How to Do a Gel French Manicure at Home

French manicure is an all-time favourite choice for women. Be it formal, semi-formal or a full-blown celebration – French manicure never falls out of trend. Women spend thousands to get a perfect and trendy look for their nails. But as the demand for French manicures rose, sadly, pricing for them also increased. With that, the desire for doing a French manicure at home also came to light. A homey French manicure could be equally eye-catching and trendy if you know the correct procedures and means. Not to mention the scope it leaves for you to show your creativity as well as saving your money.

A Gel Manicure

According to Duguay-Gordon, gel manicure is a nail service that requires gel-based polish to seal into your nails with the help of UV or LED light and finally, a touch of top coating on the top to cure the nail. Gel polishes are proven to be more reliable and durable than regular polishes. Enjoy chip-free nails for weeks that look just like your regular mani but with sturdier and long-lasting effects. If you are wondering, yes, anyone can get a gel manicure whether you have teeny-weeny nails or Shridhar Chillal nails.

A French Gel Manicure

A traditional French manicure mostly consists of a transparent or light-pink base on your nail beds and a white stripe on the tips of your nail. This is the most common yet highly popular form of a French manicure. A French gel manicure is exactly the same, a light base on your nail plates and a white stripe on the tips but with the usage of gel polishes instead of your regular nail polishes. That’s right! It’s just a difference in the materials, which last longer and give you chip-free nails for up to weeks. 

History of French Manicure:

The French manicure was originated in the 1930s by the famous Max Factor, who gave us the ‘French Connection’ by inventing the trendy look of Paris fashionistas. Later the look was adopted by the Hollywood stars, which fueled its prominence. In 1970, Jeff Pink created the “Natural Look Nail Kit” French manicure kit that once again massively gained favour from the film studios of that time. Even though it’s named French manicure, it did not originate in France but America. The name came from Jeff Pink, who was the founder of the Orly, a nail polish brand of 1978 with his creation of the “Natural Look Nail Kit” nail polish kit.

Types of French Manicure

There are dozens of types of French manicure designs. The same old transparent base and the white tip could bore not just you but anyone. And here comes your opportunity for innovation. Although the pattern will always be the same for a French manicure, you can create a whole new design following the same pattern but different shades, additional nail art accessories, and whatnot. Let’s discuss few different French manicure ideas below:

1. Non-Traditional Shade:

A traditional French manicure mostly consists of a transparent or light-pink base on your nail beds and a white Non-Traditional Shades:

Who says it has to be always pink or transparent nail beds? Your nails, your rules. Try deep shades or seasonal motifs to bring a new look to your French manicure. For example, use red for weddings or yellow for spring. No one is stopping you.

2. Painting Details:

Draw a flower and leaves or make a zebra print out of it. You can paint anything on your French manicure to bring uniqueness into it. 

3. Nail Accessories:

Nail accessories are a viral trend. You can adorn your nails with DIY animals, stars, flowers, unicorn, foods, etc. or add sequence and stones to highlight your French manicure. 

4. The Glitter Effect:

Glitters are always eye-catching, and the best part of it is that you can do many things with them. You can do glitter tips or a glittering bed for your French manicure. You can give glitter lines to your French manicure or draw anything you wish and fill it with glitters. 

5. Nail Polish Stamp:

Nail stamp designs are basically stamping beautiful designs or patterns into your nail with the help of nail polishes. It adds variety to your nails as every detail of your nail design looks perfect and artistic. 

6. Upside Down:

Turn your French manicure pattern upside down to break down your boredom – no more white tip on the edge, rather white tip on the base. Make a half-moon instead of a stripe on the base to give your nails a professional and classy look.

Costing for a French Gel Manicure 

Costing for gel manicure usually depends on your region and preferred design. The pricing usually varies from essential to advanced level services. On average, basic sole-coloured French gel art costs around $35 to $40. If you desire advanced or luxurious designs done, it could end up to $100 or even more that too without service charges. Sounds too expansive? Worry not. 

You can find a 10ml gel polish bottle at a much lower price from different beauty-care websites, including Amazon. After that, you can easily pamper yourself with a French gel manicure at home. Not only that, but you can also paint your nails with cool nail art designs, learn how to do a faded French manicure, French manicure with guide strips, French tip nails, and many other styles of French manicure, and apply them by yourself at home. All you need to do is gather some nail polish kits and nail designing tools. You can watch video tutorials from IG or YouTube for nail art designs.

For some cool nail polish and nail art tutorials, you can check the following YouTube channels:

• Simply Nailogical
• Cutepolish
• Robin Moses Nail Art
• MyDesigns4You Nail Art
• Beauty channel
• Crush 4 Nails
• Kiara Sky Nails

Requirements for a French Gel Manicure 

For doing a perfect French gel manicure at home, you will need the following tools:

• Mylar file 100/180 grit
• Block / Buffer
• Cleaner
• Free Acid Primer
• Protein Base or Mineral Base
• Shade for a French manicure
• Nail art brush
• Gel Polish 
• Topcoat 

Preparing The Nails:

• Firstly, take the buffer and attach it to the surface of your nails in a firm grip. Adjust it and make sure not to buff it too tight or too loose.

• Secondly, take a Mylar file of 180 grit and give your nails the desired shape.

• Lastly, take a cotton pad and soak it in the cleaner. Then, gently wipe your nails and remove the grease from your nail plate. 

Using a Primer:

• Use Acid-Free primer for the normal and problem-free nail plate.

• Use Acid Primer for problematic nails such as sweaty or greasy nail plates.

Applying Base Coat:

• Apply a thin layer of base coat and seal it with the help of UV or LED light. (30 seconds/LED, 120 seconds/UV).

• Again take a cotton pad soaked in the cleaner and gently wipe your nails for getting a better shade complexion.

Applying the shade:

1. Coat your nail plate with your desired shade and lock it dry with the help of 30 seconds/LED, 120 seconds/UV.

2. Choose another shade and drag a stripe or smile motion with the polish brush on the tip of your nail. 

3. Take a nail art brush and show your creativity by making cool designs with white gel polish. Therefore, cure it with UV or LED light. (30 seconds/LED, 120 seconds/UV).

4. Finally, finish by applying a top coat which will prevent any discolouration. Again dry it under the UV or LED light. (30 seconds/LED, 120 seconds/UV).

5. Wait for 30 seconds. Once done, again wipe the freshly done manicure with the cleaner to remove the dispersive layer.

And you’re done with your gel French manicure at home. Congratulations!

Removing a gel manicure:

Your nail plates are living tissue, so you need to be careful with your nail polish application or removal process. NEVER scrape them aggressively or rip them off. You can gently remove them with the help of tin foil, acetone, cotton, and a nail file. 

Do the following steps to remove your French gel manicure at home:

1. Take an acetone bottle and pour it into a glass bowl for a standard amount.

2. Gently break the top coat of your nail with a grit file, preferably a light in weight grit file.

3. Then soak your nails in acetone for about three and a half minutes.

4. You will notice the nail paint became like a jelly substance. Gently scrape it off your nails with a stick cuticle pusher.

5. After completely removing the substance, take a cotton pad or balls and buff your nails.

6. Lastly, apply nail cream to restore the moisture of your nails.

Or you can simply visit a qualified nail salon. It should cost you around $10 to $20. You might as well treat yourself with some professional care to provide relief to your nails.