How I Do My Nails At Home

I started doing my nails at home a few years ago because, to be honest, the cost of going to the salon was just too high! I grew up doing my nails with my mom and I always liked having my nails done, but since I couldn’t afford to go get professional manicures all the time, I began doing research online and ended up gradually learning to do them myself.
I fell in love with gel manicures when I tried them with a friend of mine and realized how quickly they dry and how sturdy they are! I’m always doing things with my hands and I love that gel is much more chip-resistant than regular polish.
I’ve had a lot of friends ask me about how I do my nails at home, so here is my step-by-step guide and all of the products I use!

step 1: fit the extensions and prep your nails

I like to use soft gel extensions to add length to my nails - my natural nails are too brittle for me to grow them out as long as I like, and I like the soft gel extensions because you can soak them off with acetone.

Fit the extensions to your nail beds. This typically requires me to file down the bottom of the nail extension so the shape matches my natural nail bed.
Clean, dry, and buff your nail beds. This will help the glue adhere to your nail better.

step 2: glue the extensions on

For this part of the process, you’ll need gel nail glue and a UV curing lamp - I strongly recommend using a mini UV lamp as it is much easier to hold the nail on while it is curing.

Place a small amount of glue on the center of your nail. Don’t get too close to the edges of your nail to avoid the glue spilling over when you press the nail down.
Place the nail extension on your nail. I like to angle the extension down into my cuticle and then press the rest of it onto my nail bed. The glue should spread out and cover your entire nail.
If needed, clean up any spillover. If the gel glue gets on your skin it will burn under the UV light, so if I have any spillover, I’ll wrap some cotton around a wooden nail pusher and clean up the glue before curing it.
Cure.

step 3: file down the length/shape

Typically, the nail extensions I use come much longer than I like them, so here’s what I do to shorten and shape them:

Cut them down using a nail clipper. I’ll usually cut them so they’re just slightly longer than the length I want them, so I still have some room to shape them.
Shape with a nail file. This part of the process takes me the longest because I’m a perfectionist. I’ll use the coarser side of the nail file to start and then switch to the finer side to finish.

NAIL CLIPPER

I’ve had a pair like this for well over a decade and I LOVE how easy it is to hold!

shop

step 4: paint!

Generally, the process with gel is paint and cure. You’ll paint 1 layer of polish onto your nail and then cure it under the UV lamp for 30-60 seconds. The UV lamp is what dries the nail polish so quickly!

Apply a base coat. Be careful not to get any on your skin - I’ve found that the base and top coat burn on the skin when you cure it under the UV lamp.
Apply your color. I typically do 2 coats to get an even, opaque finish.
Apply a top coat. Similar to the base coat, be sure to clean up any that accidentally gets on your skin before curing it. I like to make sure and put some top coat over the top edge of the tips of my nails so that it provides a little extra chip protection.

MY FAVORITE NAIL POLISHES:

TAUPE POLISH
TRANSLUCENT POLISH (great for french tips/to go under nail designs - I use Mocha Mousse which is great for more tan skin)
NUDE POLISH

removal process

The main con of doing nail extensions is that it does take a considerable amount of time to remove them - I’ve tried a few different removal methods and here is what I like to do:

File the top layer of polish off of your nail. I use a coarse nail file to do this
Soak in acetone. I’ve found that using a heated soaking device like this willo wash is significantly faster than using cotton pads and foil (it also feels a little more luxurious and doesn’t dry out your hands as much).
Scrape the gel off. When the gel is ready to be “scraped” off, it should be pretty soft and shouldn’t be very difficult to remove. I use this scraper tool to help get the polish off, but if you’re finding yourself having to push/scrape really hard, it’s a good sign you should soak your nail for a little bit longer.
Repeat those steps until you’re done!