I Acquired an Apres Gel-X Manicure; Right here Are My Ideas

Manicures for me are what blowouts are to different folks: whether or not skilled or DIY, they provide me a severe increase of serotonin. However in comparison with most nail aficionados, my preferences are fairly easy. I follow common nail polish or dip powder manicures if I am doing them at house and gel if I’m at the salon, and I solely get nail-art designs on uncommon events. Nevertheless, for my birthday, I needed to do one thing completely different.

I am one of many few magnificence editors who can say they’ve by no means gotten acrylic nails and, attributable to worry of them weakening my already brittle nails, I did not plan on altering that anytime quickly. Nonetheless, I longed for the long, stiletto-shaped tips which have been flooding my Discover web page on Instagram. That is once I determined to attempt an Apres gel-x manicure.

Over the previous few years, I’ve began noticing Apres gel-x, or gel extensions, manicures listed on extra salon menus. For anybody unfamiliar, gel-x nails are a newer type of enhancement that bind a gel tip to your pure nail with an LED mild (no glue, extreme buffing, or chemical compounds required). The ideas, that are initially extraordinarily lengthy, are then minimize and filed all the way down to your required form and painted and adorned with any design you need. They final anyplace from two to a few weeks and are available off simply after an acetone soak. Apres gel-x gives the identical size as acrylic however is taken into account to be extra natural-looking and gentler in your pure nails.

That each one sounded wonderful, so I booked an appointment at an area nail salon that provided the remedy and began saving nail-art inspiration. This is how the method went.

My Nails Earlier than Apres Gel-X Manicure

Upon arrival, my manicurist cleaned and buffed the floor of my pure nails, which had been on the shorter facet due to some damaged nails. Then, they took out a field of gel-x ideas and, one after the other, fitted every finger by holding the extension as much as my pure nail to seek out the right measurement (similar to you do with press-on nails).

As soon as all 10 fingers had been carried out, they used an electrical file to scratch the within of the gel-x nail. Then, a coat of gel lengthen polish was utilized to my pure nails and cured with an LED lamp, similar to an everyday gel manicure. As soon as the bottom coat was carried out, it was time to connect the gel-x nails. After making use of the identical gel lengthen polish to the filed part of the gel-x ideas, they cured it with a warmth lamp.

That preliminary utility course of took about 35 minutes. The following step was to chop and file them to my nail form of alternative — I picked stiletto. As soon as all the nails had been formed, they had been cleaned off from any file residue and it was time to color them. I made a decision to go together with a french manicure design utilizing pink nail polish on a impartial base as a result of I needed one thing that will look good for weeks to come back as they grew out.

My Nails Instantly After Getting an Apres Gel-X Manicure

The nail-art portion of the manicure went because it often does — base polish, remedy below LED lamp, and so forth. All stated and carried out, the appointment took a little bit over an hour, which was time well-spent as a result of I could not have been happier with my nails ultimately. They had been lengthy and completely formed however nonetheless regarded pure, as in the event that they had been my actual nails.

I bought numerous compliments on my manicure within the weeks following my appointment. They held up rather well and withstood opening packages, per week trip on the seaside, cleansing my condo — all the common issues. Not as soon as did I really feel like they might come free and fall off.

My Nails 3 Weeks After Getting an Apres Gel-X Manicure

Briefly: I am obsessive about Apres gel-x nails. The one downside to the remedy is it may be on the pricer facet — I paid round $120 for my manicure, which theoretically took the place of three separate commonplace manicures. Relying in your funds, it could possibly be nice for particular occasions, like weddings, holidays, and birthdays, which is what I plan on saving it for.

My Nails After Eradicating the Apres Gel-X Manicure

I made it two and a half weeks with the set on earlier than I went again to the salon to have them eliminated (though I might have made it the total three). Elimination was easy and, though it took 40 minutes to finish, I used to be stunned to seek out that my nails weren’t in the slightest degree broken afterward.

Picture Supply: POPSUGAR Pictures / Jessica Harrington