Hybrid manicure at home # 2 - what do we need?

I am very happy that you also like the beauty subject. I have been using hybrid nail polishes for 3 or 4 years, so I am glad that I can share my experience with you.

Hybrid manicure is so easy to do it yourself that I treat it like a regular manicure. Every day I do it at home, but from time to time, when I want to please myself, I go to the beauty salon.

I am about to tell you about what you will need to do a hybrid manicure at home.

1. Lamp

My first UV lamp only had 1 bulb, but unfortunately it was impossible to perfectly illuminate 5 fingers at a time, so I had to illuminate my thumb separately, which significantly extended the entire procedure. That's why I decided to buy a 4-bulb UV lamp, similar to the one I see in beauty salons. I put a low price here and bought one of the cheapest Chinese lamps, then it cost about PLN 60 + shipping costs, but now I can see that similar are already available for less than 40 PLN + shipping costs. It was important for me that the lamp had:

• retractable bottom, which is very convenient when performing a hybrid pedicure, if someone wants to, it is worth giving yourself such an opportunity
• 120 seconds timer

My UV lamp looks like this:

You can replace the UV lamp with a LED lamp, the exposure time of which can be shortened (from 120 seconds with a UV lamp) to 20 seconds, which will shorten the duration of the treatment.

More and more often it is said that the rays from the UV lamp can have a negative effect on the skin of the hands - just like a solarium. Of course, the time of hand exposure to such light should be taken into account, which with regular use will be about 8 minutes every 2 weeks. Therefore, in the long run, you can think of an LED lamp, which unfortunately is several times more expensive. I'm already thinking about her.

2. Hybrid nail polishes

Will be needed:

• base, the so-called base coat - my choice
• hybrid varnish, e.g. my favorite pastel pink Cake Pop - my choice
• rinse aid, the so-called top coat - my choice

In the first post in the hybrid manicure series at home, I wrote to you about why I decided to buy Shellac hybrid varnishes. They are not the cheapest, but absolutely efficient and after almost two years I changed the base and top just because they were already quite thick. I buy them here and I pay for no more or less PLN 65 per item (both for color and for base or top coat).

3. liquids

• degreaser, the so-called cleaner - thanks to it, you will degrease the nails before the treatment, and after applying and hardening the polish, it can be used to remove the adhesive coating, the so-called dispersion layer. I had the first bottle of cleaner by ACTIV, the second VANITY and I don't see any difference between them, all these preparations are based on isopropyl alcohol, the price is about PLN 25 for 500 ml (enough for about a year of regular use)
• acetone based fluid, called for example Gel Remover - here I use a La Femme product, thanks to which I dissolve the hybrid varnish on my nails (I take off the hybrid varnish), the price is PLN 29,99 for 500 ml (enough for about a year of regular use), and I buy it for stands in shopping centers.

4. Additional accessories

• dust-free swabs - very useful for degreasing, thanks to them there are no fluff left on the nail plate, of course you can buy them in the above-mentioned online stores for about PLN 10 for 1000 items, e.g. here
• wooden spatulas for removing skins and / or pliers, nail file, i.e. everything you use for a normal manicure, I still use a cuticle gel
• polishing block - you do not need to have, but I like to use it sometimes to have a perfectly smooth plate after removing the varnish, or to matt the plate sometimes. I write "tarnish" and not tear, puncture, I do not use absolutely any file or the like. I do it very delicately, while doing a traditional manicure I also use a polishing block to make the varnish look better. The block should be as fine-grained as possible, e.g. 180.

So how much do we have to spend to start the adventure and do a hybrid manicure at home?

• UV lamp around 50 PLN,
• 3 varnishes (base, color and top) is a maximum price of 195 PLN for Shellac products, but if you decide to start with cheaper counterparts you will spend even several times less
• liquids (cleaner and gel remover) for about PLN 50
• dust-free swabs for about 10 PLN
  Total: PLN 305

In Gdynia, a hybrid manicure with Shellac varnishes costs about 90-110 PLN. So by performing regular treatments every 2-3 weeks, the entire investment returns to me in less than 2 months! And such a set is enough for at least a year of regular use, I think even for two years. Comparing this value to the amount I spent on regularly buying nail polishes from well-known brands that still weighed, smudged and chipped off, in the long term I can say that hybrid manicure is not only a time saver (I only do it once every 2-3 weeks ), but also money.

In the next post, I will write you how to do a hybrid manicure step by step at home. I know that many of you have already tried, many of you would like to, but are afraid to try, write to me about your experiences - I will be able to adjust the next posts to your expectations in this topic better.