Manicures on the cheap?

[TinkOhio]

So after all of this time, I had my first manicure done last week. I usually don't kept them painted because I was them so much at my school. Lots of kid coodies! The lady used clear gell and two coats of polish. Of course, my nails were dried under the little UV lamp thingy, or they would have smeared like they always seem to do.

It's been a little over a week, and they still look good. What can you share about home manicure tips and tricks? Is there a certain kind of gel and or polish to use to keep the nails strong? Also, do they sell the little nail drying UV thingy anywhere? Mine always seem to smear when I paint them myself.
And is there a good place to buy supplies on the cheap?

TIA for any help!

 

[stefplus3]

I get gel manicures and it isn't the same as regular nail polish. I've been getting it done very 12 days or so and it never chips at all, it just starts to peel at the top edge. To get it off you have to soak your nails in remover for 10min or so and then they scrape it off. I don't think this is something you could replicate at home.

Posted before I was done! I've never looked but I'd guess that the lights are very expensive. I'm fine with paying $20 each time I go because my nails stay so nice looking. I can't wear acrylics at work and this is really the next best thing!

 

[pezheadmeg]

I live in the land of $7 manicures, so I haven't done my own nails in years. . But the big trick I have gotten from my nail guru is to make sure your nail is dry before applying polish. After my nails are filed and my cuticles are pushed back, they are always reswiped with an acetone remover.

 

[sunshine1178]

So after all of this time, I had my first manicure done last week. I usually don't kept them painted because I was them so much at my school. Lots of kid coodies! The lady used clear gell and two coats of polish. Of course, my nails were dried under the little UV lamp thingy, or they would have smeared like they always seem to do.

It's been a little over a week, and they still look good. What can you share about home manicure tips and tricks? Is there a certain kind of gel and or polish to use to keep the nails strong? Also, do they sell the little nail drying UV thingy anywhere? Mine always seem to smear when I paint them myself.
And is there a good place to buy supplies on the cheap?

TIA for any help!

If you have Sally Beauty Supply stores, I'd think that they would have what you're looking for.

 

[Happiest mommy]

please explain gel manicures to me, I also can not get acrylics on my nails and this sounds like something I might be able to do and afford thanks

 

[TinkOhio]

My nails are very thin and break easily because of all the hand washing I do. The manicurist told me that I needed gel, then polish. She applied a coat (or two?) of a clear gel that looked like thick polish to my nails, then she applied the colored polish. It worked great! Maybe someone can explain the why it works or if they sell the stuff in stores. Also, do I need to go to a salon to take it off?

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

I get CND (Creative Nail Design) Shellac manicures $28.00 plus tip

my nails are thin and weak and this works fantastic

Special wipe of nail bed to dry it special base coat, two coats of special polish and a special top coat each step dried under UV lamp then polish wiped with 98% alcohol

Lamps are ~$40.00 Definitely doable at home but I prefer salon

they put a cotton puff of polish remover wrapped in foil around my finger , let it rest and then polish easily scrapes off

This manicure stays Smooth and Shiny through washing my hands a hundred times a day, through housework, through sorting through rocks.

It is supposed to last 2 weeks but I hate when nails grow and leave the bottom of the nail uncolored

 

[ToddyLu]

I have started to let my nails grow out since the first of the year. I used to get acrylics but the CDC put a stop to that for nurses. I just do my own manicure at home now. This is my routine now at least once a week.

1. Remove old polish, wash and dry nails gently.
2. Use cuticle oil, then gently push back cuticles with wooden orange stick. Rub cuticle oil in, wait about 5 minutes and wash hands.
3. Use a black courser nail file to shape edge and straight across the tip, then use a fine finishing file to remove any rough spots. You can get different fails for acrylic and natural nails at Sally's Beuty they are in marked bins.
4. THen I buff with a white polar buff bar, to remove any rough things on the surface of the nail.
5. Wash hands for the fainal time.
6. Apply clear base coat. THen two layers of color. Then top coat. Allow several minutes to dry. You can also use ice water to dip your nails in to help them dry.

For a French manicure, I do not like the stark white nail polish. I found a color at Walmart--Essie is the brand, Marshmellow for the tip color--it is just off white enough. Base. Tips only, then top coat.

For rhinestones. I buy what I like then carefully lick a clean orange stick, pick up the stone and apply the stone to the top of the nail before a top coat. THen usually two top coat applications. These have stayed on five days straight using this technique and I do wound care at the local hospital--so you know I wash my hands--a lot.

 

[Alexander]

I started with acrylics 4 years ago because polish wouldn't stick to my nails. It would peel off within a day or two no matter what I tried.

I will never go without my acrylics again! I pay $15 every two weeks and have a new set put on every 6-8 weeks for $25.

 

[mjkacmom]

I live in the land of $7 manicures, so I haven't done my own nails in years. . But the big trick I have gotten from my nail guru is to make sure your nail is dry before applying polish. After my nails are filed and my cuticles are pushed back, they are always reswiped with an acetone remover.

I live in the land of $7 manicures too, but I've heard great thing about the gel ones. Might be worth the $20!

 

[badblackpug]

I have gel manicure. It is essentially a polish with a gel-like consistency that is applied to your natural nails and then dried under a UV lamp. It doesn't chip and must be soaked off. The longest I have had them on before soaking was 3 weeks. My salon uses OPI Axxium.

 

[DisneyRunner2009]

My nail tech charges me $25 for a natural nails manicure. She also does gel, no acrylic nails. I'm sure her fill price is more than is mentioned here. She uses Axxium as well. I believe, Axxium can be applied to natural nails. It is more difficult to remove than regular polish, because it requires soaking and/or buffing the product off.

 

[okeydokey]

I use the CND Shellac stuff at home. Bought the polish on amazon, the UV light at Sallys. I watched a couple of how to videos on you tube. You can easily remove this stuff at home with acetone on a cotton ball and then wrapped up close to your nail with tin foil.

 

[MaleficentRN]

I love the gel polish! It is $20 ( I tip 5 so $25) and it last me 3 weeks. And I wash my hands a kajillion times a day! My manicurist tells me to come in between to get a touch up if I want, But I usually soak them off myself until I'm ready for the next.
OP, is there a beauty school near you where you could have it done? One near me does it with regular polish for $5.

 

[Happiest mommy]

to take it off is it just soaked in regular nail polish remover? i'm willing to get the gel manicure but if I need to take it off if I can do it myself I will thanx

 

[Ishy]

cheapest gels (pink and whites) are 60$ here.

Me and sally hanson quick dry have an intimate relationship these days.

 

[fakereadhed]

Sally's does not carry any supplies for gel polish. It is a professional process, not a DIY.

So of course, I bought a UV light($40) and Gelish topcoat, polish, base coat($40) off eBay. I also bought 91% alcohol at CVS for $2.

Check out your local beauty school. That's where I got hooked on Shellac($13.50 there) but it took forever for them to finish it. Now I can do it at home in a fraction of the time.

 

[andymattmom]

I LOVE the shellac manicures and polish. I pay $23 where I live plus tip.
I am terrible at polishing my own nails so I will pay someone to do. My first polish lasted 3 weeks- I had a pale pink- yes you could see growing out at bottom but the polish still looked great. I didn't have time to go sooner. This was done before a trip and they lasted through cleaning, packing , travel, etc.

I just had them done on Monday. This time I had a french manicure with shellac. They look great.

Word of warning for anyone---watch the sanitary practices in your salon. Do they have barbasol, do they sterilize ALL tools---even the pedicure pumice stones, nail clipper, cuticle clipper, etc. I had acrylic nails 3 years ago. The salon I went to looked clean--long story short I ended up losing all 10 nails to nail fungus from unclean salon tools. The place didn't clean the little dremel type tool they use between people and I got a fungus. There was no barbasol on the stations, etc. I learned the hard way. In the end the salon got in trouble but it took almost 1.5 YEARS. Does the salon rinse out pedicure station water bowl? The person who did my nails when I got the fungus was the owner. I had a fill on Tuesday- by Saturday my nails hurt so bad I took off in acetone and found I had no nails. My doctor wrote a report for the licensing board in my state. Salon is still in business BUT I tell everyone I know about my experience.

I really watch how things are done and even take my own tools. Might look crazy but when I explain why the manicurist understands. It took a while for my nails to grow back and a LONGER time for me to get manicures but I do it now and am very very very careful. Shellac makes my nails harder without the fills that need to be done, etc.

 

[Mickey527]

I had a terrible situation at a salon recommended by a friend only to have to keep going back to get the nails repaired. long story, won't go into it here.
I have a pink/white now but am going to have them removed and replaced only because the first place used bad stuff and they are all cracking and I don't want them repaired.
the first place I went to had put tips on and the polish kept coming off after going back 3 times to have them repairedthey wound up prying them off. It hurt alot nd they did wind up breaking a nail below the skin and I bled They put the pink/whites over the cut and the finger is just now growing out and I can see the damaged nail below the tips.
How do they take the pink /whites off? I won't let them pry these off, can they be soaked and softened? I am going to the new place which seems to be up on the newer techniques but I am waiting a bit longer for these to grow before having them replaced.
this was the first manicure I have ever had in my 57 years but my nails look so good I want to keep them up. I am very rough on my nails and always forget to use rubber gloves, I just want to get the work done, don't have time to put gloves on for everything. Pink/Whites have held up great other than the cracking on the thumbs and first fingers. Maybe typing....

 

[pixiewings71]

I used to have my nails done professionally, I always had acrylic tips and they looked GREAT!!!!! But budgets change and so do priorities so now I just have my very own nails. I was happily surprised that mine were not ruined by years of having acrylic put over them and they actually look amazing! You really can't even tell that I used to have them done all the time. That said, I do my own manicures at home now, I use an AWESOME type of polish that uses no toluene, camphor or dibutyl phthalate (DBP), the colors last forever and if I get tip wear I have a trick that I love to use, it's fun and funky and quite unique. The nail polish brand is Zoya, you can find them at Zoya.com, they are currently doing an Earth Day promo where you can order up to 24 bottles of polish for half price and get free shipping on all the bottles!! Their polish is normally $8 per bottle so this promo makes it $4 a bottle, you do have to send back the same number of bottles to complete your "deal" but it's well worth it for this polish! My "trick" to extend my color.....I like to either do just tips (french manicure) and then I can simply touch them up (I don't use just white, I use any color I want to, blue, purple, red, etc etc) or I like to do an all over color and then when the tips wear simply do a french tip over the color. It's fun, it's funky, it's unique and it's easy. I can now free hand the tips with little problem, I started using tip guides (purchased at Claire's) but now I'm good enough to free hand. I also use a top coat, that seems to help the color last as well.

Good luck, having a nice manicure always makes me feel good....

Edited to add, yes when I had my acrylics the best way to take them off was to soak them in pure acetone, gels are the same way from what friends have told me. I get the best acetone nail polish remover from Sally Beauty.....I have a membership with SB just for the nail polish remover, files and nail decals they sell. LOL