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DIY Gel Manicure Checklist: What You Need

Posted on by Phil Cao

Are you looking for a way to get a gel manicure from the comfort of your own home? Don’t worry, Hollywood Nails Supply have everything you need, including this incredibly helpful DIY gel manicure checklist.

What Do I Need for An At-Home Gel Manicure?

All the Right Nail Tools

The essential nail tools you need to make sure you have for your gel manicure are:

  • Nail Clippers – to trim your nails to uniform length quickly and easily.
  • Cuticle Pusher – to push down your cuticles and reveal the half moon.
  • Cuticle Trimmer – to trim the excess skin around your cuticles to keep your nails tidy.
  • Nail File – to shape and smooth the edges of your nails.
  • Nail Buffer – to lightly buff the surface before application, so the gel adheres easily.

Another option, if you are planning on building your own collection of gel polishes, are swatch sticks. Every time you buy a new DND gel polish, add it to a swatch stick so you can easily identify the colour for your next DIY manicure.

Other Essential Products

To continue prepping your nails, you will also need lint-free wipes and rubbing alcohol. You will need the lint-free wipes to apply the rubbing alcohol after you have buffed your nails; it is important they are lint-free, so no unwanted fibres are left on your nails. Unless you purchase a ‘no wipe’ top coat, you will also need to apply the rubbing alcohol at the end of the manicure to remove the tacky layer as well.

Gel Curing Lamp

Of course, there isn’t just one gel curing lamp to choose from so you will need to assess your options before buying. Gel polish can cure using both UV and LED lamps, the two main choices for gel manicures. UV lamps usually cure between 1-3 minutes and LED lamps usually cure between 30-60 seconds. LED lamp bulbs last longer than UV lamps, but UV lamps cure harder than LED. If you’re unsure about which one to go for, you can always ask us for help.

Gel Polish

Finally, the section you’ve all been waiting for – gel polish! First of all, the necessities of a DIY gel manicure are the base and top coat that cure with the lamp of your choice. Although they do not need to be the same brand as your gel colours, there is something quite satisfying about having a complete collection. We would recommend DND gel polishes as they have a huge variety of collections and colours. From DND DC to Duo, Platinum to Mermaid, Cat Eyes to Gel Ink, they have something for everyone. They are vegan, cruelty-free and have incredible wear so your manicure lasts even longer.

Bring Your Checklist to Hollywood Nails Supply

Now you have everything you need for your at-home gel manicure, we bet your excited to get going! Before you do, don’t forget to buy everything you need to remove your gel manicure too. This includes:

  • Acetone – to remove the gel polish from your nails.
  • Nail Clips – to hold the acetone-soaked lint-free wipes on your nails.
  • Cuticle Oil & Hand Cream – to moisturise your cuticles and nails after removal.

The good news is that you’ll only have to remove your gel polish every 2-3 weeks as it will last a lot longer than nail polish.

Take a look around our online shop to find everything you need or contact us directly if you have any questions, we’d be happy to help.

Phil Cao