8: Gel nails

Hi Guys!

I wanted to take pictures of the salon I study at but I thought it would've been weird if I started taking pictures of everything with my huge camera so instead I took few pictures with my cellphone of my gel nails lesson. Now I wanted to take pictures of the step-by-step process but since I had to do the nails myself it was a bit hard so I only took a few pictures of the products we used and the curing process. Sorry guys maybe I'll have a chance to do it again next time! So yesterday was the first time I ever did a UV Gel Overlay on my natural fingernails. The process is quite hard for someone who's never had any experience and I think it definitely takes practice to perfect the treatment. There were so many times where I messed up and overfiled my gels. Anyways on to some of the pictores :)




This is my working area. It's super girly and antique-y and lace-y and pink :) There's approximately 8 separate working areas in the whole salon and most of the times they're all filled with other students or clients.

This is our nail polish station. Near the bottom you can see the CND nail polishes neatly arranged by colour on an antique table with a pink flower bucket centerpiece. So pretty :)

This is CND's UV Light (machine?). This is what you use to lock and cure your gel nails. It was quite fun to play with.

Onto the gels. Since my teacher is CND's education embassador it's only natural that we used CND's Brisa gel for the experiment. The whole process was quite simple actually.
1. Use a file to remove the shine. 180 grit file preferred.
2. After the shine has been removed from your natural nails wipe nails with Scrub fresh to prep.
3. After using Scrub Fresh carefully apply a thin layer of gel (similar to a base coat) to your natural nails all the while making sure the gel does not touch your skin (if the gel touches your skin it will most likely cause lifting)

In this picture you can see Scrub Fresh - Gel brush - Gel.

4. After you have applied your 1st gel coat cure in the UV Light for 2 minutes.
5. After you have finished curing wipe nails with Scrub Fresh to remove the sticky layer.
6. After you have removed the sticky layer put on a 2nd coat of the coloured gel.
NOTE* Now I think that this is the tricky part to explain. When you put on the 2nd coat it should be thick and you don't really paint it on. I was taught to pick up the gel with the brush and just push and move the gel around your nail for full coverage. It was definitely hard for me to do so I ended up using my painting method again but basically with more gel so the colour is visible. This just one of the things that takes a lot of practice to get it right.
7. After you finished applying the 2nd coat put your fingers in the UV Light for the locking step. Locking takes only 10 seconds.
NOTE* About a year ago I had gel nails put on and instead of just lightly buffing away the natural shine my nail tech used a drill buffer which is much faster I suppose. At the same time after I had my gel nails removed I noticed that my nails were a bit weaker than before. This was proved yesterday when I put my fingers in for the locking process. The first time you cure the base coat there should be absolutely no feeling at all for your nails. But when it comes to locking I had noticed a sharp intense pain which felt like my nails were burning! It was so hot I had to pull my hands out. When my teacher noticed this she asked me if I had artificial nails before and I told her about my previous gel experience. She concluded that my natural nails aren't as strong as they used to be and had also become thinner than before so that's why the pain was so intense for me. She also noted that it could also be because she had just replaced the UV Light with a new bulb but most likely it was my thin thin nails. She also told me that if I couldn't stand the Locking pain anymore then I can just skip that process and cure for 2 minutes instead.

8. After all that fancy locking and curing remember to remove the sticky layer with Scrub Fresh and prepare to file. Filing was very difficult for me as I couldn't control it properly. I overfiled too much and had to put the gel on again and repeat the whole process. It definitely takes a while to get used to.

9. Once you are satisfied with the shape of the nail seal everything in with Brisa Gloss the gel top coat but remember to also be careful when applying the top coat because if this touches the skin then it can cause lifting too!

10. After applying the topcoat cure again for 2 minutes.

11. After you have finished curing in the UV Light remove the sticky layer with Scrub Fresh and voila you are FINALLY finished :)

12. Remember to apply cuticle oil because it's most likely that your cuticles would've taken a beating with all that filing.

Being the super newb that I am this actually took me a full 6 hours to do hahha! Well with the exception of a 40minute lunch break :p

I hope this was kinda helpful for anyone who's about to do their own gel nails for the first time or anyone who's about to get gel nails. It will take you some time to get used to the feeling so give it a few days. As for any advice to anyone who's about to do their own nails for the first time I strongly recommend that you have someone there who can guide you because it's really not easy to do but if you're super awesome and can follow instructions perfectly and do everything without fail then by all means good luck with your project :D

PS. The colour of my gels was a clear Cool Pink.

xx

Joyce