Gel Polish 101

Congratulations on the upgrade to DIY gel polish. You won't be sorry you did. Gel polish lasts 2-3 weeks without losing it's shine, it's chip free, and there's no drying time! Plus, it helps your nails to stay strong and resist breakage so you can keep your natural nails long and beautiful. Follow along for an easy step by step gel polish tutorial.

You will need:

UV/LED Lamp
Gel base coat 
Gel colour coat
Gel top coat
Lint free wipes
Isopropyl alcohol 

Before starting any new polish application, I highly recommend prepping your nails if you want the polish to last. If you're not sure how, you can check out my post here. 

Start by painting a thin layer of base coat. It will protect your natural nails and give the gel a layer to stick to. Make sure to paint the edge of your nail as well to prevent chips. If you get the gel on your skin, clean it off with ispopropyl alcohol and a lint free wipe before you put your hand in the lamp. If you don't wipe the gel off before curing, it will cure to your skin and cause the polish to lift. Now it's time to cure (harden) the gel. Put your hand inside the lamp and cure for 2 minutes in UV and 30 Sec. for LED.

After the base coat has been cured you can start with the polish colour. This is my favourite gel polish brand, you can check out my review and find out where to get it here. Paint in thin layers so the polish doesn't run and make a mess of your cuticles. Wipe any polish off of the skin before curing. I paint 3 thin layers of colour gel (curing after each coat.) The first coat will be light and gets darker with each coat. It will still be sticky at this point so resist the urge to touch it after it has come out of the lamp.

COAT #1

COAT #3

Now for the final step, the top coat. There's a few different kinds of top coat you can choose from. The "no clean" means that you can skip the step of wiping the nail after curing because there is no sticky layer. Same goes for the matte and tempered top coat as well. As always, keep this layer thin as most top coats are very runny. Don't forget to paint along the edge of the nails as well. Cure. If there is a sticky layer, use the isopropyl alcohol on a lint free wipe to cleanse the nail.

Apply cuticle oil on the skin around the nails to rehydrate and keep the cuticles healthy.  Now all that's left is to enjoy your inexpensive, salon quality mani that will get compliments everywhere you go. WARNING: Friends and family will love your new gel nails so much, they will want you to do theirs next. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Once you have mastered gel polish application, why not try nail stamping?!?

When you're ready to remove your gel polish, read my tutorial here. Never pick off your gel mani. Soak if off properly to avoid damaging your nails!!! Check out more nail art tutorials here.