Gel nails at home?

[5minutestobed]

I'm fed up my nail polish chipping off so quickly so I was thinking about trying to do gel nails at home? Does anyone do this? What kit do I need? And how long do they normally last?

[5minutestobed]

Great thanks for the suggestions. Have just ordered the blue sky kit from Amazon.

[FitbitAddict]

I have a mylee led lamp and elite99 polishes from Amazon plus BlueSky top and base coats. I do my toenails as well as my fingers. It is a faff to remove but lasts ages. Usually standard varnish fades quickly in the sun but I spent two weeks in Dubai with my feet out in the sun a lot and the gel polish lasted throughout.

[SnowBodyforrrrm]

I also have the sensationail kit and buy bluesky polishes from Amazon. Prep is key but my nails can last 2 weeks before they're grown out and need redoing.

It does take a little while to perfect and you'll soon learn not to get too near the side of the nail or it will lift quickly.

I buy the foil wraps from Amazon, bung them on and watch telly while they soak the polish off, then a simple scrape and I'm good to go again 💅🏼

[OkeyDokeyPigAndAPokey]

I bought the Sensationail starter kit (the 'scarlet red' kit starter kit is on offer at the moment from the official Sensationail site for £35 if you're quick). I've also used Blue Sky and CND Shellac with it, all with excellent results. It has all more than paid for itself with the money I have saved doing it myself.

[LittleOyster]

The kit I have is bluesky.

[seefeld]

I've put this on my Christmas list: Gel Touch It's a gel topcoat you can put over any nail varnish (not interested in the nail art but it's cheaper than the set without it). I'm hoping it'll give me longer lasting nail varnish without damaging my nails in the way I've found gels do.

[QueenLaBeefah]

I use bluesky - tends to last about 10 days.

[creamcheeseandlox]

I use bluesky. Can buy kits from eBay or Amazon. Get a led lamp thought not a uv as much quicker curing time. So many colours too and much cheaper than many of the gel ranges.

[Indecisivejo]

Bluesky gel nails is really good they have kits on eBay and their own website which is free delivery.

[LittleOyster]

I have a kit similar to the one EmmaDilemma linked to, but I managed to get it for £40 from eBay.

Applying the polish is really quick and easy. Mine lasts for about a week, but I think it'd last longer if I prepped my nails propably (I don't score the surface) and applied the polish more carefully.

The faffy bit is removing the colour. It needs to be sanded, soaked and scraped - takes a while.

[TheEmmaDilemma]

I do my own. I have a kit like this:

www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Carpet-Manicure-Polish-Starter/dp/B00662Z24A/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1481137594&sr=8-2&keywords=gel%20nail%20starter%20kit%20red%20carpet&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Easy to do, and last at least 2 weeks with no chipping as long as you prep your nails correctly.