I am back at doing them myself again !

I went to two pretty good and expensive salons in my city for about a year and still experienced lifting , which led to me removing the nails and getting them done almost every week .  At my last visit I found green fungus on my nails !!!  I decided to stop going to the salon and start doing them my self again.  First before anything I got rid of the fungus by soaking my nails in Apple Cider Vinegar for about five minutes every night and with in two weeks the fungus was gone .  My nails were still in pretty bad shape , very thin and I still hardly had a strong nail bed to apply polish to.

I resorted to using glue ons , but did not like how fake and thin they looked.  While on Facebook I discovered "Quick Dip" nails and thought I found my dream product.  The dip nails came out nice but they would never hold up , they would lift and I could never get them smooth next to my cuticle .  I used dip nails for quite a while , however they nails would not last for more than a week , by week two I had lifting .   I found myself once again removing the whole set of nails which of course ruins your nails .  So I gave up on the quick dip and decided to go back to gel , I still have my UV light and it still works.

Of course during this decision of went on Utube to see if there were any new tutorials .  I found the "Nail Hub" which was really help ful and by following the directions from the girl on there I was able to do a full sculpted set that lasted longer than a week , I even used my dip color acrylic on them .  One broke , but I was able to build another one rater quickly.   However I grew tired of the color and wanted to change it .  I made the mistake of filing too much off and all the nails broke.   I attempted tips and they broke as well .  Then I resorted to full cover nails ,but those popped off .  I went back to the nail hub and instead of looking at another tutorial I view a Q and A segment which was really helpful.  The nail educator on said something that made sense to me , she said not everyone has the same nails .  Acrylic may work for some people but not for others depending on the type of nails a person has .   Someone with very thin nails or damaged nails may need a more flexible product.  When you are creating a nail enhancement on nails that are really short , (think a nail bitter or broken nails) than the goal to creating a nail enhancement is to help the nail grow back to its correct shape.

I am not one to give up so easily so I tried another set with tips , I used the method I learned on the nailhub , but found I need to do at least three fully cured layers to get a strong nail. I also decided that sense I had so many layers of gel on that I would stick to polish instead .  I also like to use regular nail polish because it is easier to change the colors and match them to my toes.  I grow bored of the same color all the time .

Here is a picture of the nails I did , I decided to do a 4th of July theme because I am hoping that my nails last that long .

1. Pushed back my cuticles
2. Lightly filed the nail bed
3. Cleaned the nail plate with Alcohol on a nail wipe
4. Applied tips and cut them down to desired length
5. Blended nail tip with natural nail by filing lightly
6. Applied Bonder and cured for two minutes
7. Applied a base coat cure for a minute
8. Applied a thin layer of IBD builder gel to entire nail
9. Applied a ball of gel to the middle of the nail where the stress area is , pushed gel very very slightly to the cuticle area , no touching the cuticle. Then gently moving the gel to the tip of nail , trying to stay thick in the middle and then in the cuticle area and tip.   Cured for three minutes and repeated twice.
10. After my third layer of gel , I wipe off the sticky layer and file lightly to shape and get ride of any imperfections.  Remember only file very lightly , if you push on the file to hard you can file through the gel and cut your cuticles not fun and you end up with a bloody mess .

I give up !!!

I'm done doing my own nails , though I found this amazing product , I can't seem to keep it on my nails , I experience a lot of lifting , and I am having trouble on fitting the tips on right .  Seems everything I have done is not working .  In my attempts of DIY nails I have damaged my natural nails and will now have to try to grow them out .  I love the look of long nails and hopefully I can get my nails to the length I want by just trying to let them grown out naturally .  It's been hard ,  if they don't grown than I will resort to finding a salon to get them done at .  I think I have done more damage to my nails than good .   In addition to now having to resort to going to a salon , I have wasted a lot of time and money .   I have already started looking for some good salons and have asked for some recommendations.   I just know they won't touch my nails at the shape they are in right now .   I am currently using Sally Hansen Nail Miracle and have read really good reviews on it , and I am hoping it works. 

I am loving this Revel nail product so much , that I purchased four more colors to try .   I am wearing D177 Venus .  I have it over nail tips .   I find that if you put a clear color or light color on first than the color comes out more .   I also discovered that it is not necessary to file so hard , all you need is to file your nails lightly and buff them and tada they are smooth , and the finish gel adds an awesome shine .   In addition to doing your nails you can also put this on your toes .  My nails are not a 100 % , but they look pretty decent , I think .  I can't wait to add some stamps to them . 

Revel nails is a pretty awesome product .  I did my nails on Memorial day again , and they came out amazing .  Non of the nails broke , the nails needed to be filled and my thumb nail on my right hand was lifting .   I of course picked at it and the nail came off .  The nail under the acrylic was nice and health and smooth .   My nails are still in the process of growing , so I added a tip to the thumb nail on my right hand and filled my other nails.   This stuff is awesome it takes less time than it did when I used to do my gel nails .  The gel that they supply dries fast and shinny which makes painting my nails so easy !!

MEMORIAL DAY NAILS

BIRTHDAY NAILS

New Acrylic Dip Nails , Revel Nails .

I thought that making my own dip kit was pretty good , but I found a professional dip kit that is amazing !!  I recently purchase a Reval Nail starter dip kit , it came with four polish bottles and once 1oz jar of colored acrylic .   I purchase a light pink because I like to pain my nails , although I may eventually purchase some colored powder for the colors that I have trouble with , like creamy reds and pastels.    You can add tips or put an it on your natural nails.   Below are pictures of my nails after I add the acrylic to them and than painted.   The whole process was so easy and fast, I went from taking about three hours to do my nails to less than an hour .   I did these nails on May 11, and they are still on and have an incredible shine .  I have not broken any nails at all, so far so good.   If you like to do your own nails and are struggling with doing your own acrylics or gels , this product may be for you.   If you have trouble painting your nails this product may also be for you too, as long as you can leave a color on your hand for about 2 to four weeks. 

Quick Dip gold nails with black stamp , trying cinco de mayo ideas

I was growing tired of the round shape , also one of my fingers was not shape correctly .  I decided to do a new set ,  I usually do short nails , but this time I cut the tips first and then applied them .   I thought they would be pretty short , but they came out kind of long .   I didn't want to cut them and lose my shape , so I left them long.   It's taken a day to get used to typing , but so far so good. 

I applied the quick dip application and after I filed the nails I put IBD builder gel over them to  make them smoother .  Infact I think instead of using the IBD builder gel I could have just used the risen , I'll try that on the next set or fill.   I am hoping that the next time I change them it  will be a color change or fills.  

I think I still have some more practicing to do , but so far they look pretty decent .  for this set I used a gold color from Salley Hansen , called Game of Chromes , and then applied a stamp from my Konad stamping plate in special polish black pearl.   The design kind of reminds me of a fiesta , with the swirls and curves .  

I decided to purchase a professional stamping kit and bought a starter kit from Reval ,  I seen some tutorials on youtube and it looks pretty easy to use .   I paid $50.00 for the kit and I can't wait until it comes in the mail.  

Quick Dip nails , Red gold ombre with Stars .

My ring finger on my right hand broke , instead of redoing it with gel , I decided to try a new overlay .  I don't know why but the gel nails were still not strong enough for me .   I recently read an article in nails magazine about how Acrylic dipping is coming back .   I once did these type of nails for my sisters wedding and I was impressed with them , but due to the condition of my nails they never lasted very long .  

Instead of repairing my broken nail with gel , I decided to do the repair with quick dip acrylic instead.    I just started with the ring finger because that was the nail that was broken .The nail came out smooth and strong , it has not broken yet :) I was so impressed with how it looked that I decided to do all my nails. 

When I first did the repair it took less than 10 minutes , I actually did it while I was working and on hold on the phone .  I later decided to do the rest of my nails.   There are a lot of videos on YouTube to use as tutorals ,you can either purchase a kit or make your own kit .  I brought a wrap kit a little while back and saved the gel and activator spray.   I had also purchased a tub of Beauty Secrets acrylic powder in pink . 

Items that you use are for this type of application are  acrylic powder , risen or UV gel , and if you use risen an activator for the risen.   You can usually get the activator if you purchase a quick dip kit or nail wrap kit or you can also use nail glue dryer .   I found that you can find all of these items at Sally's Beauty Supply.    I have also found that there are many kits for sale on amazon however they are about $45.00 to $100.00.  I just figured I could make my own with the stuff that I had on hand.   

For this set I just filed the gel nails that I had with the 180 grit side of my file .   I took my nail risen and applied to my nail like nail polish .  I dipped my nail in the acrylic power , brushed off any excess powder and then took my risen and applied in a slow tapping motion.   In stead of applying the risin like polish , I just applied in small sections and let the risen spread onto the nail.   Once the whole nail was covered I dipped in acrylic again and did the same procedure with the risen.   I sprayed the activator on the nail allowed the nail to dry and once my nail was dry I filed the shape with the 180 side of my file and than filed the nail smooth with the 100 side of my nail file and than followed with a white buffing block.  

After filing my nails I brushed off the nails and cleaned them , I applied my red nail polish and than took a gold polish and put it on a sponge and dabbed in on the tips of my nail creating an ombre effect.  I used my clear stamper and applied white stars from my Konad stamping plate. 

So far I have been impressed with quick dip nails no more have broken so far .  I am hoping that these last .  The best thing about  this application was that they were super easy and very fast to do , also the filing was not bad.   I shaved about two hours off of my usual time for doing my nails.   I have even gotten compliments on these nails.     I feel I still need some practice on my painting technique , but so far so good .