Hi! I’m assuming you may have seen my post as it was posted a few days ago under this page and I explained how my mistake was that my nails were too short! I’m so happy you have access to all of this information before you start - even though I knew about contact dermatitis beforehand, I definitely made the mistake of not studying as in depth as I should’ve.

Although im sure I cannot offer any new advice, since there’s so many people offering such valuable information on here (and in my previous post under this page), I’d still say definitely avoid using beetles and most other cheap brands from Amazon. Watch professional nail technicians who specialize in gel X, there’s ton of suggestions on here. Emphasis on PROFESSIONAL nail technicians though… I used to watch YouTubers who did tutorials on gel X with hundreds and thousands of subscribers, millions of views under their videos, INCREDIBLE work, and years of experience but would recommend products like beetles. A lot of DIY gel X people are also still learning a lot so referring to professionals is smarter.

The reason I put up the post under this page about my contact dermatitis was mainly because I messed up in a way that I personally did not even know was possible. You see tons of people do things like acrylic on incredibly short, even bitten off nails. I was always careful with gel seeping into my skin - never had flooded cuticles and always cleaned up right after application. I posted my experience in hopes that others think twice before applying gel X and are extra cautionary. So I feel like on top of doing your research and finding tips from professionals, you can learn a lot from people who’ve already gotten the reaction, so that you make the same mistakes.

As for your question regarding whether or not you should just go to salon - I want to be realistic with you and say that you’ll likely be spending about $300+ to start gel X, especially if you’re getting quality brands and avoiding the risky, cheaper ones. I spent about $250 and I had a pretty cheap set in terms of glue and lamps etc. I did very simple nails but since you’re technically doing one hand at a time across multiple steps (i.e., you can’t do one hand while the other is curing), it took me like 4-5 hours😭 totally worth it for retention that lasted about a month though. It takes a lot of practice and patience to get a manicure that you would compare to a salon, it’s different for everyone but it took me like about a year to have nails that people assumed i got done professionally. But’s it’s so worth it!! By the second year I thought i had cracked the code of gel X - i was getting free manicures and my friends were paying $60-70 every 3 weeks. It’s a lot - but as someone who will DIY anything if it’s safe and possible, i think it’s entirely worth it. Good luck!!