Ever since I was younger, I’ve been obsessed with doing my nails. I’ve been to the nail salon to get them done once or twice, but I hated having to spend quite a bit of time and money on something that I could do at home. Although I used to do my nails using regular nail polish, ever since I started using UV gel nail polish, I’ve never wanted to go back. UV gel nail polish “dry” (the technical term would be “cure”) way faster regular nail polish, and UV gel nail polish also doesn’t smell as strong as regular nail polish.
It will take time and experience to get used to painting your nails. If you keep practicing, you’ll get the hang of it and it’ll get easier each time. Trust me, even as a perfectionist, it was hard to paint my nails initially. Instead of looking like the ones done correctly at the nail salon, it looked like a 5-year-old had done them: patchy, bumpy, and thick–especially on my right hand. So I did a bit of studying online, and I was able to perfect my nails at home!
Materials you’ll need:
For preparation: Nail file, cuticle oil (or olive oil), an orange stick (or cuticle pusher tool), nail buffer, alcohol wipe
For painting and finishing touches: UV lamp, gel nail polish (base, color, and topcoat)
Just a quick reminder: preparation is, in a sense, optional since certain types of gel nail polish do not require you to do much preparation, such as buffing and pushing back your cuticle. However, preparing your nails beforehand will give long-lasting results and will make your nails look like you got them done professionally. However, washing your hands is a must before doing anything to your nails. You want to wash your hands well, so the oils and dirt from your fingernails come off.
- Step 1: Filing your nails
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Let’s talk about shaping your nails. I recommend using a glass nail file, just because the grid is so powerful that you do not necessarily need to cut your nails before you file them. Just be careful, because it is possible to “over-file” your nails. I recommend working slowly while comparing your nails with others. There may be excess nail bits below your nails, so make sure to get them out.
- Step 2: Apply cuticle oil to your nail beds
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You want to apply cuticle oil (or olive oil) to your nail beds so that you can push back your cuticles gently with an orange stick. You want to make sure to leave it on for 5 minutes or so, then wash your hands afterward.
- Step 3: Buffing your nails
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Buffing is one of the most important steps if you want long-lasting results. Buffing your nails will help the gel stay on your nails a lot longer, as well as making it easier to paint an even coat. Use a buffer to buff your nails from one side of a nail to the other. Buff till your nails have a smooth, even surface. Be careful not to over-buff your nails. After you finish buffing all the nails, use an alcohol wipe to remove excess nail residue, or you can rewash your hands if desired.
- Step 4: Painting your nails
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Painting your nails is the trickiest of all steps. You can start with a base coat if you want, but there are many nail polish options these days that don’t require you to use a base coat. If you do decide to use it, just paint it the same way as the regular color polish. For any type of polish, you want to use a small amount of polish so that you can paint a thin, even coat, then curing it in the UV for about 30~45 seconds depending to the nail polish. It’s better to paint thin and coat so that the gel polish can cure completely and so it won’t drip to the sides while it cures in the UV lamp—remember, less is more! I would recommend applying four to five thin coats of gel nail polish.
A tip for painting your dominant hand: move your dominant hand while keeping your non-dominant hand steady, holding the nail polish. That way, you have more control over your nails. Another tip that I have is to make sure that you coat your nails all the way to the upper tip of the nail to prevent your perfectly painted nails from chipping.
- Step 5: Final glaze and finishing touches!
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I recommend putting a UV gel, or other, top coat after you paint your nails. It will seal everything in place and will further prevent your nails from chipping. You can also use cuticle oils to moisturize your nails again once you finish painting your topcoat!
Simple, isn’t it? Even though the steps are relatively simple, it’ll take some practice to perfect your nails, especially when you paint your dominant hand. Once you get the hang of it, I recommend trying out different designs and using multiple colors! I hope you try it out!