As long as you're properly equipped, you can give yourself a salon-level gel manicure at home — think of all the time and money you'll save in the long run. All you need is one of the best at-home gel nail kits, which should include gel polish, a base and top coat, a UV curing lamp, and manicure tools. Before you get to shopping, though, some important gel manicure tips.
Since gel manicures can be hard on your nails, dermatologist Charlotte Birnbaum, with whom Bustle spoke for this article, suggests taking breaks in between gel manicures, rather than doing them back to back. Beyond that, though, the American Academy of Dermatology has a few other recommendations to keep your nails and hands healthy and safe. First, since the UV lamps that are used to cure gel polishes emit ultraviolet rays, it's important to apply sunscreen on your hands before doing your gel manicure. Also, never pick at your gel polish to try to remove it. Instead, soak just your nails, not your entire hand, in acetone, then carefully push any remaining polish off. (For an in-depth guide on how to remove gel nail polish, Bustle breaks it down here.)
Now that you're armed with those key tips, scroll on to shop the best at-home gel nail kits you can buy on Amazon.
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1The Overall Best At-Home Gel Nail Kit
This Beetles gel nail kit contains everything you could possibly need to give yourself a gel manicure at home: six gel nail polishes, a top coat, a base coat, several manicure tools (including a cuticle pusher and nail separators), cuticle oil, and a UV/LED lamp. The gel polishes are nine-free, and the UV lamp, which you can use with other gel nail polishes, has three preset timer settings. Considering all that, its under-$60 price tag is pretty reasonable.
2The Best Basic Kit For Beginners
If you don't need a kit that comes with as many bells and whistles, this Sally Hansen Salon Pro Gel Starter Kit is a great option. It comes with just the basics — a base and top coat, one gel nail color (here it's "Shall We Dance," a pretty light pink), nail polish remover, a nail buffer, a cuticle stick, alcohol pads to prep your nails — as well as an LED curing lamp. The lamp is nice and small, too, so it won't take up too much space in your drawer.
3The Best Deluxe Kit For Nail Art
For people who love experimenting with bold manicures and intricate nail art, this Modelones gel polish kit makes it easy to do at home. In addition to the basics — the gel polish, a top and base coat, an LED curing lamp, and several manicure tools — it comes with tons of decorative extras, like nail glitter, holographic nail powder, nail stickers, and a wheel full of rhinestones. Basically, with this kit, you can open up your own nail art studio at home.
4You’ll Also Want:
To remove your gel manicure, you can certainly place acetone-soaked cotton pads around your fingers and cover them with small pieces of foil. But these clips make it so much easier and prevent the cotton from sliding off (which always happens), so you can do other things while you wait for your polish to soak off. Place the cotton pads into the clips and the clips onto your nails, then feel free to go about your business.
Expert:
Dr. Charlotte Birnbaum, board-certified dermatologist practicing at Spring Street Dermatology.
