I recently bought a Groupon for a mani-pedi at a local salon and felt like it was a great deal – I paid $27 for a $60 value manicure. When I called to schedule the appointment I mentioned that I wanted gel nail polish and she told me that would be $15 more. When I got to my appointment she was only going to do my fingernails with gel polish and when I told her I wanted the toes in gel polish also she said that would be ANOTHER $15. After tip I ended up paying $67 for my mani-pedi. Not only that, but I was at the salon for nearly three hours and felt like I had to entertain the manicurist the whole time. I left there feeling like I had wasted my time and money since I can do my own gel nail polish at home for SO much less!
All you need are a few simple, inexpensive tools and you can do your own gel nail polish manicure at home and save a bundle! Here’s the list of the things you’ll need to do your own gel nail polish manicures at home:
- UV Lamp
- pH Bond Nail Prep
- Gel Polish Base Coat
- Gel Nail Polish
- Gel Polish Top Coat
- Pure Acetone Remover
- Lint Free Nail Wipes
- Nail Buffer and Fingernail File
- Soak Off Nail Caps
I’m currently obsessed with heat sensitive gel polish that changes color and I think I now have about 15 different colors. In the pictures above I’m wearing Ice Queen from DIY Hard Nails
, which changes color from a light lilac when warm to a dark purple when cold, but normally has dark purple tips.
To give yourself a professional gel polish manicure at home follow these easy steps:
- Trim, file and buff your nails until smooth to prepare for the polish.
- Apply a coat of pH Bond.
- Apply a thin coat of Gel Polish Base Coat
then cure under UV Lamp
for two minutes.
- Apply a thin coat of your favorite Gel Nail Polish
then cure under UV Lamp
for two minutes. Repeat for a second coat.
- Apply a thin coat of Gel Polish Top Coat
, being sure to cover the tips and sides, then cure under UV Lamp
for two minutes.
- Wipe nails with a Lint Free Nail Wipe
soaked in acetone to remove the tacky feel.
To remove soak off gel nail polish:
- Using a nail file buff off the shiny top coat.
- Soak a cotton ball or cotton square in Acetone and hold in place over the fingernail with a soak off nail cap
.
- Keep caps on for ten minutes then use a cuticle pusher
to scrape off the loosened polish.
- Buff nails until smooth.
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