Gel nails are durable and fashionable, but they require a lot of labour to apply. You can make a gel manicure that looks professional with the appropriate equipment and methods. Before putting on the gel, glue on a set of nail tips to give length and drama. Once the shiny surface of both your natural nails and the tips has been roughened up with a buffing block, you can apply all of the gel layers from your cuticle to the free edge of the fake nail tip. Before completing your manicure, cure the gel under a UV or LED nail lamp and be sure to tidy up the edges with a nail file. Read the following article to know about how to do gel nail with tips.
Step 1: Getting Your Natural Nails Ready
Begin with clean, unpolished nails
Get rid of any old nail paint, gel nails, or tips before beginning the manicure. Wash your hands after using acetone to remove any remnants of the old manicure so that you have a clean surface to apply the new manicure to.
- With acetone and a cotton swab, remove nail polish.
- Before removing old gel manicures, place cotton swabs in acetone.
- Use an acetone soak to get rid of any outdated tips and remaining nail adhesive.
Utilize a cuticle pusher to push back your cuticles
If you like, soak your hands in warm water for 5 to 10 minutes to soften your cuticles. The thin layer of cuticle skin can then be pushed back against your nail fold by gently pressing a cuticle pusher against it. Make as much of your natural nail visible as you can to make the gel nails last longer.
- To push back your cuticles, you can use an orangewood stick, a metal or plastic cuticle pusher, or both.
- If required, use a cuticle trimmer to remove any hangnails.
- Apply cuticle oil after you’ve completed painting your nails to avoid preventing the lacquer from adhering properly.
Apply a 150-grit buffer block to the surface of your natural nails to buff it
Holding the buffer block parallel to each nail plate, gently rub the block across your nail with short strokes. Buff your nails until the entire surface is just a little bit dull. You will do this to give the smooth, shiny texture some roughness to aid in the gel’s adhesion. Make sure to dull down the entire nail plate, including the sides and corners, as gel won’t adhere to a shiny nail surface.
To get rid of grease and dust, clean your nails using gel cleanser
Rub each nail’s surface with a cotton pad that has been saturated in a gel cleanser. Wipe continuously until no more natural oils or buffing dust is visible.
Step 2: Using the Tips
Select tips that are transparent or natural and have the ideal shape and length
Choose from any of the various nail tip lengths and shapes depending on the manicure style you’re looking for, making sure to use clear or natural tips. Coffin, almond, stiletto, square, rounded or oval, and squoval are common nail tip forms. Extra-short, short, medium, long, and extra-long are the usual lengths available for them. Avoid using white tips since they need a lot more work to get the gel to adhere.
Give each of your natural nails a nail tip that matches its width
Purchase a set of ten or more tips online or at a nearby beauty store. Give one of the tips from the set to each of your natural nails. Find a tip that exactly matches the size of your natural nail to do this. The sides of your natural nail should completely match up with the edges of the tip.
Your natural nails’ ends should be covered with adhesive while applying the tips
The well on the bottom of the first nail tip should be filled with a little amount of nail adhesive. Â Maintaining precise alignment between the sides of your natural nail and its tip, press the entire well region down into it. Until the binding is solid, keep the tip in place for 5 to 10 seconds. Apply the remaining 9 nail tips one by one to the appropriate natural nails.
To remove the shine, buff the nail tip’s surface
Like you would with your natural nails, buff the nail tip’s surface with a 150-grit file. To create a textured, drab surface, apply light strokes.
Using a manicure brush and gel cleaner, remove the dust
To get rid of any polishing-related dust, soak a cotton pad in gel cleaner and wipe each nail. Next, use a manicure brush to remove any lingering dust and dirt from the area around your nails.
Step 3: Adding the Gel
Paint over a thin layer of primer gel from your cuticle to the free edge
Scoop up a tiny bead of priming gel or base coat with a flat, narrow brush. Apply a tiny layer to each nail. When you get to the free edge, drag the product across your natural nail and the tip with the brush starting at your cuticle. Beginning in the centre of your nail, make one stroke, then make parallel strokes on either side.
A whole gel kit is available from a vendor online or in a beauty supply store. Choose one that has every component you’ll need, including the priming gel, brushes, hard or soft gel, topcoat, and drying lamp. For optimum results, use a primer gel made by the same company that makes the gel you’ll be using.
Under a UV or LED nail lamp, let the primer gel cure
Put your manicured nails in front of the drying lamp. Turn on the bulb and let it run through one drying cycle. Your choice of gel and nail drying light will affect the length of the curing process. For optimal results, stick to the suggested curing times provided by the gel and lamp manufacturers.
To apply the initial layer, evenly distribute the gel over the entire nail
To fill in the area around your cuticle, gently press the gel back in that direction. To split the gel bead in two, pull the brush in the opposite way, toward the free edge. Utilizing the brush, apply the gel to both sides of your nail. Make sure the sidewalls and the free edge are covered by the first layer.
Under a lamp, cure the first coat of gel
Place the nails under the UV or LED nail drying lamp after applying the initial application of gel to each nail. According to the manufacturer’s guidelines, use the lamp for the required amount of curing time.
Over the initial coat, apply a second, thinner coat, and let it cure
Holding the brush parallel to your nail’s surface, carefully press down close to the cuticle. Maintain light contact between the brush and the gel as you evenly distribute it with slow, even strokes from the centre out to each side.
With a gel cleanser, remove the tacky dispersion layer
You’ll have a sticky top layer once the first and second coatings have dried. Use a cotton pad dipped in gel cleaner to gently wipe the surface of the gel nails to remove this.
To remove any flaws, file and dust the gel nail
Rub a nail file across the sides and free edge if you see any lumps or faults along the margins of the gel where it covers the nail tip. Any flaws can be gradually softened and rubbed away using the file and light pressure. Then, using a manicure brush and a cotton pad dipped in gel cleaner, remove the dust.
Apply a final gel topcoat, then let it cure
Starting in the middle of your nail and working your way out to either side, apply a thin coat of finishing gel with a brush. After each nail has received the topcoat, cure them for the amount of time advised by the manufacturer under a UV or LED drying lamp.
Tips
- When you’re done, don’t forget to apply cuticle oil so that the skin around your nails seems nourished and healthy.
- Do not keep your nail paint in the sun.