How Long Does it Take to Learn to Do Acrylic Nails?

Discover how long does it take to learn to do acrylic nails at home for beginners.

How to do acrylic nails is something I’ve learned over the last few months, and a frequent question I get asked is how long it takes to learn to do your own acrylics.

In this post, I will explain the answer how long does it take to learn the right to do your own acrylic nails. 

How Long Does it Take to Learn to Do Acrylic Nails?

On average, it takes six weeks to learn to do a full set of acrylic nails yourself. This is based on the idea that you are practicing a new set of acrylic nails every day. Depending on your circumstances, it may be different. 

If you’ve considered doing your own acrylic nails, check out my acrylic nails at home beginners guide.

I’m going to explain how long it may take in different situations, for example, learning through a course or simply practicing on your own hands.

Learning How to Do Acrylic Nails Through Courses

There are a variety of different nail courses, depending on the level of qualification you’re looking to get.

The course’s intensity determines how long the course lasts; this can range from a day course up to a year.

If you are looking to learn how to do acrylic nails for your own personal use or to do as a side job, then a one day or two-day course will most likely be best for you.

Although, with these types of courses, you need to be aware that you will need to get more experience before you can potentially do this as a business.

So, the course may only take you a few days, but practicing and gaining experience can take a few weeks, so expect it to take you around six to nine weeks to do a full set confidently.

If you want to do acrylic nails as a professional career, you’ll most likely do a more in-depth course that will take about a year to complete.

These courses give you more detailed knowledge and skills and will provide you with a higher ability to do acrylic nails.

These sorts of courses not only teach you the practical side of it like the techniques; it gives you more of an insight into the business side of it too.

This involves things such as communicating with clients, regulations, and biology and health care of the nails.

How long does it take to learn?

So, yes, the course may be a year-long on average, but it means that you will get a lot more knowledge, which gives you a better chance of employment or starting your own business. 

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Learning How to Do Acrylic Nails at Home

Learning to do acrylic nails will take longer if you’re learning independently.

This is because you can’t necessarily do multiple sets in a day or a week. If you can do a new set a week, you’ll learn the techniques in about nine weeks, but to perfect it, it’ll take longer.

It’s all about the practice; if you practice more often, you’ll learn it faster.

Using videos and blogs like this can help you learn more quickly and give you visual comparisons for each step.

If you want to learn how to do acrylic nails as a hobby or for your own benefit and aren’t too fussed on the nails looking perfect, you may be able to learn quicker.

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Learning How to Do Acrylic Nails at Through a Job

If you already have a role in the beauty industry, learning to do acrylic nails may be the next step of your career.

This may have given you a head start if you have had previous experience or have seen acrylic nails being done.

Doing a two-day course, as the ones explained earlier, maybe a better option for you as you already have a clear understanding of the process but may need to learn the right techniques.

If this is how you choose to learn to do acrylic nails, it may take you about six weeks before you can do this as part of your job. 

Another possible way of learning to do acrylic nails through a job is to become a trainee nail technician.

If you have an interest or passion for doing nails, it can help you get a nail salon job and allow you to learn on the job.

How long does it take to learn?

On average, learning to do acrylic nails through this option will take about three months as you’ll need to learn the techniques to an excellent professional standard.

It’s important to remember that this may change depending on how often you work and how much experience you can get. 

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Tips to Learn How to Do Your Acrylic Nails Faster

Here are a few tips that will help you learn how to do acrylic nails faster and easier:

1. Practice on as many different people as possible
   Each hand is different so you will have to alter your techniques to suit that person. Practicing on as many as you can, can help you perfect your techniques, it’ll also give you the experience and help build your clientele in the early stages if you want to do this on a professional level.
    
2. Use practice sheets
   Something I’ve seen many people use is practice sheets. These are laminated sheets with a nail outline that can help with getting your techniques right. These are great to use in the early days if you’re not comfortable practicing on hands at first. It’s an excellent way to build up your confidence without feeling pressured.
   
3. Watch Youtube videos
   If you plan on learning to do acrylic nails by yourself, YouTube videos are going to be a great help. There are so many that can give you great guidance, and as well it’s an excellent guide to follow to see if your nails are looking right. There are many technical terms when doing acrylic nails, so being able to see the terms used in action will help you learn quicker. 
   
4. Focus on getting it right
   Another great tip to learn to do acrylic nails is to focus on getting your technique correct first. A full set of acrylic nails on average takes about an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes, if you are focused on getting them done within that time frame, your nails may look rushed and may lack the professional look you’re aiming for. Working on your skill and the appearance of the nails first will help you to become quicker over time. If you rush your nails, it’ll take you longer to master the techniques. 

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Summary

So I hope you have found this useful, and it has given you more of a clear understanding of how long it takes to learn to do acrylic nails.

Remember, it’s not going to be the same for everyone, you may learn the techniques quicker, but it may take you a little longer to get the confidence.

The main thing is that you learn the process correctly and learn something you enjoy doing.