DIY Gell Nail Extensions

Posted by Unknown on Thursday, November 7, 2013. Filed under: , ,

Hi all!

I finally finished my DIY gel nail extension project and I think it turned out pretty great!

As I mentioned previously, I started this project after being inspired by this pin I discovered sometime before Halloween.

The pre-steps for this position were simple: a quick run to Sally Beauty. At Sally I found the following to help me out with tackling this project:

1. All Season Professional Ultra Natural Nail Tips (around $7.00)
2. All Season Professional Light-Less Gel Kit ($22.99)
2.  Nail Tip Clippers ($5.50)

And then I began!

Disclaimer:
I am not a certified or licensed nail professional. All of this was taken on as a personal interest and I do not consider myself an expert on the skills needed to apply artificial nails. Before attempting a project like this, I highly recommend that you address any of your concerns with your local nail technician. 

 
1. I started the project by first preparing my nails. This requires you to cleanse the nails (I bought a 2-in-1 dehydrator and cleaning wipe solution made by All Season Profession at Sally for around $5.00) as well buffer the natural shine away. Buffering is easy and you can use a buffering block you can get anywhere for a dollar (or less). The biggest thing you want to see is that there is little to no shine left on your nails. 

 
2. After preparing my nails, I finally picked out the nail tips I wanted from the ASP Ultra Natural tips I bought and glued them onto my nails. The biggest problem that I had with this is that my nails were so short that the bottom portion of the tips almost covered the whole nail bed! It's really important to take your time with this step and make sure that you're selecting the right size (sizes range from 1-10 and, for comparison, my middle and ring finger used the same size tip) and that there is no overflow of the tip off of the nail bed.

 
3. After letting the glue dry, it then came the time to cut the tips down. This is where the nail tip clippers come in. You can pick which ever length you would like. I didn't really want super long nails, I really just wanted an extension of my actual nails so I decided to use the tip of my finger as the indicator for how long I wanted the nail.

 
4. After sizing the length of the nail, I was finally ready for the longest step. This entails you filing the new extension down and applying the gel. Now, the awesome thing about the kit that I selected from ASP is that it was a light-less gel. I filed my nails accordingly and applied the gel just as I would normally do with any nail polish. It is VERY, VERY, VERY important that you try to keep the application as even as possible (and I'll explain why at the end of the this step). Then I applied a quick mist that was provided in the kit to help cure the gel. Then, I filed and buffed for what felt like AGES. Now, it took me to long to file and buff because I didn't apply the gel as evenly as I should have. I would say, to get to the end of this step (including all the other steps) it took me at least 1.5 hours. But it was totally worth it!
 
 
5. After buffing and filing my new, wonderful nails it was time for me to pick my nail polish. Now, I opted to no do a gel polish. In my opinion, it didn't seem to make a difference to me but I do know that I will not use an acetone-based nail polish remover in order to not damage the gel below. So, I decided I was in a pink mood an chose the following nail polishes to use: ORLY "Butterflies," ORLY FX "Embrace," ULTA "Snow White," and China Glaze's Fast Forward Top Coat.
 
 

 
6. I felt like getting a little creative with my nails an went in a different direction. On my thumb, middle finger and pinky I used ORLY ""Butterflies"; On my ring finger I used ULTA "Snow White" in preparation for doing stripes; and on my index finger I used ORLY FX "Embrace." I then cut small strips of tape to lay across my ring finger to help paint my stripes.
 
 
7. I then painted one coat of ORLY "Butterflies" over the whole  ring finger. I also did a second coat, as in the picture you can see it as a little too thin on the first coat.
 

 
8. Finally, after drying, I was ready for the reveal! I diligently removed the tape strips to reveal the end result! I then applied the China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat to give it a nice shiny coat.

 
9. The finished project!
 
My Afterthought:
  • I honestly didn't think that this project would have taken as long as it did, but I believe it is honestly because I was too quick with applying the gel. I would definitely recommend taking your time with the gel and really being diligent with it. I was a little liberal with the gel, so a bit when to far down and over the cuticle. I'm hoping that this well be more fixable when the nail bed grows out a little.
  • I did have a lot of fun doing this!
  • TAKE YOUR TIME (or you will be sorry later).
  • This totally beats going to the nail salon! The supplies cost me only $34 and I think that I can get at least 4-5 applications out of the supplies (and a refill of the gel only costs around $9.00) meaning that this only cost me around $7.00 and the average manicure is 3 times that!

Next Entries »
« Previous Entries

No Responses to DIY Gell Nail Extensions

Leave a Reply

I love comments :)