So gel nails at home is a little bit of an investment at first but it’s more cost effective than paying $35-$50 every two weeks at the salon.
You need...
a UV or LED lamp
Nail file/buffer
Gel Foundation (100% acetone)
Gel Cleanser(91% alcohol)
Lint Free Wipes(cotton balls)
Gel Color Polish
Gel Base& Top Coat
Probably the easiest (but not most cost effective) thing to do is buy the Sensationails Gel Starter Kit from WalMart for $50. It comes with instructions, the LED lamp, the teeniest tiniest bottles of foundation, cleanser, color, topcoat and a few other things you really don’t need.
To get the most for your money…
Buy a UV or LED lamp on amazon for $25-$50.
Gel foundation retails for about $15 but it’s just 100% acetone, you can find it at Walmart for $1 for a small bottle.
Gel cleanser retails for about $10 but it’s just 91% alcohol, you can find it at Walmart for $1.80 for a huge bottle.
Lint free wipes retails for about $12 for 100 but you can use cotton balls or cotton pads, just be careful not to leave any fuzzies on your nails or they will get stuck under the gel and you cannot get them off without removing the whole gel nail.
Gel color polish retails for $15-30 but you can find them on amazon for $7-$12. I’ve found that IBD has the cheapest color polish and OPI and Gelish are the most expensive on amazon. Also, pay attention to what size you're buying. Most bottles are .5 oz but some, like Sensationails, are 2.5oz or less.
Gel base and topcoat retails for about $30 but you can find it on amazon for $8-$15. Again, pay attention to the bottle size.
APPLICATION
Make sure you have everything you need right in front of you! There will be a tacky moisture layer on your nails from the first time you cure until you completely finish your nails and they will get ruined if you accidentally bump them. The whole process takes me 20-30 minutes. And make sure you’re in a well-ventilated area, the gel fumes are a lot stronger than regular polish.
Prep your nails, remove old polish, trim, file, and buff.
Swipe the gel cleanser over each nail using your lint free wipes.
Apply a thin coat of gel foundation over each nail and let air dry (this takes seconds).
Apply a thin coat of gel base over each nail and across the top edge of each nail, cure for 30 seconds (I cure my four fingers, pinky to pointer together and then my two thumbs together).
Apply a thin coat of gel color over each nail and cure for 1-2 minutes depending on the brand of gel color (it should say on the gel color bottle).
Repeat until you reach desired color, curing for 1-2 minutes between each coat (Usually two coats is enough but try not to do more than three because the thicker your polish the more likely it is to chip).
Apply a thin layer of topcoat and cure for 1 minute.
Wipe your nails with the gel cleanser and lint free wipes to remove the moisture layer.
Your nails are finished!! There is no drying time so you can touch them, do dishes, chase your kids…They should be super shiny and chip-free up to two weeks for nails and 6 weeks for toes!
There are two methods in removing your gel nails. This process takes 20+ minutes.
Method 1 : Fill a small bowl with 100% acetone and let your nails soak for 15 minutes. Try to gently peel off the gel nail, if it doesn’t budge, soak it longer and try again. You can also use a cuticle pusher to gently scrape off the gel nail.
Method 2 : Use an acetone soaked cotton ball, place on gel nail andcover in foil, let site for 15 minutes. Try to gently peel off the gel nail, ifit doesn’t budge, rewrap for longer and try again. You can also use a cuticle pusher to gently scrape off the gel nail. You can buy gel soak off foil wraps but they retail between $30-50.
Here's how they look after a week! A little grown out but still pretty close to perfect!
(yes, this is the same polish as in the picture above, it just looks different because of the filter)
Have you tried them yet?? Let me know what you think! And if you've read through all this but don't want to buy all the stuff just come to my house! I do them for $10 :)
