Your first soak off gel mani

When doing a sog mani, application is super important. If you're a messy polish applier, you'll have to change your ways! There are chemicals in the gels that can cause a bad sensitivity and reaction if left on your cuticle or skin. 

This isn't regular nail polish that you can apply right up to or on your cuticle; instead you need to leave a small space (as little as 1mm) between your gel and your cuticle - use an orange stick or brush to wipe around your cuticle before curing. Getting it on your skin is okay if you clean it off, but if you leave it on and cure you might get an allergic reaction of raised blisters and itchiness, so just apply carefully. 

Also use really thin layers to make sure it cures properly. Gel is self-settling so if you apply a thick layer it can flood to the sides of your nails, which can be hard to clean out. If you're using too much in a layer your nails might feel hot when you cure - a good sign to use much thinner layers. 

There are many tutorials online for how to apply sogs, and the earlier mentioned Purseblog's soak off gel beginner's thread is a fantastic how-to, so I'll give just a quick rundown:

1.     Start with clean, dry nails that are free of polish. If you haven't pushed back and cleaned up your cuticles yet, do that first. Roll or gently shake your colours ahead of time so they are well mixed. 

2.     Wipe your nails with some alcohol on a lint-free wipe. The bonders you can get are basically alcohol that you dehydrate your nail with. 

3.     Apply basecoat in a super-thin layer, wiping as much off of the brush before applying as you can - a super thin layer is all you need. Remember to not go up to the cuticle, but leave a tiny border between the gel and your skin; this will get easier with practice. Also wipe the brush on the free edge of your nail (the edge tip), if you don't do this, you will get lifting. Now cure (generally 30 seconds in LED). A sticky layer will be left. 

4.     Apply a very thin coat of colour, don't worry if it looks smeary or thin. Remember to leave the border, and use a thin brush or pointy q-tip lightly dipped in alcohol to run around the edges if needed. If you get a flood, use a lint-free wipe with alcohol to clean it up, clean up your sidewalls, then apply the colour again. Make sure to cap the free edge, then cure (usually 30-45 seconds in LED). A sticky layer will be left.

5.     Apply a second, third, or even fourth layer if needed. Cap the free edge. 

6.     Apply a thin layer of top coat, and cap the free edge. Cure. 

7.     Using lint-free wipes with alcohol, wipe the sticky layer off of each nail. Now wash your hands and apply a bit of oil or cream to your nails. All done. :)

Best practice is to be careful with your application and remove any messiness, and you'll be fine. Soak off gel is totally safe - I've been using it since early 2012 - and while I'm extremely allergy-sensitive I haven't had any problems with soak off gels. Think of it like putting on mascara: you don't just toss that wand around getting mascara all over, you take your time and apply it correctly - same thing with applying sog. 

As you get used to using sogs, you may want to branch out into some nail art, I'll go over some tools and techniques for these later - it's my favourite part. :)