DIY Gel French Manicure Tutorial

Amanda Bellantoni
by Amanda Bellantoni
9 Materials
$15
30 Minutes
Easy

Hi everyone. In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to do a gel French manicure on square nails. Let's get started.

Tools and materials:

  • 100/180 nail file
  • PH bond (or acetone)
  • Base coat
  • Color coat
  • Top coat
  • Surface cleanse (or alcohol)
  • Lint-free wipes
  • UV lamp
  • Cuticle oil
Scuffing nails

1. Scuff up your nails

Your nails should already be shaped and filed before this step. 

100/180 file

Then, using a 100/180 really coarse file, begin scuffing up the perimeter of the nail.


This should be just around the cuticle area and up the sides.


This step will help the polish stick and last and is crucial to getting the perfect French gel manicure. 

Applying pH bond

2. Remove residue with pH bond 

This is a really important step because this is going to dehydrate the nail surface and remove any oil, lotion, or dirt.


It also helps the polish stick. If you don’t have a pH bond, you can use 100% acetone, which works as well. 

Applying the base coat

3. Apply the base coat

Paint a thin coat of base gel polish on all of your nails. Pop that under the UV lamp and cure it for a couple of minutes.

Cleansing nails

4. Cleanse the surface of your nails

Spray the nails with a surface cleanse. This is important because when the nails come out of the lamp, they tend to be a bit sticky.


This will remove that sticky residue. You can also use alcohol. 

Cleansing nails

Just ensure to wipe off your nails after with a lint-free wipe.

Nail polish

5. Get nail polish on your brush

Get a little polish on your brush and make sure all the color is on only one side of the bristles.

Painting tip

Line that brush up on one end of your nail and slowly begin to draw a line inward, just on the tip. 

Painting tip

When you end in the middle, place the brush on the opposite side of the nail and repeat so that you create a full line. They should meet in the middle.


What helps when doing this freehand is rotating your finger. Instead of using the brush to create the line, use your finger. I find it’s easier to make a straight line this way and it keeps the brush steady.


Don’t worry about getting polish anywhere on your skin, we’re going to clean it up before we cure it.


Since the base coat is already cured, you can completely remove the white and start over if you really mess up.

Cleaning up nails

6. Clean up the nails

Grab a cuticle pusher and clean up the nail. Remove the polish that ended up under and on the side of the fingernail.


Get it all off before we cure the tips, otherwise, it will harden.

Curing nails

7. Cure

Cure for a couple of minutes.

Filing

8. Separate the nail and skin if you have polish leftover

If there’s still a little polish between the nail and the skin, your nail will feel like it’s being tugged by the skin.


Just grab a nail file and quickly file between that area to separate it and leave a clean edge.

Wiping nail

9. Remove any remaining residue

Grab the surface cleanse and a lint-free wipe and quickly remove any sticky residue that may be left over after curing the white tips.

Applying top coat

10. Apply top coat

Apply a generous layer of top coat to each nail to complete the manicure.


Cure the final coat and cleanse it to remove the final sticky layer.

Applying cuticle oil

11. Apply cuticle oil

Apply cuticle oil over your cuticle.

DIY gel French manicure

DIY gel French manicure 

Here’s the finished gel French manicure on natural nails! Let me know if you have any of your own tips for doing your nails at home.


Next up, check out my Easy French Ombre Gel Nails Tutorial.

Suggested materials:
  • 100/180 nail file
  • PH bond (or acetone)
  • Base coat
See all materials

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