A few years ago I was complaining to an old colleague about not being able to get a nail appointment. She told me she had been doing her gel polish nails at home for years. I was shocked because I assumed that nail lamps and polishes were expensive and hard to get. Well, I was wrong. She let me in on her secret to fabulous nails, and how she saves over £80 a month by doing her own nails at home. And now, like any good samaritan, I’m going to share this with you.
Mylee Nail and Full Kit RRP: £49
This machine is great and super easy to use. The package came with a base coat, top coat, gel remover and nail prep. Everything you need (minus the colour polish) to do your gel nails at home.
Finding the best affordable gel polish was a little tricky, as there are a lot of cheap quality brands out there and it is hard to know which ones are any good. However, I found a brand I like for a decent price:
BLUESKY GEL POLISH RRP £6.50
I only use this brand because it gives nail salon results for a good price. I buy a new colour anytime I want to try something new. Even if you love getting your nails done at a salon this is a good investment if you can't get a much-needed nail appointment, or just a quick fix before you get your nails professionally done. Either way, you can't go wrong with having this at home.
How to give yourself gel polish mani pedi
Step 1: Remove gel colour/ polish
You can use any nail polish remover with acetone in it to remove old gel colour, nail polish or acrylics. I use two different methods to remove gel polish from my nails.
Start by filing down the colour slightly. Be careful not to file it too much as you do not want to file your actual nail.
Option 1 (my preferred method) :
Get two bowls, one smaller than the other, fill the smaller bowl with some nail polish remover, and the other with warm water
Place the smaller bowl in the bowl of warm water (this will speed up the removal process) then place your nails in the nail polish remover for about 10mins, or longer if needed.
Once your nails look like the below picture the polish it ready to scrape off
Option 2:
Add some nail polish remover to a small piece of cotton wool and place the cotton wool on you fingernail then wrap foil around your nail.
Repeat for each nail
When you can see the nail polish has started to flake you can scrape it off
Tip: If I use this method I blow dry my nails on a warm setting to speed up the process.
Step 2: Buff and file nail shape
First, file your nail to your desired shape.
Then buff your nail bed (surface of your nail). You can get it from Amazon.
Don't buff too much as you'll damage your nails by making them too thin
Then wipe your nails with the Mylee Nail Prep & Polish Wipe. You can also use rubbing alcohol as a substitute.
Step 2: Base Coat
Apply a thin layer and carefully place your hand under the nail light. The Mylee nail light has a timer. Flip the black switch back to “timer one” and press the red button. The light will turn off when your nails are ready for the next application.
Step 3: Apply Colour
Apply thin layer of colour and carefully place your hand under the nail light, repeat this 3 or 4 times until you reach your desired colour.
Blue Sky has a wide range of colours
Step 4: Top Coat
Apply a thin layer of Top Coat and carefully place your hand under the nail light, you can repeat this a second time, but I only ever apply one layer.
Step 5: Wipe nail and file edges
Use Mylee prep and Polish wipe or rubbing alcohol to wipe away sticky residue, then use a nail file to neaten up edges of nail.
Here is my final result
It takes a while to get the hang of it so do not rush, perfection takes time, once completed your gel nails can last up to 21 days. I also cut my own cuticles for a salon-fresh look, I ordered a manicure set from Amazon but this it optional.
NEXT TIP: HOW TO THREAD YOUR OWN EYEBROWS + APPLY SEMI PERMANENT LASHES AT HOME
Post a picture of your nails after your at home mani pedi and Hashtag #HPLTheHandbook x