Four Things You Should Know Before Getting a Gel Manicure

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breathe, cuticles, Elemis Liquid Layer SPF30, Elemis Sweet Orchid Monoi Body Oil, Elemis Tea Tree S.O.S. Spray, gel, gel nails, mani, manicure, melanoma, nail, nails, oils, salon, strip, suffocate, tanning beds, UV lamp

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In the past, if we wanted a manicure which lasted any length of time, you’d have to get acrylic overlays which require infills every few weeks and ended up costing a lot in maintenance. Now, if you want a manicure which lasts and looks good, but doesn’t ruin our own nails, you can opt for gel polish, which is cured (hardened) with a UV lamp and can last a matter of weeks. The application process is far simpler and you can have it applied straight to your own nails. Here are four things that we think you should know before opting for a gel mani:

Your Nails Don’t Need to Breathe

A common myth that gets touted around is that your nails won’t be able to ‘breathe’ if you have gel nails, but it’s actually codswallop. Your nails don’t need to be in direct contact with the air around them and having a gel manicure won’t somehow suffocate them! It can strip some of the oils from you nails leaving them a little dry, but that’s nothing that a little Elemis Sweet Orchid Monoi Body Oil won’t solve.

You Should Sunscreen Your Hands!

A lot of people don’t make the connection that the UV lamps which are used for gel manicures are basically the same type of bulbs which are used for tanning beds, which means that exposure leaves you vulnerable to melanoma. Before you have your mani (or do it yourself), use a sunscreen such as Elemis Liquid Layer SPF30 on your fingers to protect them from harmful rays.

You Can Do It Yourself

Not everyone has the spare cash to go to a nail salon once every couple of weeks to get their nails redone, but what you might not know is that gel manicures are more than achievable at home. You can pick up a kit which includes a curing lamp that gives you everything you need to get a salon-fresh look, and there are a lot of YouTube videos to help guide you through the process.

Be Careful With Your Cuticles

One of the things that a decent manicurist will do is take care of your cuticles before applying gel paint, so that it doesn’t stick to them and cause lifting around the edges. However, having your cuticles cut can leave you at really high risk of infection, and having them pushed back is a much better and more hygienic way to deal with them. If you’ve got some Elemis Tea Tree S.O.S. Spray in your bag, a quick spritz on your fingers one your mani has completely set would be great way to prevent germs from spreading.

How to Get a Salon-Quality Manicure at Home

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cuticle, Decleor Ongles Nail Strengthening Serum, DIY, Elemis British Botanical Hand and Nail Butter, fingernails, gel nails, hand, hands, home, mani, manicure, massage, nails, oil, polish, salon, sheen, shine

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Having a manicure at a salon can feel like one of life’s little luxuries, a pick-me-up if you’re feeling low and an oasis of calm in an otherwise busy week. However, sometimes it’s not possible to get to a salon to have your nails done, owing to schedule or budget issues and you don’t want your hands to end up looking tatty so we’ve put together some tips to help you to achieve a salon-mani look at home, so that your hands don’t need to suffer.

Prepare

Half of the work in having a manicure is getting your nails back to zero, so that they can begin the real work. This means removing old polish and giving the fingers a good coating with cuticle oil. This will soften the area and make removing ragged cuticles far easier. We’d recommend Decleor Ongles Nail Strengthening Serum, to revitalise the nails and surrounding skin. Use a wooden cuticle stick to push overgrown cuticles back and use clean nail scissors if you need a trim.

File

It’s amazing how different your hands can look when you take the time to file each nail into a neat, tidy shape and well-filed nails will be the difference between a perfect mani and a nail disaster. Use a curved nail file (NOT a metal one as these can split the nails) and only file in one direction to limit stress fractures.

Paint

Choosing the right colour is really important, as well as the TYPE of polish you use. If you want to get a really salon-like finish opt for the gel-nail dupe polishes that you find on the market as they’ll give you a more professional finish. However, if you’re not a big fan of colour or your painting skills just aren’t up to scratch, opt for a high-shine clear polish. It will give your nails a healthy sheen and make your hands look a lot more ‘finished’ than if you leave them completely bare.

Massage

Giving yourself a hand massage might seem like a really weird, or nigh-on impossible suggestion, but it’s actually surprisingly easy to give yourself a hand massage. Give your hands a liberal coating of Elemis British Botanical Hand and Nail Butter, which will not only feel great, but smell great too. Then, get to work! You can either go down the manual route and use your other hand, working into the palms and heels of your hands with your thumbs, or use something to roll your hands over like a bottle which allows you to find the pressure which feels right for you.