How To Do Acrylic Nails At Home For Cheap
- Rebekah Gamble
- Sep 14, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 22, 2021
Doing acrylic nails at home is the best way to save on a budget. Self care includes finding ways treat yourself and still keep in mind what your financial goals are! Keep reading for my easy simple tips for doing my nails at home.
*All product opinions are mine, this post may contain affiliate links*
Since Coronavirus body slammed the world in 2020 my life has been a little different. For starters, I stopped paying others to do services I could do myself.
I am a lover of delicate things and being pampered when I get my nails done means a lot to me. It's self care made easy. All of my stress from the day is given a hiatus as I focus on my hands for an hour.
I stay positive even if the technician skips my cuticles and forgets to put on lotion.
And then as i'm drying my nails, I notice that 3 busses have passed the shop. At that point I focus on how long I'll be standing outside until the next one comes.
That part is always disappointing.
When NYC became a ghost town due to quarantine I was left with chipped polish and outgrown acrylic.
Suddenly I had an idea and I turned my room into a DIY nail salon.
Here's a quick guide to starting your own DIY acrylic nail journey, and a few things you should consider along the way.
How can I start doing my nails at home?
Watch YOUTUBE videos
Learning how to do nails on Youtube is a great way to get a visual guide for free.
I found LongHairPrettyNails and she tries everything. She influenced me to buy my first Poly gel set.
I bought this kit and while the polygon product only stayed on my nails for about a week, it's good for beginners.
It is easier to manipulate than acrylic and allows you to get used to the process involved in nail application.
The cool part about this polygon set is that it comes with
Nails
A Brush
Different color poly gels
Top coat
Base coat
File
Every part of this polygon kit i’ve managed to incorporate with my acrylic nail journey. It saved me money and led me to discover the next tip about knowing what to purchase.
Don’t buy everything you see in the videos
I practice doing acrylic nails on myself and on my family. Don't get fooled by the overpriced plastic hands that self proclaimed gurus use for practicing DIY nails.
Buy extra items because they genuinely interest you not because you think you can't be successful without it. If you are interested in buying a figure take your time, and find a decent sale. Amazon has a few good, inexpensive, budget friendly, options.
Avoid fancy add ons
At the beginner stage you do not need
rhinestones,
glitter,
colored acrylic powders
stickers
The 30 minutes you spend applying tin foil can be used to perfect buffing your nail. Invest more in your actual tools than you do on nail accessories until you know how to use them properly. A file that doesn't have enough grit (aka roughness) will make your DIY nail job a lot harder than it has to be.
Be realistic
Financially, I was in a comfortable place. I had money in my savings, my house did not lack food and I was able to spend money on myself.
If this isn't you right now, it's okay, no need to spend spend a large chunk of money. Target sells a small start up acrylic set for under $10.
As you happily begin to put things in your cart, you want to avoid spending money before it's accounted for.
Find the best deals for your budget
A lot of these smaller nail kits are great because they come with everything you need. Youtube is a great place to find recommendations because content creators make unboxing videos, product reviews, and show you how to actually use it.
The 3 p’s - Patience, Practice and Perfection.
Remind yourself that you can do this.
If you stick to nails, hair, waxing, etc. you'll continue to get better at it.
Just think, one day you could be doing someone else's nails and that money can become a second source of income. If you're unemployed it could become your first income- picture that a hobby made you self-employed.
Let go of perfection and work on practicing.
Switch methods when something doesn't work
After the Poly gel kit, I bought the Vafee Professional Clear Acrylic Powder 4 oz with acrylic liquid 5 oz acrylic and monomer set. Months later I'm still using it and it works great. It came with
a cup
nail forms
acrylic powder
monomer liquid
The description mentions a brush but mine but did not include it. I used the brush from my first kit.
Have patience with yourself
The first 4 sets of nails I did either popped off after a day, or the polish had to be explained.
“Oh yeah, the brush slipped”
“It didn’t look like that earlier”
All things said to soothe your ego and not scare off potential clients. Always remember some people can naturally sing but no one was born doing nails.
Decide what's worth buying
Choose Gel or Regular Polish
Ask yourself can you dedicate time to drying your polish. I chose the option with the fastest drying time and purchased this Gel Polish Set from Amazon.
If you can potentially do your nails once or twice a week as the polish chips, then regular polish is the way to go. You can easily pick up a bottle for $2 at the 99 Cent Store and stay within your budget.
Pick nude/ light/earthy colors
Neon green may be your favorite color but you might get tired of it. Keep in mind we're saving money in the long run not trying to start a collection. The more neutral your colors the more use you can get out of your DIY nail kit.
Decide if you need a LED Lamp
My LED/UV lamp, was the most expensive purchase but it was worth it. When picking my lamp I also thought long term.
As I get better I can potentially charge to do nails. I'll need a lamp for clients who are not in favor of regular nail polish.
Related post: 8 things to do in your 20s
Set Goals
It can be discouraging to hear feedback or think you aren't improving fast enough. When I found out my nail technician was available again I was SUPER tempted to book an appointment.
Instead I created a goal.
My birthday is in January and I want to advance to where I can do my own long, flashy, blinged out acrylic set. I want them to look so outrageously gorgeous that it prompts people ask me where I got them done at.
In conclusion
I do this for me.
It felt weird, unusual, foreign, and even strange spending money on myself after so long. But the guilt faded and I have zero regrets. These tools will last me and I saved at least $60 a month doing my own nails.
Invest in yourself. Leave a comment on what DIY things you have been doing! SCROLL and grab your FREE guide for living a better life.
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