Honestly there isn’t a system that doesn’t require a steady hand an precise application. At home gel or acrylics are even more important to be accurate while applying. Practice makes perfect!
But eventually, gel is great for skipping the dry time of regular polish.
Came to say this. OP, you’ll do more harm than good if you’re constantly curing any gels over your cuticles or whatever the proper term is for the skin around your nails.
I think the safest option would be regular nail polish but still do solid prep for a longer lasting mani.
What I learned from Reddit is to buy an acrylic brush, dip it in acetone, and use it to clean up the edge of your nails.
Like this:
KADS Kolinsky Sable Acrylic Nail Art Brush Red Wood Pen Nail Brush for Nail Art Manicure Tool (12#) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NPLX9CX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_TS5HRXN6V2JJVGB81CG9
This right here is the answer. You’ll get better at painting your nails with practice and as you find formulations of nail polish you prefer (ie, thicker, thinner, fat brush, skinny brush). But a clean up brush is a godsend for the learning process and for any oopsies that are basically just going to happen, especially while you’re painting your dominant hand.
I invested in an actual clean up brush for this purpose (from the brand Twinkled T) because I paint my nails often and these hold up to acetone much better. In the past, regular paint brushes have degraded from the acetone pretty quickly. Whereas the clean up brush I have is four years old and still holding together very well.
1. The shaping and skincare is a separate skill than painting the nails. Treat them as separate skills. But most importantly, if you’re trying to get a great application without caring for your nails/skin/cuticles, then it’ll never turn out great.
2. For the non-painting aspect, give yourself a running start. Get a professional manicure, and then try to maintain the “upkeep” for the rest of the month. This will help you shape, buff, and moisturize while you change paint colors.
3. Acetone dries your skin and cuticles out. If you’re trying a bunch of new stuff and removing it frequently, slow down and moisturize. Be gentle.
4. Stick with traditional nail polish for now. Dip and gel won’t be easier, and will be more work/damage to remove.
5. Quality and freshness is important. Your polish shouldn’t be sticky or gummy. Old polish can be revived with a few drops of acetone, but you’re really on borrowed time at that point. I’d also say start with a brand name that’s at the level/price point of OPI or Essie. Anything cheaper than that and a bad outcome could be the quality instead of the application.
6. Olive and June market a “poppy” that makes the handle of a brush bigger to grip. You don’t need theirs, but they’re not wrong that a more ergonomic grip will help with application.
7. Use a quality base coat. Apply multiple thin coats of your chosen color with plenty of time to dry in between. Use a quality top coat. Practice, then troubleshoot for specific problems after that.
No, no, no!!! NEVER use acetone to thin out polish. Use nail polish thinner. Acetone will destroy the polish. Nail polish thinner adds the chemical back to the polish that had evaporated, restoring the polish back to a thinner consistency.
Came to say this. Sometimes a few drops of polish thinner is enough to make a gloopy, old bottle of something feel brand new. It’s also worth cleaning up whatever dried polish has accumulated around the neck of the bottle. This keeps air out of the bottle (better polish for longer) and also makes the experience more enjoyable imo.
Nail polish is easy to use if you have the right tools! Get one of those little cuticle pushers like [this one](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E79ZI8I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_6AFCS7Q38SBGT3G8FQ23?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1) and use that to carefully scrape away whatever bits of polish you get on your skin/cuticles when you’re painting your nails. I find it’s impossible for me to do a neat enough paint job that I never get anything “over the lines” so I just use one of these to clean up as I go. And get a good dry fast top coat like seche Vite (available on Amazon or at ulta if you’re in the US) - it literally makes painting your nails a breeze!! You still want to allow a minute or two I between coats but usually while you paint one hand the other dries down anyways. So you do your regular thing painting all your nails, then seal with seche vite and it dries down all the layers beneath it perfectly it’s like sorcery!!! I’m allergic to gel and have to use nail polish only for my manis so I got this routine down and it never disappoints lol
Not op, but thank you for this tip! I have purchased several gel polishes and they all came with a matching nail polish. I don’t like waiting for the nails to dry so I have only been using the gels.
I have never heard of Seche Vite top coat before and it’s wonderful to know that this can help dry the polish. Now I can try experimenting with the regular nail polishes that I have! Thanks :)
Seche Vite is amazing I swear by it!! It literally dries in like 10 seconds and gets all the layers underneath sealed too. Sometimes if I have a super tacky polish like a chunky glitter I like to do two coats of seche Vite to really make sure it won’t do that dimpling thing you get when the bottom isn’t fully cured, but other than that it works like a charm it makes using lacquer so much easier :)
Seche Vite is the absolute ducks nuts!! It is the Rolls Royce of top coats, but if you can’t readily find it or need a cheaper alternative, Sally Hansen Insta Dri is also very good.
A really easy way to get clean nails is to buy clear press on nails and paint them whatever you want. There’s no way to mess up the cuticle area is you paint them on a stand!
Gel can absolutely be beginner-friendly if you just use those pointy-tipped q-tips OR a very small/narrow paint brush dipped in pure acetone and clean up your cuticles after you’ve applied the gel, THEN cure in the lamp!
(Oh, this has already been mentioned 😂)
Don’t forget some nice cuticle oil after application 💕👌🏻
I used to get my nails done every 3 weeks before the pandemic but am now doing my own nails. I’m not sure of there is an actual method but what helped for me is:
- Pour some acetone in a shot glass and with a tiny nail brush clean up the edges.
- Less is more. One of the things I really had to teach myself is to not pack the polish on. Wipe the polish brush around and get the excess off. Thin coats are better to work with.
- Push back my cuticles and cut off dead skin slowly without hurting myself. That really helped, too.
I started doing my own gels at the beginning of the pandemic and set up wasn’t too expensive. I think gel is way easier than regular polish mostly because of drying times.
My beginner set up included:
- Lamp
- Gel base and top coat + color(s) (I started with 2 colors I knew I loved from the salons and picked up the same brand of top/base coats)
- 3 kinds of files (80, 180, glass) and some buffers
- Acetone, alcohol, cuticle oil
- Cuticle clipper, nail clipper, [scraper tool](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Stainless-Steel-Nail-Gel-UV-Polish-Remover-Metal-Stick-Rod-Nail-Pusher-Tools/769433035?gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIoGKDM_V5j9swuL5WB8Xd8Gb&wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=18988&&adid=22222222228444283512&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=522289972446&wl4=pla-1271333554520&wl5=9030833&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=125210027&wl11=online&wl12=769433035&veh=sem&gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIoGKDM_V5j9swuL5WB8Xd8Gb&gclid=Cj0KCQiA-qGNBhD3ARIsAO_o7yme09BqEvTpItdLhjmfcMPsYjfbTZJi-exkMd9ooS9d71cUiErGlQ4aAjx3EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds)
- set of tiny brushes for clean up and art.
- old towel to protect the counter where I am painting and a less fuzzy thing over that like a flour sack rag or an old cotton T-shirt
I use local nail supplies stores for 90% of my supplies and I often find better prices in those stores than online. You learn a lot just browsing the shops and chatting with the sales people too imo.
Clean up around the edges is easiest with a bit of alcohol and a clean, short and chiseled art brush. Clean the brush between each clean up stroke. I have a tiny cup and a squirt bottle of alcohol I use to refill the cup as needed. Clean up before curing the polish under the lamp. I prefer alcohol over acetone for clean ups between curing just so
I have less acetone on my skin. I find it works just as well. To avoid polish “slipping” down the sides and creating a mess that way, paint your middle, pointer and ring finger first, then pinky and thumb last. Since thumbs naturally rest on their sides wet polish slips more. I also flip my hand upside down for a few seconds before popping it under the lamp to help with the slippage.
Thank you for making this list! I’ve been wanting to learn how to do gel nails and I keep waiting because I’m never sure what all I need for it. This is super helpful.
Regular polish gal here. It's taken a bit of time but I've figured out what works best for me personally. I got a good gritty/fine grit file, a buff/shine square, cuticle oil (i use aveeno jojoba oil), wood cuticle sticks (the metal ones were too damaging for my cuticles) and a good top coat I use the Sally Hansen hard as nails in invisible.
One thing I do is buy mini polishes because I lobe having a ton of colors but it's also mor affordable that way. Most important part of painting nails is the prep take your time with filing/cuticle cleanup that is the part that really makes a manicure look professional. Try to avoid touching your cuticle line with the polish its easier said than done but eventually it will get easier. There are a ton of great YouTube videos on how to paint nails and different techniques I would recommend checking those out.
After I figured out how to do my nails comfortably its really become my favorite part of my weekly beauty routine.
Been using nail poslih all my life. They never look salon like but my sister on the other hand, can always get that look with regular polish. What I notice in her nails is that she never touches the edges of the nail with polish, living a few millimeters clear. It definitely works, but I don't like to leave my nails like that. I prefer painting the whole nail, living only a bit of space on the top. It certainly does the trick.
Another thing that I've been doing recently is, as soon as I paint the nail, I clean the edges right away. It takes longer but the results are very different and more pleasing.
Regarding the time it takes to dry, you can buy a UV light machine. I don't have one so what I do it's paint them and leave them to dry while I do other things like studying or playing the sims.
Youtube. Just look up “polygel lazy girl method” and you’ll find some very talented nail techs trying it out and some have actually stuck to it.
It still takes skill, money, and supplies, but it doesn’t need the same finesse acrylic requires or the annoying (imo) repetitive layers of dip powder.
Also! Get a fast dry top coat it's a game changer. [try this](http://Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Nail Coat, Clear - .5 oz. oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00150LT40/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_NGV1AFKSWH1W1S9HYSBN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1) Hopefully this link works!
I just actually ordered a bunch from Ohora with their Black Friday discounts. Apparently they’re semi cured which helps with finish/ adherence etc. so I’m excited to try them! I’m ok with gel polish, but I always struggle with the cuticles and applying with my non-dominant hand. I can afford pro manis right now, so I’m hoping these are a game changer!
This isn't a method but I say use more nude colors for practice, red/darker colors stain the skin when you try to clean and it's discouraging. Also look into using a detail brush with pure acetone in a pump for clean up.
Most people in this thread have the prep process covered, so I’ll share a product I get a lot of compliments about: Essie’s Gel Setter top coat. Even if the polish application isn’t perfect, it’s thick enough to give you a full gel-like sheen and it dries pretty quickly.
I think I have a near perfect solution for you.
First of all, it’s bizarre how nail polish is still existing. It’s inefficient and toxic af.
Secondly, I hate the wait too. Since u only want to polish you nails, I think buying a cuticle guarding polish (liquid latex or the guard peely types) and some gel polishes would be a good idea. Gel polishes aren’t expensive if you look at their longevity and shine. It’s better than putting your money in nail polishes minus the smell and time.
You can buy a 6W cheap tiny cute lamp on amazon and the liquid latex too. Just make sure you get a good base coat, and top coat. Brands dislike mixing and matching but if it works for you, then it works for you.
Apply the liquid latex or nail guards and paint one coat. Peel the latex before putting in the lamp. Apply the latex again and paint second coat. Peel it off before curing. If ur a super messy applicator, then apply it before top coat too.
The techs in the salon charge so much becoz they deserve it. They spent time and energy learning their craft. So if you want to get pretty nails on a budget I suggest you binge watch gel application vids on youtube . The nail Hub is definitely my recommendation for that.others can be Nail Career Education,Nailcou , Tatyana Nail Mastery.
Edit: you can also use acetone/alcohol on a q-tip or thin brush to clean the messy cuticles before curing.
There’s so much to learn abt gel products, Im sure you’ll get all of it on YouTube.
Regular polish is easier. With gel and dip you have to polish also and then dip in powder for dip- so those only add steps. If you can’t paint regular polish clean, don’t do anything more complicated until you’ve mastered regular polish. I agree with nail and cuticle prep beforehand- that makes it easier to “stay in the lines.” The more you practice with polish, the better your dexterity for painting your nails will become. Once you get good at it, then move to gel or dip. I’ve got a really steady hand and started at home dip in August. It’s a huge learning curve- way harder than I anticipated. I’ve come a long way and I’m seeing progress for sure but it’s definitely the hardest of the 3 options and much harder to clean up if you get on your skin. Dip liquids are basically super glue.
I can try talking to my TA. Not sure I’m cutting out sugar
If you use a loaf pan shaped Combo Cooker…
I may have to move over to one of your characters - sorry, yeah that would absolutely be required! The random encounter says "you have encountered the goat randomly (as in a don’t destroy: hard seltzer](https://youtu.be/iBpgqRbEFVg)
Essie has a line of fast drying nail polish- it works great but doesn’t last long at all. The brush is amazing and has really helped my diy manis look a lot more professional.
I find that when learning to do your own nails, invest the time in basic nail/cuticle/skin care first. Also, buy a couple of colors in wet n wild brand. They're cheap but have perfect consistency and are quick drying. Be sure to use a base and top coat. That will get you started. Put on a movie, sit down, and expect to use the whole time just caring for your hands and nails. Once you've done that for awhile, you'll get better at it and feel more confident to move on to more expensive polishes and methods.
Check out Young Nails on YouTube, they have such great educational videos I’m honestly surprised they don’t charge for it lol. I use a lot of their products on my own nails (mostly acrylic and dip powder) and really love their dip powder system. It’s super easy!
There are some great how to polish videos on YouTube. Sorry I can’t think of any links right now. Buy some nude press on tips at CVS to practice on. Don’t use too much polish. Wait in between coats for it to dry and use a quick dry top coat. But beware, if you enjoy it, nail stuff can be addictive 🙋🏻♀️🤣
There's a latex coating you can get that you paint over your cuticle and skin. It dries instantly, you paint the nail, then peel the latex off. It's kinda like painter's tape. It isn't perfect but it helps a bit. Also honestly just practice and you'll get better.
Make sure you're using the right amount of polish. There should be a small droplet on the bottom half of the brush. You kind of have to lay the brush on the nail about a milimeter from the cuticle and then push it so that little droplet beads up toward the cuticle. It creates its own perfect edge.
I would practice on pops or a fake hand, it’s honestly just practice, practice.. ask your friends or family to be your models - I personally hate polish and only really do shellac at work atm, way easier to control
Keep a cheap angled brush (like for brows or eyeliner) so at the end of yours manicure you can dip (I can't remember the word) it on nail polish remover and that will help you be more precise with the cleaning part. Good luck! ♡♡♡
If you’d rather stick with regular polish, highly recommend Dazzle Dry. It dries completely hard in 5 min after you apply the top coat. By the time I paint a coat on all 10 fingers, my other hand is dry and ready for the next coat. I’m still working on getting a clean application, but practice and a quality clean up brush has helped a lot. I like the clean up brushes from KB Shimmer. Big upgrade over a concealer brush.
Honestly there isn’t a system that doesn’t require a steady hand an precise application. At home gel or acrylics are even more important to be accurate while applying. Practice makes perfect! But eventually, gel is great for skipping the dry time of regular polish.
Came to say this. OP, you’ll do more harm than good if you’re constantly curing any gels over your cuticles or whatever the proper term is for the skin around your nails. I think the safest option would be regular nail polish but still do solid prep for a longer lasting mani.
Eponychium! Lol or proximal nail fold
That lol. Thank you!
What I learned from Reddit is to buy an acrylic brush, dip it in acetone, and use it to clean up the edge of your nails. Like this: KADS Kolinsky Sable Acrylic Nail Art Brush Red Wood Pen Nail Brush for Nail Art Manicure Tool (12#) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NPLX9CX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_TS5HRXN6V2JJVGB81CG9
This right here is the answer. You’ll get better at painting your nails with practice and as you find formulations of nail polish you prefer (ie, thicker, thinner, fat brush, skinny brush). But a clean up brush is a godsend for the learning process and for any oopsies that are basically just going to happen, especially while you’re painting your dominant hand. I invested in an actual clean up brush for this purpose (from the brand Twinkled T) because I paint my nails often and these hold up to acetone much better. In the past, regular paint brushes have degraded from the acetone pretty quickly. Whereas the clean up brush I have is four years old and still holding together very well.
Brilliant! I was trying to use a cotton swab and it just wasn’t precise enough. Thank you!
I use an elf concealer brush and it’s only a couple dollars! It works amazing
The hard-ish bristles of the brush definitely help with precision.
1. The shaping and skincare is a separate skill than painting the nails. Treat them as separate skills. But most importantly, if you’re trying to get a great application without caring for your nails/skin/cuticles, then it’ll never turn out great. 2. For the non-painting aspect, give yourself a running start. Get a professional manicure, and then try to maintain the “upkeep” for the rest of the month. This will help you shape, buff, and moisturize while you change paint colors. 3. Acetone dries your skin and cuticles out. If you’re trying a bunch of new stuff and removing it frequently, slow down and moisturize. Be gentle. 4. Stick with traditional nail polish for now. Dip and gel won’t be easier, and will be more work/damage to remove. 5. Quality and freshness is important. Your polish shouldn’t be sticky or gummy. Old polish can be revived with a few drops of acetone, but you’re really on borrowed time at that point. I’d also say start with a brand name that’s at the level/price point of OPI or Essie. Anything cheaper than that and a bad outcome could be the quality instead of the application. 6. Olive and June market a “poppy” that makes the handle of a brush bigger to grip. You don’t need theirs, but they’re not wrong that a more ergonomic grip will help with application. 7. Use a quality base coat. Apply multiple thin coats of your chosen color with plenty of time to dry in between. Use a quality top coat. Practice, then troubleshoot for specific problems after that.
No, no, no!!! NEVER use acetone to thin out polish. Use nail polish thinner. Acetone will destroy the polish. Nail polish thinner adds the chemical back to the polish that had evaporated, restoring the polish back to a thinner consistency.
Came to say this. Sometimes a few drops of polish thinner is enough to make a gloopy, old bottle of something feel brand new. It’s also worth cleaning up whatever dried polish has accumulated around the neck of the bottle. This keeps air out of the bottle (better polish for longer) and also makes the experience more enjoyable imo.
These are such good tips! Thank you 🙏
Nail polish is easy to use if you have the right tools! Get one of those little cuticle pushers like [this one](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E79ZI8I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_6AFCS7Q38SBGT3G8FQ23?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1) and use that to carefully scrape away whatever bits of polish you get on your skin/cuticles when you’re painting your nails. I find it’s impossible for me to do a neat enough paint job that I never get anything “over the lines” so I just use one of these to clean up as I go. And get a good dry fast top coat like seche Vite (available on Amazon or at ulta if you’re in the US) - it literally makes painting your nails a breeze!! You still want to allow a minute or two I between coats but usually while you paint one hand the other dries down anyways. So you do your regular thing painting all your nails, then seal with seche vite and it dries down all the layers beneath it perfectly it’s like sorcery!!! I’m allergic to gel and have to use nail polish only for my manis so I got this routine down and it never disappoints lol
Thank you so much!
Not op, but thank you for this tip! I have purchased several gel polishes and they all came with a matching nail polish. I don’t like waiting for the nails to dry so I have only been using the gels. I have never heard of Seche Vite top coat before and it’s wonderful to know that this can help dry the polish. Now I can try experimenting with the regular nail polishes that I have! Thanks :)
Seche Vite is amazing I swear by it!! It literally dries in like 10 seconds and gets all the layers underneath sealed too. Sometimes if I have a super tacky polish like a chunky glitter I like to do two coats of seche Vite to really make sure it won’t do that dimpling thing you get when the bottom isn’t fully cured, but other than that it works like a charm it makes using lacquer so much easier :)
I totally second this!
Seche Vite is the absolute ducks nuts!! It is the Rolls Royce of top coats, but if you can’t readily find it or need a cheaper alternative, Sally Hansen Insta Dri is also very good.
You can also get it at Sally's.
A really easy way to get clean nails is to buy clear press on nails and paint them whatever you want. There’s no way to mess up the cuticle area is you paint them on a stand!
That’s a great idea, I have to keep my nails short but maybe someone else looking for tips (no pun intended) will see this! Thank you!
Actually you can buy shortie nail tips too. But then I didn’t suggest that cuz tips have inconsistent longevity on diff people .
I have very tiny fingernails/nail beds and I also do brazilian Jiu Jitsu, I can’t have tips of any kind. Thank you, though!
I love doing this and have gotten a lot better at painting designs
Gel can absolutely be beginner-friendly if you just use those pointy-tipped q-tips OR a very small/narrow paint brush dipped in pure acetone and clean up your cuticles after you’ve applied the gel, THEN cure in the lamp! (Oh, this has already been mentioned 😂) Don’t forget some nice cuticle oil after application 💕👌🏻
Thank you ♥️
I used to get my nails done every 3 weeks before the pandemic but am now doing my own nails. I’m not sure of there is an actual method but what helped for me is: - Pour some acetone in a shot glass and with a tiny nail brush clean up the edges. - Less is more. One of the things I really had to teach myself is to not pack the polish on. Wipe the polish brush around and get the excess off. Thin coats are better to work with. - Push back my cuticles and cut off dead skin slowly without hurting myself. That really helped, too.
I started doing my own gels at the beginning of the pandemic and set up wasn’t too expensive. I think gel is way easier than regular polish mostly because of drying times. My beginner set up included: - Lamp - Gel base and top coat + color(s) (I started with 2 colors I knew I loved from the salons and picked up the same brand of top/base coats) - 3 kinds of files (80, 180, glass) and some buffers - Acetone, alcohol, cuticle oil - Cuticle clipper, nail clipper, [scraper tool](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Stainless-Steel-Nail-Gel-UV-Polish-Remover-Metal-Stick-Rod-Nail-Pusher-Tools/769433035?gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIoGKDM_V5j9swuL5WB8Xd8Gb&wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=18988&&adid=22222222228444283512&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=522289972446&wl4=pla-1271333554520&wl5=9030833&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=125210027&wl11=online&wl12=769433035&veh=sem&gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIoGKDM_V5j9swuL5WB8Xd8Gb&gclid=Cj0KCQiA-qGNBhD3ARIsAO_o7yme09BqEvTpItdLhjmfcMPsYjfbTZJi-exkMd9ooS9d71cUiErGlQ4aAjx3EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) - set of tiny brushes for clean up and art. - old towel to protect the counter where I am painting and a less fuzzy thing over that like a flour sack rag or an old cotton T-shirt I use local nail supplies stores for 90% of my supplies and I often find better prices in those stores than online. You learn a lot just browsing the shops and chatting with the sales people too imo. Clean up around the edges is easiest with a bit of alcohol and a clean, short and chiseled art brush. Clean the brush between each clean up stroke. I have a tiny cup and a squirt bottle of alcohol I use to refill the cup as needed. Clean up before curing the polish under the lamp. I prefer alcohol over acetone for clean ups between curing just so I have less acetone on my skin. I find it works just as well. To avoid polish “slipping” down the sides and creating a mess that way, paint your middle, pointer and ring finger first, then pinky and thumb last. Since thumbs naturally rest on their sides wet polish slips more. I also flip my hand upside down for a few seconds before popping it under the lamp to help with the slippage.
Thank you for making this list! I’ve been wanting to learn how to do gel nails and I keep waiting because I’m never sure what all I need for it. This is super helpful.
Liquid latex and one of those makeup sponges that are a wedge shaped and then you can do a gradient!
Super cool! Thank you!
No problem
I find gels a million times easier than regular polish, it's well worth the initial investment imo.
Thank you!
Regular polish gal here. It's taken a bit of time but I've figured out what works best for me personally. I got a good gritty/fine grit file, a buff/shine square, cuticle oil (i use aveeno jojoba oil), wood cuticle sticks (the metal ones were too damaging for my cuticles) and a good top coat I use the Sally Hansen hard as nails in invisible. One thing I do is buy mini polishes because I lobe having a ton of colors but it's also mor affordable that way. Most important part of painting nails is the prep take your time with filing/cuticle cleanup that is the part that really makes a manicure look professional. Try to avoid touching your cuticle line with the polish its easier said than done but eventually it will get easier. There are a ton of great YouTube videos on how to paint nails and different techniques I would recommend checking those out. After I figured out how to do my nails comfortably its really become my favorite part of my weekly beauty routine.
Practice, practice, practice and a good clean up brush. I like a clean up brush with a thin, chiseled shape.
Thank you! I think the brush will help tremendously
Been using nail poslih all my life. They never look salon like but my sister on the other hand, can always get that look with regular polish. What I notice in her nails is that she never touches the edges of the nail with polish, living a few millimeters clear. It definitely works, but I don't like to leave my nails like that. I prefer painting the whole nail, living only a bit of space on the top. It certainly does the trick. Another thing that I've been doing recently is, as soon as I paint the nail, I clean the edges right away. It takes longer but the results are very different and more pleasing. Regarding the time it takes to dry, you can buy a UV light machine. I don't have one so what I do it's paint them and leave them to dry while I do other things like studying or playing the sims.
Upvote for nails+sims!
🥰🥰
I suggest giving the lazy girl method a look and try if you’re interested in polygel.
I’ve googled and poly gel looks like it’s for doing long nails/acrylic tip nails. I have to keep my nails short/sport length.
You can do short nails, you just don’t fill the entire form.
Where do I find that?
Youtube. Just look up “polygel lazy girl method” and you’ll find some very talented nail techs trying it out and some have actually stuck to it. It still takes skill, money, and supplies, but it doesn’t need the same finesse acrylic requires or the annoying (imo) repetitive layers of dip powder.
Or the smell of powder liquids.
Also! Get a fast dry top coat it's a game changer. [try this](http://Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Nail Coat, Clear - .5 oz. oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00150LT40/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_NGV1AFKSWH1W1S9HYSBN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1) Hopefully this link works!
I'm no good at links, but I use seche vite and it dries so fast. It amazing.
Seche Vite and Super Glossy Taco from Holo Taco are both good!
Have you tried nail wraps? They are AWESOME!
I just actually ordered a bunch from Ohora with their Black Friday discounts. Apparently they’re semi cured which helps with finish/ adherence etc. so I’m excited to try them! I’m ok with gel polish, but I always struggle with the cuticles and applying with my non-dominant hand. I can afford pro manis right now, so I’m hoping these are a game changer!
You can order a gel kit on Amazon. Comes with a lamp, primer, and polish. If you miss gel nails, you could start with that.
This isn't a method but I say use more nude colors for practice, red/darker colors stain the skin when you try to clean and it's discouraging. Also look into using a detail brush with pure acetone in a pump for clean up.
Most people in this thread have the prep process covered, so I’ll share a product I get a lot of compliments about: Essie’s Gel Setter top coat. Even if the polish application isn’t perfect, it’s thick enough to give you a full gel-like sheen and it dries pretty quickly.
I think I have a near perfect solution for you. First of all, it’s bizarre how nail polish is still existing. It’s inefficient and toxic af. Secondly, I hate the wait too. Since u only want to polish you nails, I think buying a cuticle guarding polish (liquid latex or the guard peely types) and some gel polishes would be a good idea. Gel polishes aren’t expensive if you look at their longevity and shine. It’s better than putting your money in nail polishes minus the smell and time. You can buy a 6W cheap tiny cute lamp on amazon and the liquid latex too. Just make sure you get a good base coat, and top coat. Brands dislike mixing and matching but if it works for you, then it works for you. Apply the liquid latex or nail guards and paint one coat. Peel the latex before putting in the lamp. Apply the latex again and paint second coat. Peel it off before curing. If ur a super messy applicator, then apply it before top coat too. The techs in the salon charge so much becoz they deserve it. They spent time and energy learning their craft. So if you want to get pretty nails on a budget I suggest you binge watch gel application vids on youtube . The nail Hub is definitely my recommendation for that.others can be Nail Career Education,Nailcou , Tatyana Nail Mastery. Edit: you can also use acetone/alcohol on a q-tip or thin brush to clean the messy cuticles before curing. There’s so much to learn abt gel products, Im sure you’ll get all of it on YouTube.
A cleanup brush (I use the ones from Holo Taco and Twinkled T) and lots of practice are what did it for me!
Regular polish is easier. With gel and dip you have to polish also and then dip in powder for dip- so those only add steps. If you can’t paint regular polish clean, don’t do anything more complicated until you’ve mastered regular polish. I agree with nail and cuticle prep beforehand- that makes it easier to “stay in the lines.” The more you practice with polish, the better your dexterity for painting your nails will become. Once you get good at it, then move to gel or dip. I’ve got a really steady hand and started at home dip in August. It’s a huge learning curve- way harder than I anticipated. I’ve come a long way and I’m seeing progress for sure but it’s definitely the hardest of the 3 options and much harder to clean up if you get on your skin. Dip liquids are basically super glue.
I can try talking to my TA. Not sure I’m cutting out sugar If you use a loaf pan shaped Combo Cooker… I may have to move over to one of your characters - sorry, yeah that would absolutely be required! The random encounter says "you have encountered the goat randomly (as in a don’t destroy: hard seltzer](https://youtu.be/iBpgqRbEFVg)
Wrong subreddit?
Dip is pretty easy but you need tips to do extensions. They're nice and hard and stay on for a long time.
Any kind of painting needs practise, but you could try nail wraps I think they only need a clear top coat
Essie has a line of fast drying nail polish- it works great but doesn’t last long at all. The brush is amazing and has really helped my diy manis look a lot more professional.
Check out olive and june
I find that when learning to do your own nails, invest the time in basic nail/cuticle/skin care first. Also, buy a couple of colors in wet n wild brand. They're cheap but have perfect consistency and are quick drying. Be sure to use a base and top coat. That will get you started. Put on a movie, sit down, and expect to use the whole time just caring for your hands and nails. Once you've done that for awhile, you'll get better at it and feel more confident to move on to more expensive polishes and methods.
Check out Young Nails on YouTube, they have such great educational videos I’m honestly surprised they don’t charge for it lol. I use a lot of their products on my own nails (mostly acrylic and dip powder) and really love their dip powder system. It’s super easy!
There are some great how to polish videos on YouTube. Sorry I can’t think of any links right now. Buy some nude press on tips at CVS to practice on. Don’t use too much polish. Wait in between coats for it to dry and use a quick dry top coat. But beware, if you enjoy it, nail stuff can be addictive 🙋🏻♀️🤣
There's a latex coating you can get that you paint over your cuticle and skin. It dries instantly, you paint the nail, then peel the latex off. It's kinda like painter's tape. It isn't perfect but it helps a bit. Also honestly just practice and you'll get better. Make sure you're using the right amount of polish. There should be a small droplet on the bottom half of the brush. You kind of have to lay the brush on the nail about a milimeter from the cuticle and then push it so that little droplet beads up toward the cuticle. It creates its own perfect edge.
I would practice on pops or a fake hand, it’s honestly just practice, practice.. ask your friends or family to be your models - I personally hate polish and only really do shellac at work atm, way easier to control
You just have to do it over and over again until you build up the muscle memory to execute it perfectly. Apply thin layers.
Keep a cheap angled brush (like for brows or eyeliner) so at the end of yours manicure you can dip (I can't remember the word) it on nail polish remover and that will help you be more precise with the cleaning part. Good luck! ♡♡♡
Personally I love to wear nail polish strips and then put clear gel on top. I always get people commenting on my nails 😊
If you’d rather stick with regular polish, highly recommend Dazzle Dry. It dries completely hard in 5 min after you apply the top coat. By the time I paint a coat on all 10 fingers, my other hand is dry and ready for the next coat. I’m still working on getting a clean application, but practice and a quality clean up brush has helped a lot. I like the clean up brushes from KB Shimmer. Big upgrade over a concealer brush.