Painting your nails can be a fun pastime and can even save you some money instead of going to your nearby nail salon. Here’s an easy-to-understand guide that’ll help you paint your nails flawlessly.
1. Prepare your Environment
Painting your nails can be fun, but it could also be time-consuming. Don’t expect to be done in less than an hour, especially if you want to really focus on quality. With that being said, find a nice, comfortable place to paint your nails. It needs to have good lighting, the right temperature, and basically all the right conditions to prevent you from moving around as you paint your nails. You want zero distractions and zero interference, so clear up your workspace and calendar.
Aside from this, you’ll also want to give yourself something that’ll entertain you. This could be a TV show, a podcast, or something else, as long as it doesn’t require you to use your fingers. Also have a beverage, such as iced tea or juice, or even some wine if you’re feeling fancy. It’ll help pass the time while you paint. Also, be sure to use the restroom before you start so you won’t have to make any emergency trips while you’re painting.
2. Gather the Tools and Equipment
Of course, you can’t just dip your nails in paint and call it a day. You’ll need a few tools for the job, and these include, but not limited to:
- Nail polish
- Nail polish remover
- Cuticle remover/trimmer
- Nail clipper
- Coats (base and top)
- File
- Cotton buds
3. Get your Nails Ready
Now that you have everything you need, you should start getting to work on the nails. You could start painting right away, but the best thing to do would be to first prepare your nails by shaping and/or cutting them. For this step, you’ll mainly be using the nail clipper but the cuticle remover and file will also come in handy.
If you were wearing some nail polish beforehand, remove it, and start trimming those nails. Keep them evenly filed and trimmed so they look great with the paint. Also, be sure to push back those cuticles. Do keep in mind however, that it is generally recommended to push the cuticles back instead of removing them, as removing cuticles can result in a higher risk of infection.
4. Paint Away
Now, for the fun part. You’ll want to start off with your base coat by applying it evenly on all of your nails. Don’t apply thick amounts or else it'll take much longer to dry. Also, try to leave a bit of space between the coat and the sides of the nails. Once that’s done, wait for the coat to dry and apply additional coats as necessary. Finally, if you want to have your nails last a few extra days, consider placing a top coat to finish. This will prevent it from chipping away easily. Once you’re done with that, you can clean up by getting rid of any excess nail polish on your skin with a polish remover.
