How to do an at-home gel manicure

Sharing everything you need to know about how to do gel nails at home

Click here: Instagram ( cmclifestyle__ ) to see a video tutorial of me doing my nails with the products I mention below.

The holidays are around the corner so I used my tree and ornaments as inspiration for my holiday nails this year! I did a champagne color with gold sparkle on one nail, because IMO, a little sparkle is always a good idea, especially for the holidays.

Step by Step Instructions:

Cut your nails with a nail clipper. Any kind you have at home should do the trick.
File your nails to your preferred shape and length. Any nail file you have would work!
File your entire nail with a Buffing Block . I linked the one I used but if you have one it should work fine. The key is to make sure to file your whole nail at least a little, if your nail is completely shiny and has no abrasion or texture, the nail polish will not last as long.
Wash your hands with just water (no soap). This is to just get the nail filings off of your nails and not to get stuck in the polish.
For the next few steps I recommend this: nail kit . This is what I use and it includes everything you will need and is a little cheaper than buying them all individually. Tip: I recommend doing only one hand at a time, it will save you some frustration when you are trying to use the cleanse at the end with a cotton ball and it sticks to your uncured, sticky nail. UGH, believe me, I am speaking from experience. I think it’s much easier to stick to one hand at a time.
Apply the pH bond and you can move right onto the next step. You actually don’t need the to cure this step under the UV light.
Apply the foundation coat, this step you will need to cure. I usually use the 90 second setting just to be safe but you would most likely be fine curing for only 60 seconds. I use this nail light and it is honest to goodness one of my best purchases (right now it’s actually 10% off too!). I bought it, no joke, about 6 years and it still works so great! Because mine is so old, I linked the newer model but I know the newer model works just as well. My friend was over about a month ago now and wanted to do her nails so she used all of my products. She fell in love the this nail light, so she bought the model I linked and loves it so much. She told me her nails lasted 2.5 weeks and she had to purposefully take them off just because of the nail growth. I highly recommend this light as it is cheaper than OPI or Gelish and I find that it works the same, if not better.
Apply the nail color, I usually do two coats so I apply to all of my nails on one hand then cure under the light. Then repeat that step again. I used this gel nail polish (shade: Pale to the Chief) but you can use any color you prefer! This is another great color for the holidays: red gel nail polish
Next I applied the glitter nail polish: I used this glitter gel nail polish . This is another glitter gold option that looks really nice as well, but you can use any glitter you like. I applied it to only my ring fingers but again, you can do it how you prefer! I just wanted a little touch of glitter.
Apply the top coat, and cure once more.
IMPORTANT STEP: apply the nail surface cleanse onto a cotton pad (this is included in that kit I suggested above) then apply it to all of your nails that you have polished. This sets the nail and takes away any tacky/stickiness that the top coat leaves. Once you apply the nail surface cleanse you are all done and the nails are completely dry! (what I LOVE about gel!)
Repeat steps 1-11 on the other hand.

Especially right now (with some nail salons closed or if they’re open, you may just not feel comfortable going into the salon), I have been SO happy that I had these products to do my nails at home. Aside from the current situation we are in, it is so much more economical- I have saved so much money! There is an initial investment in buying these products I mentioned to get started but if you really think about it, you would pay $40-$50 with tip for a gel manicure in a salon approximately every two weeks. That’s $1040-$1300 a year, if you keep up with it! I think it’s beyond worth it to have these products at home and save money while also feeling comfortable in your own home. Plus, I have had my nail light for 6 years, I think my investment was well worth it lol.

As always if anyone has any questions, please let me know!

xx,

CMC