What you need
CND Shellac Wildfire Gel Colour – the classic red
36W UV Lamp to cure gel nail polish.
Cuticle remover is needed to prepare the nail. Gel will lift if you leave the cuticle and won't look as tidy to start with.
Cuticle pusher are orange sticks that are very gentle on the nail and the skin around the edges, but I personally bought an iron pusher, you just need to take care not to scratch yourself with it.
Acetone instead of bonder/primer de-hydrates the nail to make sure gel adhers better and stays on longer. You can use a proper nail primer/bonder if you prefer. Acetone is also used to remove the gel (they say it must be 100% pure acetone or else it won't dissolve the gel).
Soak off gel base coat I like is either CND Shellac Gel UV Base Coat or Gelish Foundation Base Gel. From my personal experience Gelish is a bit tougher, but not so flexible - it depends what you prefer.
Soak off gel nail polish I tried is CND Shellac and Harmony Gelish.
Soak off gel top coat I prefer is either CND Shellac Gel UV Top Coat or Gelish Top (Top-it-off) Gel.
Lint-free wipes are needed to wipe the nails with acetone when preparing as well as to remove the sticky residue that is left after the gel is cured.
Finishing wipe (isopropol alcohol) to remove the sticky residue after curing the gel.
Cuticle oil to soothe the skin.
Applying and curing soak off gel nail polish
CND Shellac Rose Bud Gel Colour UV3 polish with CND Shellac Gel UV Top Coat
- Prepare the nails by applying a cuticle remover. I leave it on for a while, then gently push back the cuticle with the cuticle pusher, then wash hands and de-hydrate and clean the nail with pure acetone to ensure the gel adheres properly.
- Apply a very thin coat of base gel to ensure it gives a good grip between your nail and the colour nail polish.
- Cure for 2 minutes under the UV lamp. You will get a sticky residue on the top of the nail each time you cure. This is normal and should not be removed between applying the coats, but just at the very end when you have finished.
- Apply your coloured gel nail polish. Again, it is important to have a thin coat.
Cure for 2 minutes under the UV lamp. - If you cannot get asolid colour with one coat, apply the second coat and cure it again.
Apply top coat to seal it off. - Cure for 2 minutes under the UV lamp.
- Use lint-free wipes soaked in the finishing wipe liquid to remove the sticky residue from the nail.
- Apply cuticle oil and massage into cuticles. I apply it daily, this prevents nail from drying out and splitting.
Removing soak off gel nail polish
Gelish Taffeta with Gelish Grand Jewels on top with glitter powder on the tips
You can buy specialist kits for that. I just cut up alluminium kitchen foil into squares of approximately 14cm by 14cm. Dip a piece of cotton wool that will fully cover your nail in 100% acetone, press it against your nail, then wrap the foil around, this seals the wool to keep it in contact with the nail to make sure the acetone can do its job. Keep it on for around 15-20 minutes, then unwrap and take the softened gel off with the cuticle pusher.