How to Do Shellac Nails at Home
To save money and time, I do my own shellac nails at home, and you can too! It's a small investment compared to the amount of money it takes each time to get them done in a salon, not to mention the time it takes to get to the salon, time spent waiting for your turn at the salon, etc.
And, I did a Facebook Live video to show you what I use, too. 🙂
- A few things before I start:
- I use these clips to take my Shellac manicure off. Simply soak a cotton ball in 100% Acetone and place it in the clip. The polish will come off and you can finish peeling anything that didn't come off with an orange stick.
- Salon gel nail manicures last longer. I don't know why, but they do. I wonder sometimes if it's because of the buffer machine that they use on top of the nails. I don't like that machine, so I don't mind that my manicures don't last quite as long if it means I don't have to have my nails shaved on top.
- The UV light doesn't bother me. They use the UV light in the salons, too, so I figure, either way I will get those rays, I just don't look at the light and make sure my kiddos aren't near.
- I have been doing my own gel nails since September 2011 and I have never bought new polish, foundation or anything else, so that goes to show you that it lasts a long time. I only have two colors. One summer color and one winter color. I am pretty simple, I guess.
Items You Need to do Shellac Nails at Home:
- Get your tools which include:
- UV Shellac Nail Light (I use the ThermalSpa two-hand UV Ray Shellac nail light and I love it) If you don't want to invest that much money upfront, you can get a UV light like this one here to use for one hand at a time. A lot of salons use these because they're easier to move around on the nail stations.
- pH Bond (I use this kind here)
- Foundation (The one found here is what I use)
- Shellac color of choice – Choose from loads of colors of CND Shellac Polishes here. In the picture above I am wearing Black Cherry Shellac Polish but it looks like it's no longer available. I also love the Gelish brand of nail polish vcolors. You can see some here.
- Top it Off Top Coat (This brand here has always worked well for me)
- 100% rubbing alcohol
How to do Shellac Nails at Home:
- Push down and trim your cuticles
- Wash and dry your hands
- Apply nail cleaner to nails with a cotton ball
- Apply pH Bond, cure for 15 seconds or so.
- Apply a light coat of Foundation, cure hands under light for 2-3 minutes.
- Apply one coat of your color, cure hands under light for 2 minutes.
- Apply a 2nd coat of your color (if need be, depending on the darkness of the color. Darker colors tend to need 2 coats), cure hands under light for 2 minutes.
- Apply the Top it Off top coat, cure hands under light for 2 minutes.
- Using a cotton ball, rub tops of nails with rubbing alcohol.
You're done! Enjoy your dry nails from the get-go! Oh, and your extra time! 🙂
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