As nice as acrylic nails look when they are freshly done, they really don’t stay that way for long. Even if you are very careful and do not damage your nails, they will still begin to look not quite right after a week or two, due to the natural growth of your nails.
Some people have nails that naturally grow incredibly quickly, in which case you might find that your acrylics need infills just a week or two after you have done them.
While acrylics that have outgrown can look annoying, the price of infills is even more frustrating. Especially if you require them soon after you paid to get your acrylics done in the first place.
So, while salons offer infills at fairly reasonable prices, you might find yourself wanting to cut costs by doing them yourself, and this is perfectly okay to do.
Just like doing acrylic nails, doing infills is a skill, and it will take a lot of practice to get it perfect. There are lots of different fill kits available that you can buy to do this job, and these will be available online and in most beauty stores.
These kits will tell you exactly what to do, but it usually involves filing back the color that is currently on your acrylics before applying the filler to fill the gap near your cuticles.
Once this is done, you usually paint a color yourself.
So, yes, if you want to cut the costs, then you definitely can fill your own acrylic nails. For the best results you should take your time, and buy a good quality infill kit.
How do you hide outgrown gel nails?
While you can cover outgrown acrylic nails fairly easily by using an infill kit, covering gel nails is a little trickier. So, instead of using an infill kit to fill the outgrown gap in your gel nails, it is much better to simply cover the area of your nail that has outgrown.
There are lots of different ways that you can do this, but the consensus is that using a sparkly nail varnish is the best way to disguise gels that have outgrown.
If you were to apply a coat of nail varnish across the gel, and also the outgrown area of your new nail, then you would still be able to notice where the gel has outgrown.
So, you have to be very tactical when applying your sparkly nail varnish.
One hack is to just apply the glitter nail varnish to the outgrown area of the nail, and then smudge it out onto the rest of your gel nail.
This will fill the gap that has outgrown (and make it less noticeable), and it will also create an ombre effect on your nail, which will completely distract the eye from the fact that your gels have outgrown.
So, if you want to hide the fact that your gel nails have outgrown, simply apply a glitter nail varnish to the outgrown area of your nail. This will make it look like you have had your gels redone, rather than like they have outgrown.
How many times can you fill acrylic nails?
There is no strict limit to the amount of times that you can get your acrylic nails refilled. But, this doesn’t mean that you can get your acrylic nails infilled indefinitely.
You will only be able to get your acrylics infilled as long as the nails themselves are not damaged. So, while you may be able to manage with just infills for a couple of months, eventually a time will come where you need to get a new set fitted.
Generally speaking, a set of acrylics can last for a couple of months. During this time, you will likely need to get infills fairly regularly, depending on the rate at which your natural nails grow.
Most people will require an infill every 2-3 weeks, but if your nails grow faster you might need to get it done more regularly and vice versa if your nails grow slower.
Most acrylic sets will last for 2-3 months maximum. However, if you take perfect care of your acrylics, then you might be able to get your nails to last for 6 months.
If you are doing your infills yourself, then you can continue to do infills as often as you wish. But, if you are getting your nails done by a technician, they might encourage you to get a new set of acrylics a little sooner.
Is a fill cheaper than a full set?
Prices for both infills and full sets will differ from nail salon to nail salon, however infills do tend to be cheaper than a full set. This is mainly because they take less time to do, and so the nail technician will be able to fit more clients in on that day.
It is also because the materials needed to do a set of infills are less than the materials needed for a full set. So, if your nails are growing out, but you are limited on money, an infill could be a great option.
Some people expect an infill to be a quick 5-minute job, but this isn’t the case. When you go to a nail salon to get your nails infilled, the technician will take the nail polish off of your acrylics, and buff both your natural and fake nail before they get started on the infills.
Then, once the infills have been completed, you will usually have a new color applied to the nails. This is why a set of nails that have been infilled professionally can look like a fresh set.
So, if your nails are not damaged when they have begun to outgrow, then an infill might be a better choice than a full set. It will save you money, and your nails will still look fresh.
So, you should definitely consider getting your nails infilled before you pay for a new set of acrylics.
