{"id":12111,"date":"2014-01-22T05:30:46","date_gmt":"2014-01-21T22:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=12111"},"modified":"2014-01-23T05:48:02","modified_gmt":"2014-01-22T22:48:02","slug":"need-to-save-some-money-try-a-diy-gel-manicure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/need-to-save-some-money-try-a-diy-gel-manicure\/","title":{"rendered":"Need to Save Some Money? Try a DIY Gel Manicure"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DIY<\/p>\n

I love having my nails done but here’s the thing, I don’t like the ongoing cost of keeping them well manicured and two, I don’t like the time it takes to schedule an appointment at a nail salon, drive there, and then have them done. \u00a0That’s time I could be with my family…or blogging! \u00a0Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show <\/a>last week, I learned about Panasonic’s new beauty line of products after having my hair done with their new nano Hair Dryer.<\/p>\n

They have \u00a0a Gel Nail Remover wand that not only removes gel polish, but has a built-in nail buffer and cuticle care attachment to help prepare for your next gel polish. I was intrigued, but it made it clear to me that I was behind the times. \u00a0What is gel polish I asked?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is a Gel Manicure?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A gel manicure uses a special type of gel nail polish that is odorless and is known to last a long time…up to 2 weeks on nails and does not chip. Similar to a regular manicure, it starts with a base coat, two coats of polish, and a top coat. \u00a0However, the gel needs to be cured during the process to ensure it adheres to the nail (or synthetic nail) as well as to each of the layers. \u00a0To cure your gel polish, you must buy a small LED Ultra Violet lamp and place your freshly painted nails in there after each coat…from anywhere to 30 seconds to 1 minute.<\/p>\n

What to Buy<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Hmmm, sounds interesting. \u00a0I could do my nails at home, have them look professionally done, and save a bunch of money in the long run? \u00a0Sounds good to me. \u00a0A week after leaving CES, I went to my local\u00a0Walmart <\/a>to buy the materials I needed to get started.<\/p>\n

\"DIY<\/p>\n

I bought a KISS LED Gel Lamp for $27.97, Sensational gel base coat, Sally Hansen red gel nail polish, and a KISS top gel. \u00a0Each of the gel bottles were priced from $8 to $10. \u00a0How did I know what materials I needed to buy, you ask?<\/p>\n

\"Walmart<\/p>\n

Simple, I just looked at the LED Lamp box!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The DIY Gel Manicure Process<\/span><\/h2>\n

With all of my materials gathered, I started the process of my DIY gel manicure.<\/p>\n

\"DIY<\/p>\n

I unboxed the KISS LED lamp and was pleased to see it had an AC Adapter rather than a battery.<\/p>\n

\"DIY<\/p>\n

Peering inside the LED lamp, I saw a bunch of LED lightbulbs and like a thin mirror all around the inside. \u00a0 Time to get started….<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

STEP 1:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong> Remove any previous nail polish you have and buff your nails to ensure any residue is off.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

STEP 2:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Push back your cuticles and shape your nails with a nail file.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

STEP 3:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Apply the gel base coat to your nails so the polish has something to stick onto. \u00a0 After you are done with the first hand, cure 4 fingers in the LED lamp for 30 seconds. \u00a0Repeat with the second hand. \"DIY\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"DIY \u00a0 \"DIY<\/p>\n

Then put both your thumbs in together. \u00a0I recommend you do your thumbs last. \u00a0I did with each hand but since they rest on their side, the get started running onto the side of my finger as I did the rest of the nails. \u00a0So paint four fingers, cure, then paint the other four fingers, cure, then paint both thumbs and cure at the same time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

STEP 4:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Paint four fingers on each hand, cure under the lamp for a minute, and paint the other four under the Lamp. \u00a0Next paint your two thumbs and cure under the lamp. \u00a0Repeat for a second coat.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

S<\/span><\/strong>tep 5: \u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Almost done! \u00a0Now use the top coat and paint the clear coat on each of your nails, using the process mentioned before, only you cure them in the lamp for only 30 seconds this time. \u00a0Your nails will be sticky and you will need to let them dry a bit.<\/p>\n

After awhile, you can rinse them in water and they should be good to go. \u00a0I was worried when I touched a nail with my finger and left a fingerprint. \u00a0But after I washed the stickiness away, the fingerprint mark was gone. \u00a0Phew!<\/p>\n

\"DIY<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lessons Learned<\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
  • With normal nail polish, it is easy for me to scrape away nail polish under water that had landed in my cuticles. \u00a0With gel manicures, it is not so easy because of the numerous tacky levels of gel you use. \u00a0I found that by cutting away some of the gel that went over the side of my nail, I loosened up the whole polish job and later the entire polish on my nail came off. \u00a0Oops! \u00a0\u00a0So next time I will be more careful in painting my nails and will not try to get so close to the edges on the sides of my nails to prevent this from happening again.<\/li>\n
  • It does take some extra time with the LED lamp, so plan accordingly. \u00a0Next time I’ll turn on some music and have a magazine handy…or better yet…I’ll do the gel manicure with a friend!<\/li>\n
  • It’s a little costly to get started with DIY gel manicure, but you don’t really use a lot of it at one time…a little really goes far. \u00a0I will probably be able to do at least 10 manicures with my gels, which is still a great bargain versus going into a salon.<\/li>\n
  • If you’re not a perfectionist, your nails will not look perfect. \u00a0They won’t look salon perfect, but they still look great and I love the fact that I do not need to worry about chips anymore.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

    A Mom’s Perspective<\/span><\/h2>\n

    \"DIY<\/p>\n

    Well, I finished my first DIY gel manicure and it doesn’t look too bad. \u00a0In two weeks, I’ll worry about how I’ll get it off! \u00a0\ud83d\ude09 \u00a0Doing a DIY gel manicure takes some time, especially the first time, but now that I’ve done it once, the next time will be easier. \u00a0I’m curious to see how the tips of my nails will last. \u00a0With regular polish, they tend to chip or wear down first.<\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n
    Oh yeah, and I wanted to mention that the LED lamp actually does have some heat to it. \u00a0Not much, but you can feel its warmth. \u00a0And it gives off a blue glow, it looks really cool when you’re using it. \u00a0By pressing the button on the top of the lamp, it sets a 60 second timer for you. \u00a0It will beep after 30 seconds and turn off automatically after 60 seconds. \u00a0It’s very “handy,” pardon the pun!<\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

    If you regularly get manicures but are intrigued with the gel DIY manicure process, buy the materials needed and commit to two home manicures to see how you like it. \u00a0If you don’t like it, go back to the manicurist and you’re not out much additional money. \u00a0If you do like it, you are on your way to saving more money to stock away for something special…or even a commitment to your kids’ college savings.<\/div>\n

    \"Family<\/p>\n

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    \"walmart_mom_disclaimer\"<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Want to save some money and time? Forego the nail salon for a DIY gel manicure at home. Gel manicures are odorless, last up to 2 weeks, and don’t chip!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[793,3,10,14],"tags":[2105,2103,2104,2106],"class_list":["post-12111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accessories","category-appliances","category-how-to","category-moms","tag-diy-manicure","tag-gel","tag-gel-manicure","tag-how-to-do-gel-nails","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/p-content\/themes\/atahualpa342\/images\/articles\/2014\/01\/Walmart-DIY-Gel-Manicure-4-Cover.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}