Gelicious mani breakdown

Following my last post I thought I would elaborate a bit more on the gelicious mani. I am in no way an expert. I did have a lot of questions when deciding on whether to do gel or not, and how it all works. So I thought I would document how I did my new gel mani today.

after non-acetone removal

after rubbing alcohol - 8 days old

Just to see how well my old mani was holding up - eight days (8) – I removed my nail art using non-acetone remover. This left the nails a bit cloudy or matte. So I soaked a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and swiped off my nails. This brought back the shine. I am really impressed at the mani after over a week. My middle finger is starting to split and there is some tip wear, otherwise great.

The next step was to remove all of the gel polish (alu foil method) and wash my hands. After all these weeks of gelling around, my naked nails still look pretty good. No peeling or chipping, no ridges, smooth, and pretty strong. Except for my middle fingers which seem to peel always. Must be in my genes.

Then I totally cleaned the surface of my nails on my left hand with rubbing alcohol. I tried to take a pic while they were still wet. The alcohol evaporates really quickly. I go over heaps. Don't be fooled by the tiny bottle. I buy the stuff by litre at the pharmacy and refill small bottles (much cheaper).

top before with polish on skin next to top left, bottom after clean up

Using thin thin strokes, I paint my nails - one nail at a time. It really isn't painting like normal polish, more squishing. I start towards the bottom of the nail and squish the brush downwards toward the cuticle and move it back and forth a wee bit (kind of like the one stroke flower method). I am trying to get a neat cuticle line. I pull the brush out towards the tip. You can keep going over this until it looks right. When done, clean up with the alcohol where you might have hit the skin and draw a better line if you are not happy with the cuticle line. If you take out too much, no worries. Just go back over with some polish. Anything goes until you cure.

< before, >after clean up

I seal the sides and tip by holding the brush vertical to the horizontal nail and push it against the nail. This will inevitably result in globs of polish under your nail. I don't want these I am prone to pick at them, causing the seal to break and the gel to loosen. Using the alcohol and the brush, I blend in the gel with the back of the nail. Smooth it around a bit.

When all four of my nails are done, I cure them for 30 seconds. I use a digital timer and their simple LED light. I have two for clients but only use the one for me. My method is to turn on the light, push the timer, put my hand in and when the 30 seconds beep I leave them in for another 5 seconds or so.

after curing the first coat

The first coat is the most important, I think, as that is when you set your cuticle lines. It also takes the longest to apply. Neat freak! The second coat is easier as you are just going over where you painted before. The second coat still takes take, though, as you need to seal the sides and tip and make sure you fully cover the first layer. Also to blend in the back of your nails to get rid of the blobs.

three fingers with second layer, index still with one

This layer is cured again and then the top coat is applied. With the top coat I go further down towards the cuticle to make sure the gel top coat can grab some natural nail. This helps the gel grip. I empty the brush as much as I can of top coat and then apply a very thin layer to the backs of my nails. This seals in the tips fully.
**** If you can afford it, my tip would be to have one bottle of top coat for whites and nudes, another for colours. I haven't done this yet and can see that the top coat is slightly tainted from the last mani of red. Hardly noticeable, but still.

After the topcoat is cured clean all the nails with rubbing alcohol. That seals it all, brings the shine and cleans the nail of residue. Done! This is gelicious French White and I will talk about that more in one of my next posts!