As a teenage girl, one of my favorite activities was getting my nails done. However, maintaining manicures adds up and can be quite expensive for college students.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many nail salons, along with other non-essential businesses, were forced to shut down. Quarantine birthed all kinds of do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, such as DIY salon-like manicures.
The 2020 DIY nail trend was more than simply painting your nails with polish. It included applying nail tips, using dip powder, doing your own acrylics, and my personal favorite: builder gel nail manicures.
Around 2020, I started doing my own nails, and honestly, they looked horrible. Originally, I attempted to do acrylic nails, and found it difficult to perfect on myself. So, I switched to doing gel nails, and I am so glad I did.
To do gel nails, you do have to invest a small amount of money on the equipment. Everything I use was purchased from Amazon, Sally Beauty Supply, and Nail Bunny.
Here is a list of required materials:
- A UV or LED nail lamp is required. They roughly range anywhere from $25 to $100.
- Gel polish; I used a sheer dark brown gel out of a six-color gel set. It is from the brand Vishine, No. YM011.
- Gel base and topcoat. I’ve tried a variety of different ones, and there are a lot of great ones out there. My personal favorite is the KUPA Gelfinity Nail System.
- A nail primer. This helps with nail retention or making sure your nails last. My favorite is Young Nails ProteinBond Non-Acid Adhesion.
- If you have longer nails, you will want to get a gel rubber base coat. It is much thicker than normal gel polish, and it provides structure and strength, which is crucial when having long nails. I use Nail Bunny’s rubber base coat in the shade “Oh She Cute.”
- If you’re using a rubber base coat, you will want a thin, fine-lining nail brush.
- Chrome nail powder. This is optional, but for this month’s look, I used DRMODE’s “Aurora Mermaid Iridescent” powder. Any multi-color, reflective powder will work.
- Isopropyl 99% rubbing alcohol. You can use this to dehydrate and remove excess natural oils on your nail plate. This will also help ensure your nails last long.
- Cuticle pusher, clippers, and remover.
- Nail file, any file will do, I use a file with 100/180 grit.
- Buffing block, I use one with 220 grit.
- Optional: UV blocking gloves and sunscreen.
The first step to any manicure is prep. To prep your nails, remove most of the dead skin and cuticle around or on your nail plate. Be very careful with this step because it is easy to nip yourself. Using a liquid cuticle remover was a game changer for me because it makes it much easier to remove the cuticle. I use the Sally Hansen cuticle remover, but most of them all function similarly.
Apply a small dap to your cuticles, let it sit for the recommended time, wipe it off, and use your cuticle pusher to push back the now-softened cuticle. Then use cuticle clippers to remove any leftover cuticle.
Trim your nails to the desired length, and file them into your preferred shape.
This is optional: I apply sunscreen to my hands and wear UV-blocking nail gloves for protection against the nail lamp light.
Wipe your nail plates with isopropyl rubbing alcohol, and then lightly buff nails with a soft buffing block.
Apply nail primer, covering most of the nail plate.
(Eagle Eye/Breanna Chicas)
Before applying any gel polish, try to make sure the polish never touches your skin. If polish touches your skin, remove it with rubbing alcohol.
Paint your base coat on the nail and cure it for the recommended time, I cure mine for 60 seconds.
If you have longer or weaker nails this is where you will apply your rubber base coat. This step is optional.
(Eagle Eye/Breanna Chicas)
There are many tutorials on the application of rubber base coats on YouTube. Using this kind of polish is a learning curve, but with a little practice, it can be done.
The basics of using a rubber base coat:
Paint your entire nail with a thin coat, this is referred to as the “slip layer.”
Without curing, get a bigger glop of polish and place it near the bottom of your nail (near the cuticle). In a side-sweeping motion, you will swipe the glop of polish up across your nail.
Without curing, take your fine line nail brush, and go around the edges of your nails, and smooth everything out.
Flip your nail upside down for approximately 30 seconds. Gravity will work its magic and create an apex on your nail, which is needed with longer nails. If you have shorter nails, don’t worry about this step. Cure for the recommended time, I cure for two minutes.
(Eagle Eye/Breanna Chicas).
Wipe your nails with rubbing alcohol, and lightly buff them.
Reapply your base coat, and cure.
Apply two coats of your sheer dark brown nail polish, curing in between each coat. Make sure each coat is thin and doesn’t touch your skin!
You can apply a topcoat, cure, and stop here. However, I applied a non-wipe topcoat, cured for half the recommended time (30 seconds), and then applied chrome powder with a sponge applicator. Cure for 30 seconds or whatever time is left.
Apply a topcoat, cure, and you’re done!
(Eagle Eye/Breanna Chicas).
Doing your own nails can be a huge learning curve, but with more practice your skills will improve. My biggest advice is to be patient and watch tutorials online for help. I have saved hundreds of dollars on my nails, and I always end up with nails that I love. Good luck!
Breanna Chicas is a freshman at Lockhaven University. She is a first-year Media and Journalism major. This is her first year working on the Eagle Eye staff. As a writer for the Eagle Eye, Breanna has set two goals for this year: find her voice as a writer and take on writing assignments that push her out of her comfort zone. When she’s not writing, Breanna can be found chilling with her dogs, taking on some sort of crafting project, or working as a server. Breanna hopes to continue to learn about the media and journalism world and find ways to incorporate her own flare into her assignments and projects.
