By EMMALIE COOPER
Staff Writer
With quarantine, people have been doing more and more at-home manicures. One of the things that arose during the pandemic were dip nails. While there were dip nails being done before the closure of salons, many people took it upon themselves to order kits and begin doing it themselves. Dip is easy to do, quick to do, and relatively easy to remove. When a kit is delivered to you, it comes with almost everything needed : the base solution, the activator solution, the top coat, the powder for dipping, and a brush to dust the excess off. Materials that are needed that don’t always come in the kits are really only a nail file and a cuticle pusher, however, if you wanted a higher level manicure you could add in extra steps. Once your nails are prepped to your standards, apply a thin layer of base coat and dip nail into powder immediately. After about 30 seconds, take the brush and dust off excess. Do one step on one finger at a time so the base can be wet for the powder and the powder/base mix is dry when you dust. Repeat on every nail for however many coats until desired opacity. Then apply a layer of activator solution and allow it to dry for 20 seconds. After it is dry, take your file and file it down and smooth it out until it reaches desired smoothness. Then apply the activator solution and allow it to dry for 30 seconds. Apply a layer of top coat and wait until dry, then apply a second layer and wait 2 minutes for it to dry. Apply nail oil and live your life for a week to a week and a half. For the removal, there are more materials needed such as : 100% pure acetone, nail oil of some sort, a Ziploc baggie, a paper towel, and hot water in a bowl. To remove you need to file the top layer of the nail so that the solution can penetrate better. Then in the Ziploc baggie mix acetone and nail oil, once mixed, place the paper towel in the bottom. Set the bag in the warm water and your hand in the bag and rub your nails against the paper towel. Then after a few minutes of rubbing pull your hand out and repeat the rubbing process until the product is completely removed from every nail. Top with nail oil or apply dip powder again.