Anyone try gel nail polish at home?

[marie]

Getting a manicure without gel is a total waste for me... It will chip within a day. I like having color on my nails, but with 3 little ones it hard to get to a salon AND I am cheap 😉

It looks like the "start up" cost for me would be around $80. The lamp runs about $40 and I would need a few polishes, base coat, and top coat.

Anyone had success (or failure) doing it themselves?

[sotally tober]

I bought the kit from Target on sale, but definitely don't use their polishes. I get the polish from Sally's - either China Glaze or Gelish. They usually have a pretty decent sale. Highly recommend getting the CG top coat and base coats. Amazon sells a lot of the OPI colors - I've seen their top coat and base coat on there as well.

It did take me a while to get the hang of it - and I notice that it comes off easier than when the salon does it. You have to be careful to not apply the polish too thick, especially near the edges.

I am glad I have the kit however, admittedly, I get my nails done every other week at the salon because I'm impatient and my dog freaks out at the beep of the light which makes doing them at home a pain. The place by my work is so cheap, I can't turn it down for a gel mani. But, it's nice to have the kit at home so if a color doesn't look good or chips for some odd reason, it gets me through until my next salon visit.

[persa]

Get an LED light, I hear they're much faster and no UV rays for skin damage

[marriedfilingjoint]

I have the SensatioNail kit. I love it, but I've recently started using it way more because now they have a topcoat that you can use over any polish to get the gel finish under the lamp. It's faster and cheaper and lets me go back to Essie and all my Julep stash.

I haven't had great success with taking it off without damaging my nails but admittedly I start picking at them after a week and usually peel it off which is awful.

[calico]

I have the fancy Red Carpet Manicure kit from Ulta. Love it. I make my own foil wraps from the giant roll of foil in the pantry, and buy Shellac polish online. It's still a solid 1 hour process for me, though. $$ Saving, yes, but not time-saving.

[mala]

I do it. I can't afford gel at the salon, but regular polish won't last a day at work. There is a learning curve, but it's not too bad. I love the Lechat polishes, available on amazon. Especially their color changing polish. Spend your money in the LED light, but I don't think the kit is worth it. You can get better lights separately.

[cottoncandy]

How do you remove gel polish at home?

[mala]

Jan 11, 2017 18:40:12 GMT -5 cottoncandy said:

How do you remove gel polish at home?

I scratch it up with a nail file.Then cut apart a cotton square and some aluminum foil. Dip bit of cotton in acetone, put on nail and wrap in foil. Do one hand, then go watch a 20 minute show. Wash hands and do the other. I tried those clips you can buy instead of foil, but they're worthless. The acetone evaporates before the polish comes off.