Gel Nailpolish at Home?

Discussion in 'Chatty Pad' started by Karen, May 17, 2018.

  1. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

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    So... I don't do manicures or pedicures at the salon... like ever. I did for my wedding over 15 years ago and hadn't been back since until two weeks ago. My friend's son got married two weekends ago and she was going to get her nails done and didn't want to go alone. I offered to go with her and ended up getting shellac/gel nail polish on my fingers. I was amazed at how well it held up to everything I did to them! I got my nails done on Thursday and the following Sunday was my son's confirmation and party at our house, so I was planting flowers in the backyard, I did mulch, I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and my nails were still just as shiny as they were the day they were done!

    So, now that I'm all gung ho about gel nail polish, do any of you do this at home? I know if I want to do it at home I have to get a UV or LED light (not sure the difference) and of course I'd need to buy nail polish too. If you do your own nails at home, what kind of light should I get? I found one on Amazon for about $27 that was highly rated. Also, where you buy the gel nail polish and what kinds do you like?
     
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  2. cfile

    cfile My bags are packed for Platform 9 3/4

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    Karen, I don't do my own nails, but go once a month for a gel shellac manicure and regular pedicure.... re the gel shellac, I always get French manicure... it costs a few dollars more for french, but I do that as french, so that when my nails grow, no one can see that they have grown out... I only like going once a month. I cannot cut my nails etc as my hands cramp and I am really bad at painting them so to save on frustration and all of that I go once a month and treat myself :)

    If you have a Sally Hanson store near you, they are a beauty supply... the issue too is the removal.. it took me over an hour to remove myself as it doesn't come off with normal NP remover.. you may need acetone or something like that... all of these things you can get at Sally Hanson.. the name of the gel shellac that they use on me at the nail salon is Opi which is also available at the Beauty supply. Good luck my dear!!!
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2018
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  3. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

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    i bought some no UV light needed gel nail polish. that's about as far and fancy as i get. :giggle it works better than regular polish/lasts a bit longer.

    i know the shellac gel stuff is awesome - but i am clueless. we need to call in a nail polish expert i think ... paging @AllisonPennington !!!
     
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  4. Cherylndesigns

    Cherylndesigns All glasses should be bigger than 1.5 oz

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    I get them done at the salon, too. I get what they call the "gel dip". They dip each finger in a little pot of powder (the color you want) and then your hands go into the UV light thingie. I'm about the same as Christa, @cfile - I can stretch mine to about 3 weeks, but I get a very neutral color so the grow out doesn't show as much. I sometimes get the French too. I love white nails, but the grow out really shows and I have to go more often.

    Like Christa said, it's the taking them off yourself that's the problem (if you do them yourself).
     
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  5. carrie1977

    carrie1977 Tequila and Taco Tuesday

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    I like to get mine done at the salon. Even the home gel manicure products, for me, don't last long. IDK what it is about my nails but the polish comes off within a day or two. Drives me crazy because it's so time consuming when I do it myself.

    I agree with the removal of the gel. So.Much.Time.
     
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  6. AllisonPennington

    AllisonPennington Queen of the Realm

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    I have a UV light and a few bottles of gel. I like it but I tend to change colors too often to bother with it. I really like the snazzy gels, though. The color changing, flashy ones. :)
     
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  7. amien1

    amien1 I do enjoy a good exclamation point!

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    Oh! I'm curious about this too! I love the look of my nails when just polished- but working with so many chemicals, frequent hand washing & sanitizer at work just strips it right off. I have pretty soft nails, so I feel like the gel might help them stay a bit stronger? But I'm also too cheap to have them done often at the salon. Totally following along for info! ;) ;)
     
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  8. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

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    I totally agree about the time it takes to take the gel stuff back off! I had to take mine off a couple days ago because the grow out was SO much. My nails were growing like crazy apparently! Plus, I HAD to cut my nails. I can't stand long nails because I do so much typing for work and just because... so I took the polish off just so I could cut my nails. Lol!

    I really want to try this at home still even though i know it takes a long time to remove, but man it's going to be costly to buy the light and some nail polish, plus a set of base coat and top coat and then I'll be mad if I don't like it. Hmmmm.... I was hoping for some glowing reviews here. :giggle
     
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  9. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

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    I never heard of a powder dip. Sounds intriguing!
     
  10. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

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    Why does this not surprise me. :giggle I love it! Wouldn't it be so cool to somehow have digital nail polish that we could change with a click of our mouse? I would SO use some of your funky papers on my nails if I could!
     
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  11. cfile

    cfile My bags are packed for Platform 9 3/4

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    re the grow out and trimming.. agree... I still say French as you don't really notice the grow out. I am going in a few minutes for my monthly appt. I have one nail that I tore and it is right below the tip of my finger so it is in the ouch section.. it is a week and a half now since I gorilla glued it and it is still holding.. I don't want to pay for a nail tip as they are my own nails, but not sure they will go for my gorilla glue fix :)
     
  12. cookingmylife

    cookingmylife Pizza would be my last meal, except ...

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    Salon technicians shrieking in horror :nuno or maybe awe....:perfect But good save Christa!

    I rarely do my own nails other to file them down quite a bit. About twice a year I'll get a manicure when I get a pedicure if they have their special for $35 for both. I never know when they'll have that but I do get a pedicure about every 6 weeks. I occasionally buy a light shade I like - usually Opi - and put just one coat on. Then it's kind of like 'overlay or soft light' on my nails. Because it's just me at home mostly, I can't see spending the money for gel manicures.

    The last polish I bought was Sally Hanson Color Therapy (Namas-Grey). Somehow I thought it was one of the new no-light gels but it wasn't. Strangely enough, after a couple of days with just the one coat I put on a 2nd coat to see if I liked it opaque and it started wearing off, not chipping, the next day. Weird.
     
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  13. MiekSter

    MiekSter We only regret the chances we didn't take

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    I love long nails that are beautiful polished... Unfortunately with my job I'm not allowed to have long and polished nails. I love to get a set of gel nails in summer before we go on holiday, and I go to the salon sometimes to get shellac on my toe nails. I haven't found nail polish that stays on my toes as long as the shellac from the salon does
     
  14. cfile

    cfile My bags are packed for Platform 9 3/4

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    @Karen Karen- Here is my before / after.... @cookingmylife LOL Maureen re nail salon shreiking in horror... LOL I showed my person who I always go to, my issue and my gg fix... he was very sweet.. he said lets get the polish off and see where we are at... anyway, as you can see before I left for the salon the nails were long..and in the second photo - bottom yellow square is the growth area. You can barely tell from looking at them that they need to be done because it is the french manicure. It was the 18th of April when I went last month...the top box shows the tear half of the nail... anyway he cut the nails half way off and he was impressed with my gg. It was still together pretty good after taking polish off and trimming etc. but he said it will not make it very long, so he dipped that nail in the gel powder to fix it.... he didn't even charge me for the fix!!! Then he finished the gel nails and voila.. we are good for another month! Re pedicure I only do a regular french on my feet. I get the Gel Shellac as it also strenghthens them.

    nails.jpg

    I will tell you the reason I switched to gel shellac too.. it was about 5 years ago when I was there and I had to sit at the dryer for my toes and hands and I got up to leave and the technician wanted me to wait and do another few minutes.. they had these funny stools all white glossed seats with a slant to it.. the back higher than the front. So going to sit back down and not seeing the stool had spun around I thought the back was the front and the front was the back with my eyes and depth perception. When I sat down, I slid off the back of the stool onto the ground, missing my coxic bone by a slight margin. I was in such pain and all... I think they (- the technicians and Owner's mother) thought I was going to sue them and own the place, LOL. I hurt myself and it took a long time for me to heal but all was ok. After that I refused to sit on those stools and found with the Gel Shellac I could be done and leave after my nails were completed as they used the UV lamps. I have been happy since as like I said, I only go once a month and my nails always look good and are strong! The Gel Shellac is very durable for me :)
     
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  15. bbymks5

    bbymks5 Where oh where can it be?!?

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    I'm too chicken to try the at home kits...the polish just behave so much different than your typical polishes, but I do love how long they last!
     
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  16. Scrapping with Liz

    Scrapping with Liz Crafts for days.

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    I reviewed some at home gel stuff awhile ago. I was really wanting to try it at home. I think you need more than the light...do you need the base coat, top coat, remover, etc...? I think I was confused by all the different things I might need.
     
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  17. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

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    Yeah, I think you'd need a base coat, polish, top coat AND the darn light. For now I'm holding off because it's expensive for all that and then if I don't like it, I'll be mad I spent the money. I did remove the gel polish myself when I had it done in the salon and it did take awhile, but I did while watching a show on Netflix and it came off pretty well after soaking in acetone nail polish remover for about 10 minutes. Definitely not as easy as just removing regular nail polish.


    @cfile thanks for the pictures! Both of my girlfriends that went with me that day did french manicures and are happy with the fact that it blends well to hide the growth. I did a really light soft pink so my growth didn't show too bad either unless you were really inspecting them. :)
     
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  18. NancyBeck

    NancyBeck Happy resident of Pollyville

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    For years, I got acrylic nails. I discovered gel a year or two ago and have never looked back! I wouldn't consider doing it myself though. My old hands are just too shaky. I seldom break a nail with gel either. It's really strong and quite wonderful!
     
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  19. Danyale

    Danyale Always one step behind Waldo

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    I have bought some really cool "Gel" shine clear and colors which have some of the same hardness but def not the professional touch or resiliency. I noticed that even with the layers of the plain "Gel" stuff they can literally peel off in sheets. Not at all like the layers shelac they do professionally. Ugh. I wish there was line of miracle layer or two that just keep them hard enough not to break. My options have been seriously diminished here in the EU. Hahaha!
     
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  20. Scrapping with Liz

    Scrapping with Liz Crafts for days.

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    That's pretty much why I never went through with purchasing anything. I didn't want to spend all the money and not have it work. I still kind of want to try it though!
     
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