I’ve been painting my nails every week since middle school so I’m comfortable with the process. But my nails would always chip and break and I tried every nail strengthen out there and take vitamins but nothing helped. Then I started getting dip powder manicures and my nails never broke and grew so long! But I was paying $45 + tip + uber to get my nails done every 3 weeks and never really liked the salon experience so I quit after 6 months, took a break, started again and then quit again. I decided I could learn how to do this myself at home.  You can buy a cheap starter kit from amazon or buy everything individually like I did so my start up cost was $100. That included all the special files I needed, a soaking tray and my favorite OPI color – Lisbon wants Moor which the powder jar is $20. I love light pink nails in the summer time so I’m fine with just having one color for now.  I didn’t like the color when I first tried it in the regular polish but love it in Dip.



Dip powder nail polish is a powder that is sealed in between coats of wet sealant that dries instantly without a UV light. The process is pretty simple overall, but the application of the powder and sealant has a very strong chemical smell so I recommend doing it outside. In the salon they would use an electric buffer to file down my nail beds which I found damaged my nails, but at home I don't need to do that. After you've finished applying the color to your nails, what takes a lot of patience is the buffing with a regular nail file to make all your edges look smooth and so that the overall powder doesn't look very thick on my nail.  To remove you soak your nails in a bowl of acetone  for 20 minutes and it easily dissolves.

I’m so ecstatic that I can do this myself and save money and time while doing so. My nails never chip, grow long and are basically bulletproof, I’m obsessed with them!



Directions: 
Here’s a very quick instructional video from OPI:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV1oaSU3Kig

Here’s a much slower instructional video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUjFRqXQWo8&t=217s

I also like to add nail wraps to my nails, and I found this video in German that shows how to do that with dip powder:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrzjOOHHPks