How to DIY Gel Nails at Home

Hey friends, happy Friday! Today I’m sharing a short video on how to DIY Gel Nails at home. I share how I apply Orly Builder in a Bottle and full coverage tips with Apres Natural Short Stiletto Tips. Many of you were wondering how I DIY nails at home and have asked for tips for beginners. I always prep my nails beforehand by pushing back the cuticles, trimming any dead skin if needed, and then lightly buffing the full nail bed before I start. Then I like to double dehydrate nail beds with alcohol before I prime my nails as I have extremely flat nail beds.

How to DIY Gel Nails at Home Video

Watch on YouTube with Closed Captioning in English!

This video shows you how I diy gel nails at home, including nail prep, tools to use for gel nails, and more. I hope you’ll find this how to diy gel nails tutorial helpful for beginners.

DIY Gel Nails Products Used

• ORLY NAIL TIP PRIMER
• ORLY BUILDER IN A BOTTLE
• APRES NATURAL SHORT STILETTO TIPS
• ORLY GEL FX TOP COAT 
• PURPLE LED GEL CURE LAMP
• MINI FLASH CURE LAMP
• 180/100 GRIT NAIL FILES
• Makartt E-FILE
• E-FILE CERAMIC TIPS
• BUILDER GEL REMOVER
• ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL
• ALCOHOL DISPENSER + LINT-FREE WIPES

See my nail polish work station! I’ve even customized this desk to add more storage. If you’re interested, I may do a blog post explaining how I DIY’d this desk to make it better suited for my needs.

Since I’ve been asked about my tip size, I wear size 3 for my thumbs, 9 for my pink fingers, and 6 for the rest in the Apres Natural Short Stiletto Tips. As I mentioned, I have extremely small, flat nail beds. Natural tips fit flat nail beds better, from my understanding. If you have a very pronounced C curve to your nails, you may want sculpted tips instead. I originally bought an entire Apres Natural Short Stiletto kit to figure out my nail sizing. After knowing my size, I repurchase the refill bags in 3, 6, and 9.

I have only used Apres tips and I do not have experience with any others. I love how easy Apres is to work with.

I’ve tried both Orly Builder in a Bottle and Beetles base coat for nails. I typically prefer Orly Builder in a Bottle but if my nails, usually my thumbs, are being stubborn, I will use Beetles. They’re both great brands.

I don’t own a ton of gel polish as I’m really into indie nail polish brands like KBShimmer, Baroness X, Cupcake Polish and ILNP. I do own some gel polishes from Kiara Sky and Orly. I highly recommend checking out Orly and Kiara Sky for gel polishes because they make great colors and formulas.

What do you think of How to DIY Gel Nails at Home?