In Summer 2022 – in my freshman year of college – I began to explore different ways to do my nails at home so that I didn’t have to go to a salon every two to three weeks to get my nails done. When conducting my research on how to do them at home I was influenced through Amazon, specifically the Beetles nail polish brand. I furthered explored different ways to do my nails at home, and I ended up going with GelX to do my nails.
Beginnings of Acrylic vs. GelX
When trying acrylic for the first time, I ultimately failed. Acrylic was too time consuming for me, and in a way too expensive to buy all the products required for proper application of the nail. Powder, the perfect acrylic brush, acrylic liquid, a dappen dish, and the list goes on. While I found that acrylic application takes longer, there is more flexibility towards the style of your nail. After a month or two, I gave up on trying simply because I had to get a new product, change my product, or take hours and hours to perfect just the shape of the nail, not even the design.
GelX on the other hand had room for improvement when I first begun. With GelX, you need full cover nails. When I went on Amazon, I found the Beetles Gel Nail Kit, which provided me with an LED lamp, fake nails (square shaped), top coat, base coat and nail glue. It was extremely cheap for the quality, and of course I read all the reviews before purchasing. Many were positive and so I decided to give it a try.
Differences
With GelX, for me, the application was much easier. All I had to do was use a fair amount of gel glue and put the faux nails on. But, one of the key problems that I heard others had, was the lack of longevity that the nails stayed on. So by doing more research, I realized that I needed to prep them really well so that they could adhere to my natural nail. Alcohol, a dehydrator, a buffer, and a cuticle pusher is all I really needed to make them last long. For acrylic, I had to form the nail which took too long and never came out the way that I wanted after months of practice. You can stray away from the shape of the nail and narrow more on the important things such as prepping your natural nails, and designing them. Prepping is my main goal when doing my nails.
deSIGN
Because GelX application never took me longer than an hour and a half, I was able to focus on the design more. There are many cheap nail art brushes and tools that can help you to form the design you want. The Beetles brand had everything I needed to get the color and design I wanted. I started with easier designs such as horizontal, vertical, and swirls. Then I moved to more intricate designs; that took me more time. But definitely not as long as acrylic. Nail art stickers are something I use all the time so that it is easier for me to get cuter designs without so much work.
safety
When conducting my research on what type of fake nail is best, GelX kept popping up. I noticed on social media that people had a lot of problems with acrylic due to the harsh chemicals that were used to create the nails. I learned that they are less damaging to your natural nail because all I use is nail glue, not a strong adhesive that can make my nails brittle. The removal process is something I also learned to work with when I began doing my nails; acetone and cuticle oil became my best friends. With time and patience, my natural nails are not damaged when removing the GelX. In fact, the faux nails slip right off when I rub them with cuticle oil and then soak them in acetone for about 15-20 mins.
Learning
Overall, here are some things that I learned to get really good looking nails that last me more than 2+ weeks.
I learned that prep is crucial to make nails last longer.
Using nail art tools are extremely helpful and easier to use based on my experience.
READ reviews.
I spent so much time practicing to get better results, nothing can be learned overnight.
