Dip Nails At Home: Tips, Tricks, and How To
Attempting a dip mani at home can be intimidating for a lot of people. And it’s true, going the D.I.Y. route with your dip powder manicure is a lot more involved when compared to traditional nail polish, or even a gel manicure. However, the benefits a dip manicure – also called an sns manicure – has to offer your nails is definitely worth the time spent learning how to do it properly. Fortunately, we’ve come up with a few tips and tricks that will help give you glamorous nails even on your first dip mani attempt!
Getting Started.
The first thing you need to do is to get all your stuff together. Yes, this might sound extremely obvious but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t actually pay attention to this detail! Make sure you have all the necessary finishes on hand, as well as the dip powder lined up and ready. If you happen to be using a Rossi Nail Glam Powder Kit, you’re in luck as this kit has everything you need to get started. In line with this, familiarize yourself with the products and read the instructions! This is again an obvious tip that a lot of people don’t do.
Besides the dip manicure kit, be sure to have a Kabuki brush or any other large makeup brush ready. You’ll need this to brush-off any excess powder from your fingertips. A fan brush could also come in handy for this same purpose. Besides these two items, lay a terry cloth towel on your work area. This is to keep the mess to a bare minimum. Have some lint-free paper towels ready for wiping the Kabuki brush, or even the applicators if needed. Also, if you’re sensitive to dust, you might want to have a face mask handy. This face mask doesn’t have to be industrial-grade – just those blue paper masks that surgeons use will do.
Use a Kabuki brush to brush away excess powder.
Prepping Your Nails.
After you have everything you need ready and laid out in front of you, you then need to take care of your nails. Wash and dry your hands thoroughly after which you rub some alcohol on your fingertips using a makeup sponge or lint-free cloth. This is to get rid of any oils and moisture left on your nails, which could cause the manicure to lift.
Use a cuticle tool to push back your cuticles.
Next on your to-do list is to actually prep your nails. You start by pushing back your cuticles with whatever tool you’re most comfortable using. If you want to get rid of any dead skin, now is the time to do it. Now is also the time to file and shape your nails. After this is done, you then buff the surface of your nails to remove the shine. This helps to ensure the manicure sticks to your nails as well as it could. But don’t overdo it; as previously mentioned, just buff your nail till the shine is gone. Finally, rub down your nails again with alcohol using a makeup sponge or a lint-free cloth to get rid of any nail dust. One quick note: you could certainly use just water for this job, but alcohol dries faster.
Let The Dipping Begin.
Now you’re really ready for your dip mani! If you’ve familiarized yourself with your kit, you know that you first start with an application of the base coat. This should be applied thinly and evenly coat to about 3/4th of your nail (which we’ll get more into later) before – and we can’t stress this enough – immediately dipping into the bottle of powder at a 45-degree angle. The base coat dries up really fast, so it’s a good idea to have the bottle of powder next to your finger when doing this. In line with this, it’s also a good idea to shake the bottle of powder before you even start applying the base coat, to loosen it up.
Apply the base coat 3/4ths of the way across your nails for a more natural look.
After dipping, you lightly tap your finger over the bottle to allow the excess powder to fall off your nail and back into the container. This of course won’t get rid of all of the powder, which is why you need the Kabuki (or a similar-style) brush. You then repeat the process to build up your manicure to your desired depth of color. But this time when applying the base coat, you inch a little-bit closer to your cuticles for a more natural look. This is the reason for applying the base coat in the aforementioned 3/4th of the way ass opposed all the way to your cuticles.
A few of things to remember when building-up your manicure: when re-applying the base coat, always brush from the cuticle area towards the tip of your nail in one stroke. This is to keep your manicure smooth. Also, make sure to tap the Kabuki brush against the lint-free cloth or paper towel you have ready to get rid of any powder on its bristles. This is to prevent powder build-up on the brush. Lastly, be careful to NEVER get the base coat onto your skin. This is so that you don’t build up a layer of the powder on that area. Dealing with hardened dip powder on your skin is not something you want to do!
When you’re satisfied with the depth of color, you then apply a layer of activator, which you let dry for a minute or so.You then buff and shape your nail before washing your hands or wiping down the nails with some alcohol, again to get rid of any dust. Afterwards, you then apply the last coat of activator before applying a thin layer of top coat. About 2 to 3 strokes worth of the top coat is what you'll need. Finally when that top coat layer is dry, you then apply another layer and you’re done! This is an optional step but, it’s also a good idea to apply some cuticle oil after the top coat has dried.
While optional, cuticle oil is great at refreshing cuticles after a manicure.
Practice Makes Perfect.
You may be thinking to yourself: this sounds like a lot of work! As mentioned at the beginning of this article, giving yourself a dip manicure at home IS much more complicated than other types of manicures. But once you get used to the process, it’s relatively easy to get the process down to 20 to 30 minutes for all your nails. Also, there’s this sense of achievement once you’re done with the mani, and it looks fab! What’s more, you can be secure in the knowledge that your dip powder manicure will look fab for a lot longer than a traditional manicure.