Gel Manicure That Will Give You Salon Vibes

Hey Friends! What if I told you that you could get a gel manicure that will give you salon vibes from the comfort of your own home? I have been doing my own gel manicure for over a year now and I don’t plan on ever going back to the salon. Although I have shared this before on my Instagram, I got a ton of questions on it. So here it is, my step-by-step guide on how I get salon quality nails from home.

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For this you will need to have either a LED lamp or UV lamp. I would recommend getting a LED lamp as it is safer for your skin. If you happen to have an UV lamp already make sure you use SPF on your hands before we start.

NOTE: I will not be linking any of the products I have and used during this because I don’t feel that they work the best. You can definitely find a better LED light and nail polish on Amazon or at whatever beauty supply store you have around you. If you’d like you can check back later in my shop to see what I end up going with in the future.

STEP ONE: Prep nails

• on clean nails gently push down cuticles
• use nail file to roughen up the surface of the nail

STEP TWO: Clean nails

• use a paper towel or any other lint free cloth with alcohol to clean nail of any debris that there might be left over

STEP THREE: Base coat

• apply a THIN coat of base gel, making your layer too thick can cause it to bubble up when drying and not set right
• if you get any polish on your skin or cuticle, take a clean piece of paper towel or a small brush with alcohol and gently wipe it off – if any is left on skin or cuticle it can cause the polish to lift or peel off and we don’t want that!

STEP FOUR: LED lamp

• follow the directions of your lamp – cure the polish by placing your hand under the lamp for 60 – 120 seconds

STEP FIVE: Gel nail color

• apply your first coat of color evenly – its going to be sheer and might be streaky and that is totally fine don’t worry
• if you get any on the cuticle or skin make sure you wipe that off with alcohol as it can cause your polish to life and peel off

STEP SIX: LED lamp

• following the directions on your lamp – cure your nails for 30 – 60 seconds

STEP SEVEN: Gel nail color

• add your second coat of nail polish – this should make your nail color less streaky
• if you are doing a darker color you might need to do a third layer – if you are doing a lighter color two coats should be fine

STEP EIGHT: LED lamp

• following the directions on your lamp – cure your nails for 30 – 60 seconds

STEP NINE: Top coat

• apply a THIN layer of top coat to your nail – making sure not to apply too much as it can cause the polish to bubble up and lift off the nail making it not last even 1 week
• make sure you take off any extra from your skin or cuticle using a brush or cloth with alcohol

STEP TEN: LED lamp

• following the directions on your lamp – cure for 60 – 120 seconds

* Depending on which gel nail polish you are using, your final step might be to clean off sticky coat with alcohol -however the one I am using does not require this step

Alright so that’s it, pretty easy right?! Let me know how your nails turned out if you used my guide! XOXO

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