The at home gel manicure
By: Felicia Tricome
Tags: Nails, Manicure, Quarantine, Beauty, Self Love

I have been successfully doing my own gel manicure and pedicures for roughly 4 years. This at home ritual has saved me time and money on frequent trips to the nail salon. Now I know that the trip to the nail salon is a treat and a time for you to sit and relax. In the light of recent world events, those luxuries are momentarily unavailable. However, just because we are all stuck at home does not mean we have to go without groomed nails. All it takes is a quick run to the drug store or a few clicks on online to get the tools you need for your at home nail service.

Sally Hansen Pro Gel Kit

Photo from Walgreens website

The Sally Hansen Pro Gel Kit is available at Ulta Beauty, CVS or Walgreens. This gel kit comes with everything you need to give yourself the perfect at home gel manicure or pedicure. In this kit you will get; a 6 watt LED lamp, 10 nail cleanser pads, acetone remover, wooden cuticle stick, nail file, base coat, nail color and top coat. It is available in two different color red my lips or shell we dance. As for pricing this kit varies in price depending on where it is purchased. Pricing ranges from $38.79–59.99.

Gel nail polish colors

Photo from CVS website

If you start to become a pro at doing your nails at home, you may want to add a few more colors to your collection. Sally Hansen does sell a variety of gel colors, which can be purchased online ( Amazon, Ulta, CVS or Walgreens) or you can purchase in person at the drug store. You can expect to spend around $13 per color.

Photo from Ulta beauty website

A personal favorite of mine is the Red carpet nails brand. This gel polish can be purchased at Ulta beauty online for $9.99. They have an extremely wide range of colors to choose from. On Ulta’s website they categorize each color by collection, for example they have “Blue, green and yellow LED gel polish collection”. I enjoy this feature because, it groups like colors together making it a little more simpler to choose a specific color/tone.

Additional tools (optional)

This is a list of extra manicuring tools that may be useful.

- Nail clippers

- Cuticle nippers

- Cuticle pusher

- Buffing block

- Nail file

- Foot file also called a pedi egg or callus remover ( removes dry skin and calluses)

- Alcohol or alcohol prep pads ( clean nails before and after polishing)

- Toe nail separators ( or you can use a folded tissue/ paper towels)

There you have it! Everything you need to give yourself the perfect at home gel manicure and pedicure. These products have worked so well for me over the years. Not only has this small investment saved me so much money, but I actually really enjoy doing my own nails. I know this may sound bizarre to some people who are avid nail salon goers. Several years ago, I religiously went to to get my nails done every two weeks ( I had acrylic nails for 8 years). Now I enjoy having the ability to do my own gel nails at home and it is just another step in my at home self care routine. Personally, my gel nail manicure lasts about two weeks and my pedicure I can leave for about a month. You will most definitely get the longevity of a salon manicure and if you happen to chip a nail, you can easily/ quickly fix it yourself. The at home manicure may not be for everyone, but it is definitely worth giving a try while nail salons are not available.