0 comments / Posted on by Linh Nguyen

When it comes to long-lasting, durable, beautiful nails, it is hard to beat the benefits of gel nail polish.  There was a time when you needed to go to a salon if you wanted a gel manicure, but nowadays you can do your own gel nail polish at home. 

Gel nail polish is pretty easy to use, but if you are a beginner, there are some mistakes that you need to watch out for.  Following are some common mishaps to make sure you are steering clear of.

 1. Applying thick layers.

 Don’t glop on your nail polish.  Keep your layers thin.  If you put on layers which are too thick, the polish will not hold properly to your nails. 

 2. Failing to shake your polish.

 You may not be used to shaking nail polish, but with gel, it is a must.  If you fail to shake it, you will find it is hard to apply it evenly.  Note that neither the base nor top coat need shaking before use.  You only need to do it with the colors.

3. Using long strokes.

If you try to apply gel nail polish with long strokes, you will have a hard time controlling your application.  Short strokes will make for an even coating and make it easier to keep the gel from getting on your cuticles.

4. Forgetting to cap the edges.

After you finish applying your base coat, color ,and top coat to each nail, you may think you are done—but you are not.  You need to actually paint the end of each nail as well.  Skipping this step will often result in your gel nail polish lifting.  For this reason, you need to make sure that you cap the edges of each of your nails after every single coat you apply. 

5. Letting gel polish cure on your skin.

You need to be extra careful not to get gel polish get on your skin.  Not only does it make your nails look uneven and increase the risk of the polish lifting, but it is really, really hard to remove after it has been cured. 

On the bright side, before you cure gel polish, it tends to be pretty easy to remove.  So just make sure you have wiped it away before you cure your nails. 

6. Trying to cure all of your fingers simultaneously when your lamp is too small.

The lamps for curing gel nail polish come in different sizes.  Some of them are too small to cure the polish on all of your fingers at once, so you need to do just a few fingers at a time.  While you may be impatient to try and do all of them, resist the urge.  If you force five fingers into a lamp made for four, you will not get the results you are aiming for.

Now you know some common beginner mistakes to avoid when applying your gel nail polish at home.  By steering away from these pitfalls, you can achieve a beautiful manicure every time!

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