nails

Using the PH Bond from the kit, apply to your nails and let it sit for at least 30 seconds. If you are using rubbing alcohol , use a lint-free cloth like a paper towel, soak it in alcohol and rub it across your nails. The purpose of rubbing alcohol is to dehydrate your nails.

Step 3. Base Coat

Apply a THIN COAT of foundation, the base coat. I repeat: use a THIN coat. Cure in your lamp twice. Follow your lamps directions for timing.

If the base coat is too thick your gel polish will lift faster take it easy! Using the angled brush, dip it in acetone to clean any excess off your surrounding skin and cuticles. This will cause the polish to chip later.

Step 4. Polish Time!

Apply the second thin coat of polish, clean cuticles if necessary, and cure.

Step 5. Protect

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Gel Nail Polish Removers To Consider

Here are some of the most recommended gel nail polish removal methods you can use to successfully remove gel from your nails.

Keep in mind that before trying any of these methods, you should use your nail file to file the top coat lightly or a buffer to buff the top layer of gel polish off before soaking it in acetone.

1. Soaking Your Nails in Acetone

Due to the high-solvent nature of acetone, it remains as one of the best nail polish removers. However, using acetone frequently removes lots of natural oils and pales your skin, so keep your nails soaked in acetone for 15-20 minutes.

Nonetheless, it’s still a good gel polish remover. You have to settle for one of the two options to use it: file your nails and soak them in acetone, or soak cotton in acetone, and wrap your nails with cotton and foils. Either way, the polish will be out in minutes.

2. Use a Gel Removal Steamer

A gel removal steamer does just what the cold one cannot do-it steams the whole process giving a warmer environment for faster effective results.

To use it, first make sure you have filed and buffed your gel polish. Then pour the acetone remover into the base, switch on the steamer, then stick your fingers into the 5 finger holes.

Typically, most gel removal steamers will beep you, indicating its done. When youre told its complete, use an orange wood stick or a nail scrapper to scrape off the gel polish.

Repeat the process until the gel nail polish is scraped off of each nail.

Do You Need A Primer For Gel Nails

What You’ll Need For Gel Nails At Home!

Proper preparation is key to your gel manicure success. Without it, your nails can end up chipping after a few days or even peeling, meaning all that time spent creating your new nails could end in disaster!

Weve already gone through plenty of tips for preparing your nails properly for gel application, but one product that is becoming increasingly popular is primer. When used properly, it can be the key to longer-lasting gel manicures for plenty of people.

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Do I Need A Led Or Uv Nail Lamp

LED lamps cure much faster than UV! Typically an LED lamp will cure a coat of polish in 30 seconds while a UV lamp would take around 2 minutes. UV lamps typically have a bulb-life of 1000 hours while LED lamps last around 50,000 hours which means youd never have to worry about changing the bulbs (if youre not a nail tech you probably You also need to keep in mind if the brand of gel polish you are using is compatible with an LED lamp. All gel polishes will be compatible with a UV lamp, but only some brands can be cured by LED too. The bottle will say what type of lamp can be used.

I personally use this duo LED/UV lamp so I can be prepared for any polish! Ive been amazed by how well this lamp has performed and Id recommend it for anyone wanting to build a cheap beginner kit for trying gel nails at home.

How To Prepare Your Gel Nails At Home

If you already have gel paint on your nails, it will be no surprise that you will need to get these off. Using your Sponge Nail File, file the shiny side of your nails. This will make it easier for the acetone to soak into the gel paint and be easier to remove.

To remove Gel Nails, or soak gel nails at home, you will need your acetone, cotton wool, and nail clips. You will need to soak the wool in the acetone, place it on your nail, and pop on the clips to hold it over the paint. The instructions say you need to leave this on for 10-15 minutes.

As I was testing how much acetone to use, it ended up taking much longer than 10 minutes. Make sure you use enough to fully soak the nails.

An alternative to this step is purchasing the Magic Gel Remover. I have seen this widely recommended online and I will be trying it in the future.

Hopefully, your old gel will be ready to peel off. Next step grab the bits and bobs for your DIY manicure. Luckily for you, the linked At Home Gel Nail Kit includes all the bits you will need. Grab your Cuticle Pusher and scrape off the old gel, make sure to get it all. I also used the sponge nail file to file the tricky bits.

Your nails will be rough on top after the last step, so buff them slightly with the sponge nail file to even them out. Here is where you can use your cutter and file to create the shape you want to achieve. Once you have your shape, use the cuticle pusher with the nipper to remove any excess skin.

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How To Choose The Right Gel Nail Starter Kit

To select one of the best at home gel nail extension kit, here are a few crucial things you must keep in mind:

  • Check whether your shortlisted at-home gel nail kit comprises all the essential supplies listed above or not
  • Prefer a kit that has ahigh-quality LED nail lamp instead of a UV lamp as it is a healthier, safer, and quicker option to cure your nails
  • Check the lamp details before sealing the deal and look for a high powered LED nail lamp that comes with an auto-sensor, faster curing, and multiple timer options
  • If you are a beginner, grab astarter edition of your DIY gel nail kit to master the basics first.
  • Once youve practiced doing gel nails for beginners, proceed to theLuxe andDeluxe edition to get your hands on more nail colors and intricate tools.

Whats A Gel Manicure And How Does It Differ From Regular Polish

How to Do Gel Nails at Home

So, what am I actually talking about? Im talking about gel manicures using gel polish thats cured with an LED light. I use gel or shellac products for manicures because even a good quality regular polish will only last me a maximum of four days. And thats provided its an incredible manicure and I avoid doing the dishes or anything overly strenuous with my hands for that period of time. By contrast, a good gel or shellac manicure can last me a full three weeks without chippingseriouslyand I can do all the dishes I want. In many cases, I only replace my gel manicure at the three week mark not because its chipped, but because my nails have grown out.

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What Is The Best Polygel Nail Kit For Beginners

After PolyGel nails hit the market and were welcomed by nail enthusiasts, other companies follow.

Below is the list of companies that make similar products to PolyGel. They price their products lower than that of a brand name one.

However, these PolyGel nail kits are great in quality and a good choice for beginners, especially for young customers or people who want to try PolyGel out without having to spend a lot of money on it.

I found these brands on amazon that I think are the best PolyGel nail kits for beginners or for people who are price-conscious.

What Is Gel Nails Refill Or Retouching

The Nails Retouching is the Periodic Maintenance that any type of Nails Extension Treatment requires, but often people do not exactly know the characteristics of the Refill and the reason why it has to be done! This is why we decided to talk about it in detail in this Page of our Nails Blog going to define every step and understand what are the Uv Gel for Nails Extension…Enjoy your Reading!

What do we mean when we talk about Retouching?

Many times our Customers and Followers make this question…here is therefore the time to tell you exactly what it is and why it is essential to know how to correctly perform a Professional Retouching!

When we speak of the Retouching – often also called Refill – we mean exactly the Maintenance that Nails Extension requires: during weeks the Natural Nail continues to grow and the Extended part with the Gel Nails moves away from the Cuticles area…exactly as it happens to the hair with the dye!

When growth appears unaesthetic and the Extended Nails show the first signs of yielding, it is time to do the Retouching or Refill, generally about after 3-4 weeks.

During the Retouching the customer may decide to modify the Shape, Color and Works created in the previous appointment without any problem: contrary to what we could mistakenly think of the word Refill, in fact, the Gel is almost entirely eliminated to then proceed according to the requests of the Customer.

But Let’s See together what are the Stages of a Professional Retouching!

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How Much Do You Know About Builder Gels

When it comes to nail extensions, we have so many options to play with these days from glitter acrylics to stunning nail art effects, the nail world never ceases to amaze!

So, its more important than ever to get a good grasp of the basics.

Having just introduced the instantly popular gel nail range, Glossify, here at Salons Direct we thought it was a good time to answer some of the most commonly asked questions around builder gels.

Want to know the benefits of gel manicures? Or whether gel or acrylic is better for your clients? Keep reading to find out!

How To Do Gel Nails At Home For Beginners The Step By Step Guide

Prep Products You Need For Japanese Gel Nail Application [Japanese Gel Nail Fundamental Series #05]

Please note: For each of the below steps, I would recommend that you go through them one hand at a time doing 5 nails on one hand first. You can then simply repeat the process for your other hand.

Step One: To begin your gel manicure, you should first make sure that your nails are clean and free of old polish and any dirt.

You want to ensure that they are well-groomed. This includes pushing your cuticles back following the shape and giving the nail plate a very light buff.

This is going to add a little texture for the gel to grab onto and to take hold. Just make sure you stop once your nail starts to turn whitish

Step Two: After you have prepped and cleaned each and every one of your nails, use a lint-free wipe and rubbing alcohol to cleanse the nail.

This is going to remove any debris and oils from your nail which are things that cause your Mani to not last as long.

If you have particularly oily nails, or if you often have trouble with polish or Gel lasting, I recommend using a Nail Primer. This particular one dries sticky which really helps the gel grab onto the natural nail.

With the primer, I like to just apply it in the areas of concern like around the cuticle, the sides, and the tip.

Now a quick warning from my experience if your primer is heavy-duty, if youre wanting to remove your gel sooner than a week maybe skip this step because it seems like the longer its on, the harder the removal process is.

Step Five: So now its time to apply your color gel.

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