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DIY Acrylic Nails, not too hard!

Which would you prefer?

  • DIY Acrylics

    Votes: 17 20.2%
  • Press-on Acrylics

    Votes: 21 25.0%
  • Risk it all at the nail salon

    Votes: 4 4.8%
  • I'm going natural

    Votes: 12 14.3%
  • F**k these nails

    Votes: 6 7.1%
  • DIY Gel

    Votes: 12 14.3%
  • DIY Dip

    Votes: 12 14.3%

  • Total voters
    84

DarlinNiki

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For new sets and fills, I file my nails with a regular nail file, not the drill.

A nail file is easier to control and does less damage to the nail bed.
 

Chrysanthemum

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did an acrylic overlay on my nails. i did two coats of polish on one hand and one coat of polish on the other lol. i think i may just do 1 coat from now on even if it's sheer but i may change my tune when my quick dry clear polish comes in.

i got better doing the acrylic as i kept going my two index fingers are the best. i'm excited to see how this lasts since i did the nail dehydrator and primer. next time i'll be doing it with my press on/acrylic nails and seeing how that goes.
 

hisshissmeow

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I was doing my own gel nails for a while but I over drilled my nails and they got badly damaged. I had to let them grow out while cutting off the damage. My nails are back strong and healthy and now I'm scared to damage them again

The damage from drilling is why I stopped getting them done. No matter how little my nail tech drilled there was no way around it. I just dislike the weakness & damaged that it caused. Now my nails are back healthy & strong. I can’t see my self going that route again.
 
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Ordered a set about two weeks ago and can't wait, been checking my tracking info everyday. Cute set!
 

lagameuze

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oh you did great !
i've been doing my own dip powder for almost a year, and it's touch and go lmao, sometime i get lazy with the shape and the buffing. it takes so much time to file !!

i ordered some nude powder off aliexpress, i only have bright colors left and i don't like it as much as natural.
 

Chrysanthemum

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using protein bond has helped the nails/polish last longer than usual but i think my nails are just too healthy lol. my nail beds are very smooth. i'm going to try again soon and i'm going to turn my full acrylic nails into tips and really rough up the protein bond on my nails and do 2 layers of it, i'm not sure if that's recommend but i'm going to try it
 

FinallyLoggedIn

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I can't find it. Someone asked if the monomer needed to be cured. No, you have literally seconds to work with shaping the nail once you put the acrylic powder and monomer together.
 

FinallyLoggedIn

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using protein bond has helped the nails/polish last longer than usual but i think my nails are just too healthy lol. my nail beds are very smooth. i'm going to try again soon and i'm going to turn my full acrylic nails into tips and really rough up the protein bond on my nails and do 2 layers of it, i'm not sure if that's recommend but i'm going to try it
I think that was my issue. I tried nail glue alone, but I needed the bond. I had some but idk where it went so I skipped the step and I regret it.
 

Chrysanthemum

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I think that was my issue. I tried nail glue alone, but I needed the bond. I had some but idk where it went so I skipped the step and I regret it.
yeah without it polish doesn't last over a day and acrylics only last a couple hours
with it i got over 2 days of polish and over 1 day of acrylics. i think i need to use more powder too but i was concerned about it being bulky or too much but i can just file it down.
 

AnjeeBanjee

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My update is, I’m gel polishing my natural nails

at first the polish keep popping off within a day

now I :
  • rough hand file the surface
  • use a ph bond that removes oils from - it’s a liquid that comes in a polish type bottle
  • Use “gelish” nail polish ordered from amazon - I previously used China glaze but like gelish better. gelish doesn’t have the best colors, I’m looking for mustard, but it will do. I still use China glaze top coat.
My nails last from 1 or 1.5 to 2 weeks if I wash dishes, clean wearing gloves, cooking, etc.

good enough for me, gives me something to do in my down time

p.s. I bought 2 dip kits from Sally’s that I haven’t opened yet. I’m waiting for inspiration. I’m sure I will mess up until I practice and get it right.

I follow ‘nails’ on Pinterest, very inspirational!
 

Chrysanthemum

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update: trying this again (it's harder for me to type lol i'm out of practice) my nails turned out really nice and i made one nail a little bit of a stiletto so i can see if i like it on me. it's gorgeous but it's too long for me to do all my nails like this. i changed the way i did them my nails this time.
wiped down my nails with acetone, roughed them up with a nail file, wiped them down with acetone again. used protein bond, let it dry all the way, glue on my nail and the acrylic nail but i used a good bit of glue on the acylic and held it down for 45 seconds and then used a nail clamp to hold it some more for at least a minute and i've avoided water for at least 2 hours this seems the most secure they've ever been so im interested in seeing how long this lasts.
 

FinallyLoggedIn

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update: trying this again (it's harder for me to type lol i'm out of practice) my nails turned out really nice and i made one nail a little bit of a stiletto so i can see if i like it on me. it's gorgeous but it's too long for me to do all my nails like this. i changed the way i did them my nails this time.
wiped down my nails with acetone, roughed them up with a nail file, wiped them down with acetone again. used protein bond, let it dry all the way, glue on my nail and the acrylic nail but i used a good bit of glue on the acylic and held it down for 45 seconds and then used a nail clamp to hold it some more for at least a minute and i've avoided water for at least 2 hours this seems the most secure they've ever been so im interested in seeing how long this lasts.
You have the same process as me. That double acetone wipe is everything lol
 

FinallyLoggedIn

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My update is, I’m gel polishing my natural nails

at first the polish keep popping off within a day

now I :
  • rough hand file the surface
  • use a ph bond that removes oils from - it’s a liquid that comes in a polish type bottle
  • Use “gelish” nail polish ordered from amazon - I previously used China glaze but like gelish better. gelish doesn’t have the best colors, I’m looking for mustard, but it will do. I still use China glaze top coat.
My nails last from 1 or 1.5 to 2 weeks if I wash dishes, clean wearing gloves, cooking, etc.

good enough for me, gives me something to do in my down time

p.s. I bought 2 dip kits from Sally’s that I haven’t opened yet. I’m waiting for inspiration. I’m sure I will mess up until I practice and get it right.

I follow ‘nails’ on Pinterest, very inspirational!
I tried dip! Didn’t like in the long run. It’s a b!tch to work with. A lot of filing.
 

FinallyLoggedIn

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That's how I ruined my nails. Soaking them off took so long so I started scraping and filing them off and messed up my nails. They are back to healthy now.
Yep, I went through this too. I bought mail clamps to do the soak off (makes it pretty quick). I use an Apple Pencil to scroll the web or watch One Piece to abide my time.
 

Peach Lemonade

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I’ve transitioned to polygel. I still have a bunch of dip powders that i will use for gel method dip. The liquids make me sick and the low odor liquids are hard to work with because they take forever to dry.
 

FinallyLoggedIn

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I’ve transitioned to polygel. I still have a bunch of dip powders that i will use for gel method dip. The liquids make me sick and the low odor liquids are hard to work with because they take forever to dry.
It’s like no solution is perfect. Poly has a learning curve. Sometimes my nails come out weird with poly but I still prefer it because it doesn’t dry until I want it to
 

Peach Lemonade

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It’s like no solution is perfect. Poly has a learning curve. Sometimes my nails come out weird with poly but I still prefer it because it doesn’t dry until I want it to
Poly is very easy to file with a buffer/file/efile but some of them make a lot of dust. Also i find that it sometimes looks thick and when i file it down thinner the nails are not as hard…they are still bendy/flexible.

This is why i liked dip, once that activator hits, the nails are hard as a rock even when you file it down. But of course in order for me to use the liquids i have to wear a 3M hazmat mask and shield.
 

FinallyLoggedIn

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Poly is very easy to file with a buffer/file/efile but some of them make a lot of dust. Also i find that it sometimes looks thick and when i file it down thinner the nails are not as hard…they are still bendy/flexible.

This is why i liked dip, once that activator hits, the nails are hard as a rock even when you file it down. But of course in order for me to use the liquids i have to wear a 3M hazmat mask and shield.
You do poly with the nail template?
 

BeautyNUniq

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I admire y’all that have the patience to do your own nails. I went to my nail tech over the weekend and got a new full set. She’s young and black- so I like supporting. Plus, I was tired of my fingers looking like little sausages.
I came to update my status. I’ve now transitioned to doing Gel-X on myself. I’ve been doing my own nails for a year now and I’m not ever going back to a nail salon.
 

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