How To Do Gel-X Nails At Home: 4 Easy Steps to a Long-Lasting Manicure (2025)

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There’s been a popular, new type of artificial nails that have been making their way into the manicure world recently: Gel-X nails. This type of manicure is a cross between acrylics and gel. It gives you long-lasting color and enviable length, but with a more natural-looking outcome. I myself have become an avid Gel-X fan and wearer, and have been more than impressed with how they hold up. The best part? You can DIY your own Gel-X nails right at home, saving you money and time at the salon. Keep reading to learn how to do Gel-X nails with tips from a pro nail artist—and the best at-home Gel-X kits to use.

What are Gel-X nails?

A Gel-X manicure is “a type of nail enhancement that is created using a full-coverage nail tip and gel adhesive,” explains nail artist Sigourney Nunez. “The gel (adhesive) is used to adhere the tip to the natural nail and the finish is a natural-looking nail set.”

Opposed to acrylics, where a liquid monomer and polymer powder is used to create the artificial nail, which can look thick and non-natural, Gel-X nails don’t use any sort of powder. It’s a thin, natural-looking, full nail tip.

How to do Gel-X nails at home

One of the best aspects of a Gel-X manicure is that you can do the technique at home. Keep scrolling to see Nunez’s tips and tricks to perfect your DIY Gel-X manicure.

1. Measure the Gel-X tips

First off, you need to fit the Gel-X tips to each of your nails. Line them up against your nail bed, and choose the size that fits best. You can do some filing of the tip if in between sizes.
Prep nails

To prep your nails for Gel-X, follow the instructions on your Gel-X kit. You likely will need to file and use their “prep” product.

“I typically follow the manufacturer’s instructions, but there was one time I didn’t have my e-file or my Gel-X Prep product, so I used acetone to prep the underside of the Gel-X tip and it etched them perfectly for application. If you’re ever in a bind, that would be my pro tip!” suggest Nunez.

2. Apply the tips

“After prep, they (nail techs) use the gel and apply it to the tip and adhere the tip to the nail to create that enhancement,” says Nunez. The “gel” she’s referring to? The adhesive; We recommend: Aprés Extend Gel, Dashing Diva GelXtend Max Comfort Soft Gel Glue, Red Carpet Manicure Soft Gel Tips Adhesive or Gelish Soft Gel Tip Adhesive.

Nunez’s pro tip to applying and making them last is to first apply the gel to the natural nail and cure it, and then apply to the tip and cure under an LED lamp. “I like to apply the gel adhesive to the natural nails first and cure for 30 seconds. Then, apply the gel adhesive to the underside of the tip,” she explains. “I like using this velcro technique because then I don’t have to apply as much to the tip.”

Nunez continues, “If you try this technique and do need to apply more, it’s super important to remove the tip before curing and add some more product. It honestly takes practice. It’s kind of like when you get used to painting your own nails and learn to pick up the right amount of polish—it just takes repetition.”

3. Paint on your polish

Now that your Gel-X tips are on, it’s time for the fun part: Painting on your favorite polish or a pretty nail art! We recommend using gel polish for an even longer-lasting Gel-X mani.

The best DIY Gel-X manicure kits

See our picks for the best Gel-X kits you can use to DIY your own Gel-X manicure right at home!

Red Carpet Manicure Soft Gel Tips Starter Kit

This is Nunez’s pick, and we can get behind it. She says, “I really love the Red Carpet Manicure Soft Gel tip system. They offer a lot of shapes and lengths. They recently also changed the packaging of their gel adhesive from a traditional gel polish bottle to a tube; Having the gel adhesive in a tube allows the user to add the gel to the tip easier, giving you better control and can prevent overflooding the cuticle area.”

Aprés Gel-X Nail Extension Kit

Aprés is one of the most-known Gel-X brands, and is offered in many salons. We like their Aprés Gel-X Nail Extension Kit, which comes with their pH bonder, non-acidic gel primer, soak-off extend gel bottle, non-wipe top gel coat, LED light, nail file and black patent vegan leather case—that’s a lot of bang for your buck!

Dashing Diva Gel-Xtend Starter Kit

This is one of the more affordable Gel-X nail kits, costing just $23. Dashing Diva Gel-Xtend Starter Kit comes with 60 tips, two wooden manicure sticks, two prep pads, one dual-sided nail file and buffer. gel/glue adhesive and LED lamp.