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How I Save $500 a Year and Get Salon-Quality Gel Manicures at Home!

  • Writer: India
    India
  • Jul 8
  • 4 min read

Updated: Jul 11

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Why do your gel nails at home?

For me, the biggest reasons I wanted to learn to do my gel nails at home were:


  1. Save time

    Gel nails take forever to get done at the salon. You have to drive there, wait for an open chair, and sometimes your nail tech is even doing multiple peoples nails at the same time! I love an excuse not to leave my chair.


  2. Save money

    Alright, it's time to do everyone's favorite thing, math! Let's say you get your nails done every 3 weeks. If you live in Oregon, the average price of gel manicure is around $37, plus $7 for a 20% tip. That's $44 every 3 weeks. Now let's take the number of weeks in a year, 52 divided by 3, and that's 17 manicures a year! 17 x $44 = $748

That's $748 in salon gel manicures a year!

Now let's say we invest in a gel nail starter kit, it would include: led light, 3 colored polishes, a base coat, a top coat , a cuticle pusher, and a nail buffer for $200. You'll also want:

*Gel polisher remover ($10)

*Polish scraping tool ($5)

*Cuticle softener ($6)

*Cuticle clipper ($18)

*Electric manicure tool ($14)

*Alcohol and cotton balls (which you probably already have in your first aid kit.)

All that comes to: $253

Now your average 15ml bottle of polish will last 25-30 manicures assuming you use 2 coats, so even if you use the same polish every time, you won't finish even one bottle in a year assuming the 17 manicures we estimated earlier. So how many manicures would it take before an at-home setup paid for itself?

$253/$44 = 5.75

With a $253 investment, it would take less than 6 manicures for an at-home gel setup to pay for itself! After that, each manicure costs an average of $2.34 - compared to $44 in the salon!

💸 Salon Total: $748/year

🏠 At-Home Investment: $253 (starter kit + extras)

🎉 Total Savings: $495/year


  1. I was sick of spending time painting my nails just for it to chip off in two days!

I'm a busy working mom, I don't have time to be doing my nails every few days.


Step 1: Gather your tools



NOTE: None of these links are affiliate - just trying to make it easier to find.


  1. LED Lamp (I use the DND LED Lamp V3) (BEWARE AMAZON LED LIGHTS. Before investing in a good one I bought some that took 15 minutes to set my polish and some that didn't work at all!)

  2. Cuticle Pusher (You can get one for cheap anywhere)

  3. Polish Scraper (You can get one for cheap anywhere)

  4. Cuticle Cutter (This needs to be sharp so I'd get a good one)

  5. Nail file (This is the free one that comes with Dashing Diva nails)

  6. Cuticle Softener

  7. Alcohol and cotton balls

  8. Nail Buffer

  9. Electric Manicure Tool (Any with a sanding bit will do, this is one made to do a babies nails. Eventually I want to invest in a nicer one, this one's tip is getting loose)

  10. Gel Nail Polish (You'll need a top and base coat, as well as a color coat) WARNING: This is not like regular polish, you cannot skip the base and top coat)

  11. Gel Polish Remover


Step 2: Gel Polish Removal

If you already have a gel manicure on, we first need to remove it fully without damaging the nail underneath. I have found the best way to do this is paint-on gel polish remover.


  1. Put down a paper-towel to catch the dust, and use the electric manicure tool to remove the top layer of gel polish.

  2. Apply the gel remover to the nail and wait about 1 minute. The polish will begin to bubble and peel.

  3. Using the triangle end of polish scraper tool, remove ONLY what a gentle scraping motion will remove. The more gentle you are during this process, the better condition your nails will be in when you're done.

  4. Apply another coat of polish remover where needed.

  5. Repeat this process as many times as needed. For me it is usually 2-3


Step 3: Nail Preparation


  1. Now we take care of the cuticles. I don't like to cut my cuticles because it can lead to infection, instead, I use a cuticle softener then gently push the cuticle back. I then use the cuticle cutter only for the peeling skin on the sides of my fingernails.

  2. Now it's time to shape. I like to use my nail file to give my nails a thinner rounded end.

  3. Buff the nail and apply alcohol with a cotton ball to each nail. (This step is VERY important. It dries the nail in preparation for the polish. Moisture left in the nail will reduce the longevity of your manicure.)


    Step 4: Apply the polish


  1. Once the alcohol dries completely, apply one thin layer of the base coat to each nail avoiding the skin around the nail and the cuticle (If gel polish touches the skin, not only does it burn under the UV lamp, but it can cause you to develop an allergy to gel polish!)

  2. Cure the polish under the LED lamp for 45 seconds

  3. Apply one thin layer of the colored polish to each nail.

  4. Cure the polish under the LED lamp for 45 seconds.

  5. Repeat this as many times as needed for desired coverage. I usually do 2 coats.

  6. Apply one thin layer of the top coat to each nail.

Tip: Apply a light layer of top-coat along the top-edge of the nail to lock in the tips and decrease chipping

  1. Cure the polish under the LED lamp for 45 seconds TWICE.

  2. If I'm feeling fancy, when I'm all done I'll apply a hand lotion like they do at the salon, but this is totally optional.


Don't be frustrated if it's not perfect the first time! It took me a while to get it just right, but now even my friends ask for my manicures for their birthday! :)

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