Gelcrylic / Acrygel / Dip Powder

So I've been looking at a ton of techniques on YouTube about mixing gel and acrylic together to create a hybrid nail. I'm a huge fan of gel polish / gel extensions but have never used or had acrylic nails before so when I came across the dipping technique I was really intrigued as it doesn't involve the acrylic liquid (and therefore the god awful smell.) I came across quite a few techniques that all seem to have similar outcomes and I'm excited to give one of them a go in the next week or so when my new supplies arrive! 

GELCRYLIC & ACRYGEL

So these first techniques really are just a hybrid of using Gel Polish and Acrylic Powders. You start with your usual gel base and cure. Next you add your top coat (or another base coat) and before curing your pour on your Acrylic powder, this can be clear, glitter or even colour, and then cure it in your lamp. You repeat this step until you have the desired thickness / colour and then finish off with a final topcoat and cure. This gives you the flexibility of a gel nail with the strength that acrylic provides. It seems to be perfect for those wanting to grow out their natural nails which I am at the moment as my nails flake and snap so easily. There are many names for this technique as all companies want ownership over it but you can easily do this technique yourself with products you already own!

DIP POWDERS

These are slightly finer powders then normal acrylic powder however it's more than easy to use your standard powder and give it a good file afterwards to remove any bumpy finishes. They can be clear (as in the above technique) or coloured to give a longer lasting manicure then regular polish. Again you could apply as above or I have seen several tutorials using nail glue. You brush on a layer of nail glue, dip your nail into the powder, shake off and leave to dry before repeating the steps until happy, you can then finish off with a gel top coat. Personally I prefer technique one as I have always been a little iffy about nail glue! 

USING A TIP

I have seen both of these techniques used with a nail tip too meaning you can create your long salon nails at home without needing acrylic liquids or special brushes. Just gel, dip and cure. I may give this a go myself near Christmas to give me a nice length to create some Christmas designs or if the first technique pans out I should have nice long nails of my own!

REMOVAL & INFILLS

As with all acrylics you will need to file these off even though they are mixed with a gel (which can be a soak off) I would soak off the gel top coat and then use either a hand file or e file to get down to the first acrylic layer depending on what your next move is. It's also super easy to create infills with the dipping as you can apply your gel just to that area and then move a little further down to fill in any ridges.