How do you paint your nails?

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Dr. Arinsu said:
Yeah I don't do it often and I have shaky hands. Which isn't a good thing.
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Get some sheer nude nailpolish. That way if you go over your nail it's not noticeable and you can either fix it before it dries, or after it dries after 4-5 hours you can just peel off the crusty nail polish off your cutcles.

By the time you use the entire bottle you'll have the dexterity to do both hands.

Let me know if you want any other tips.
 
- Always keep the hand you're painting flat on a table for stability.

- base coat as close to the cuticle as possible, color coat gets a bit of space, topcoat to cuticle. This sandwiches in the color and the clear coats are easier to clean up if you flood the cuticle.

- Avoid quick drying nail polish so you can go SLOW and work in thin coats.

- Start at the center of the nail, push the color back then up to the top of your nail.

- I am a sheer pink kind of bitch, and they're the most forgiving for practicing and looking great with a wash of glitter or pearl over them.
 
Tape around your nails, also practice with a clear shade or less noticeable ones like pink, peach, white, certain browns, that go with your skin tone. Then you can work up to it looking good even with a bright color.

Or find a friend who has a similar issue and do each other's nails.
 
I've been wanting to get a manipedi for a while, I just never really get to it. That and I'm afraid of chipping a nail by accident so I never really do my nails. I'm a living contradiction, help me! *sigh*
 
I suspect that lifelong vegetarianism is why my nails are shitty and stupid. They flake, they peel, they're weak and flimsy. I'm a retard for stickers and my kids got me literally 700 fucking adorable seasonal nail stickers. Between the painting and the sticking and the drying, i dunno. I can't apply makeup either, which is doubly obnoxious as a fucking artist. Feminine shit just doesn't work out for me, and i refuse to whine like a faggot but
*sigh* :punished:
Valstrax said:
I've been wanting to get a manipedi for a while, I just never really get to it. That and I'm afraid of chipping a nail by accident so I never really do my nails. I'm a living contradiction, help me! *sigh*
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Let em chip, more practice in touch ups. :heart-full:
 
Like other women in this thread, I deal by wearing mostly sheer polish so you can't see the mistakes. I really like Catrice's Sheer Beauties line of sheer nude polishes. My favorite shade from that line is To Be Continuded. It's kind of a mauve pink with a barely-there blue/purple sparkle that looks good with pale skin tones.

When I do bother to wear a non-sheer color, I clean up with a brush or q-tip dipped in acetone like the comment above me suggests.

The YouTube channel The Salon Life has other suggestions for sheer polishes that I haven't been able to try, but most look great. It's a great channel for nail care tips as well, even if you don't wear polish regularly.
 
SofondaCox said:
I suspect that lifelong vegetarianism is why my nails are shitty and stupid. They flake, they peel, they're weak and flimsy. I'm a retard for stickers and my kids got me literally 700 fucking adorable seasonal nail stickers. Between the painting and the sticking and the drying, i dunno. I can't apply makeup either, which is doubly obnoxious as a fucking artist. Feminine shit just doesn't work out for me, and i refuse to whine like a faggot but
*sigh* :punished:

Let em chip, more practice in touch ups. :heart-full:
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Try ising nailoils on your cuticles. mine is super fragile unless i do this.
 
Hey, does anyone have any advice for how long I need to wait for nails to dry? I've started trying to do my nails, but I must be doing them wrong because I feel like they take forever to dry. Or, I'll think they're dry, start trying to do stuff but they get messed up because they weren't actually completely dry yet... I've tried both regular nail polish and quick dry - quick dry was a little better but again, I messed that up as well.

Am I not waiting long enough between coats (someone said to wait 5 minutes between coats)? Am I actually doing too many coats and so it never dries? It's annoying because I feel like I have them looking nice, but then ruin them by not being patient. Thanks in advance to anyone who has any advice.
 
too bizarre said:
Hey, does anyone have any advice for how long I need to wait for nails to dry? I've started trying to do my nails, but I must be doing them wrong because I feel like they take forever to dry. Or, I'll think they're dry, start trying to do stuff but they get messed up because they weren't actually completely dry yet... I've tried both regular nail polish and quick dry - quick dry was a little better but again, I messed that up as well.

Am I not waiting long enough between coats (someone said to wait 5 minutes between coats)? Am I actually doing too many coats and so it never dries? It's annoying because I feel like I have them looking nice, but then ruin them by not being patient. Thanks in advance to anyone who has any advice.
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I’m glad you asked because I was going to get into this.

It can seem almost counterintuitive but to those of you new to doing your own nails, you may benefit from just going all in, getting a gel kit (the OPI kit is like $60) and starting there. Traditional nail polish is a different beast from gel polish, I am learning, and I wish I hadn’t gotten so used to regular enamel because I’m having to unlearn things.

The main reason I suggest the gel kit to noobs is that you can go one hand at a time, and the hand you do can be completely cured (aka dry) before you work on your dominant hand. Wet gel won’t stick to the cured nails the way wet enamel will stick to a dry or drying nail and ruin everything.

And to actually answer the question, it takes about an hour before you can, say, go to bed, but the nails won’t truly be dry for 24 hours. And yes you should do thin coats.

eta one more thing: when wondering how dry your nails are, gently touch the nail to the tip of your tongue. How much you can taste it will tell you how far along you are. You can’t taste it when it’s dry.
 
No Thank You v 2.0 said:
I’m glad you asked because I was going to get into this.

It can seem almost counterintuitive but to those of you new to doing your own nails, you may benefit from just going all in, getting a gel kit (the OPI kit is like $60) and starting there. Traditional nail polish is a different beast from gel polish, I am learning, and I wish I hadn’t gotten so used to regular enamel because I’m having to unlearn things.

The main reason I suggest the gel kit to noobs is that you can go one hand at a time, and the hand you do can be completely cured (aka dry) before you work on your dominant hand. Wet gel won’t stick to the cured nails the way wet enamel will stick to a dry or drying nail and ruin everything.

And to actually answer the question, it takes about an hour before you can, say, go to bed, but the nails won’t truly be dry for 24 hours. And yes you should do thin coats.

eta one more thing: when wondering how dry your nails are, gently touch the nail to the tip of your tongue. How much you can taste it will tell you how far along you are. You can’t taste it when it’s dry.
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This is such helpful advice, thank you so much!

The bit about touching the nail to the tip of my tongue is great, I've never heard that but that's such a quick and easy way to tell. And I'll definitely try to wait at least an hour next time (well, a bit more, just to be safe...) for them to dry. I think before I was waiting maybe like just barely under an hour but then actually trying to do activities with them (like getting ready to go out) and lol clearly that was a bad idea.

I'm not opposed to learning to do gel, but I guess I've always heard that it can be rough on the nails and you have to be careful about not getting it on your skin. But I've heard if you use nail/cuticle oil after removing the gel polish it might help prevent issues.

I'll try to do more research into that, though, and look into the OPI kit.

Again thanks for the advice!
 
I was once a poor teenager, so I made doing my nails my special interest. I've had a mani done professionally exactly twice and I hated the experience both times because they were so rough with my cuticles. I used to do gels, but the UV lamp was not kind to my cuticles/skin and I hate the whole ass routine of removing it. I use air dry lacquer exclusively now because it's quick and requires a lot less stuff.
  • Crystal/glass nail files and cuticle pushers are excellent and last forever assuming they don't chip or shatter first. No need to be rough with a metal pusher when you can gently buff off the stubborn bits with the glass pusher.
  • Polish likes a dry nail to bond to. If the nail is not completely dry, polish can crack and chip much quicker. If you've washed your hands, wait 1 hour before polishing. If you've done the dishes, taken a shower, or done anything where your hands have been soaking in water, wait 3-4 hours before polishing. If you've just filed/buffed your nails, dab some rubbing alcohol on a paper towel to remove the dust before polishing so you don't have to get your hands wet.
  • Painting with the non-dominant hand is really just a matter of practice and dipping a brush with a point (synthetic bristle watercolor/acrylic brushes or old small liner makeup brushes work just as well as those in mani kits) into acetone to clean up any mistakes on the skin. If you're quick, you can use a metal file/pusher/orangewood stick/tooth pick to scrape wet polish off your skin, wipe the tool on a paper towel or the palm and wash off any remnants after your nails are dry. Try to maintain a light grip and touch, keep your shoulders down, relaxed. Use your shoulder to guide the motion rather than flicking the wrist or moving the fingers.
  • Load the brush and dab the excess off one side only on the inside lip of the bottle. Touch the loaded side onto the center of the nail a couple millimeters below the cuticle, then push/rock the brush/paint glob toward the cuticle but not into it, lighten the pressure slightly and drag the brush to the tip of the nail. With proper pressure control, most of the nail should have a thin coat of paint with just the side edges bare. Quickly repeat to cover the edges but use lighter pressure than the first stroke to avoid streaks. You may need to dab a little extra paint onto the brush from the inside of the bottle neck, do not fully load it or you'll flood your cuticles with excess paint. Finish with a quick left and right stroke at the nail tip to seal it. If the paint is a bit streaky or uneven after the first coat, a second should even it out.
  • The more you fiddle, the more you're likely to have uneven pigment distribution or texture. The goal is 2-3 stokes to cover the nail and 1-2 to seal the tip.
  • It can help, if you're feeling shaky, to take a couple deep breaths and make your strokes on the exhale.
  • There are good brushes and bad brushes that come with polish bottles and a bad brush can give even the most experienced painter trouble. A good brush is oval shaped and has moderately stiff uniform bristles that allows the paint to flow evenly over them. When the brush is fully loaded, it should be pear shaped. A bad brush has bristles sticking out from the main mass that will cause streaks or texture, is extremely stiff, or is small at the furl and flares out at the end like a fan (hard to control, uneven spread)--these are usually found in cheap polishes or some kind of franchise licensing gimmick for promo or holiday.
  • Some polishes have a wide, rectangular-ish brush. This can help you practice the technique and reduce the amount of strokes you use per coat.
  • If your polish is very thin and floods the cuticle after dabbing both sides of the brush, leave the top off for 10 min, replace and roll the bottle between your palms before trying to apply. If your polish is super thick, add a drop or two of nail polish thinner (do not put acetone into your polishes) and roll it in your palms to mix evenly.
  • Roll your bottles to mix separated colors. Shaking them causes bubbles which means texture in your paint coats.
  • Wait 5 min between coats if using a quick dry topper. Wait 10 min between if not. You can test the tackiness of maybe dry polish with the tip of your tongue or gently swipe the nail across your lower lip. If it feels smooth but bouncy? Jelly-like? It will still smudge with pressure. If you can taste it, or smell it, it's not truly dry. It is possible to fix tacky polish smudges with the tip of your tongue but your lip or finger can still leave a print.
  • ILNP and Mooncat have interesting color ranges, high pigment load, and effects and dry with 2 thin coats within an hour to do pretty much anything except shower/dishes. OPI varies in pigment load depending on the color and tends to take 2-3 hours to dry with 2 thin coats. Essie has the nice wide brushes, medium pigment load, and 1-2 hour dry time. Rimmel, CoverGirl, Sally Hansen, LA Color, Hard Candy, etc. have varying pigment loads depending on color/finish, 2+ hour dry times, and often have the bad (hard to control) fan bottle brushes. Chanel polish is worth the price--I've had a bottle for over 10 years and it's never separated or thickened, but sadly it has a fan brush.
  • Base coats and top coats are unnecessary. I personally have experienced no difference or poorer performance using base coats so I skip them now. YMMV. Seche Vite is the GOAT quick dry glossy topper--it will bond with tacky layers of color and cure them in minutes--sealing the tip of your nail is key to avoid shrinkage as it dries. Matte toppers will chip quicker than glossy finishes and can be streaky, they take a bit of practice to get a nice even finish. Glitter toppers tend to be the longest wearing and the larger the chunks of glitter, the more annoying to remove--making acetone foil claws, like with gels, but soaking for just 5 min, makes for little to no-scrubby removal.

too bizarre said:
Hey, does anyone have any advice for how long I need to wait for nails to dry? I've started trying to do my nails, but I must be doing them wrong because I feel like they take forever to dry. Or, I'll think they're dry, start trying to do stuff but they get messed up because they weren't actually completely dry yet... I've tried both regular nail polish and quick dry - quick dry was a little better but again, I messed that up as well.

Am I not waiting long enough between coats (someone said to wait 5 minutes between coats)? Am I actually doing too many coats and so it never dries? It's annoying because I feel like I have them looking nice, but then ruin them by not being patient. Thanks in advance to anyone who has any advice.
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If you want to use air dry lacquers, Seche Vite is THE quick dry top coat. I can use it over tacky color layers and it will smooth and dry to a glossy shine in 2-3 minutes. And not the false dry where you tap a key or poke something and the tip smudges, but I can go do the dishes by hand and still have a fresh pristine mani after kinda dry. It's thick, self leveling, and works wonders on smoothing out the lumps and bumps of heavy/chunky glitter toppers or minor texture in solid colors.

Ideally, you want 1-2 color coats. The more layers you have, the longer it will take for the paint to fully dry from bottom to top. If you can't get the desired result with 3 thin coats and a quick dry topper or 2 coats without, you need a different polish with a higher pigment load. Or, in the case of some shimmers/chromes/holos make your first layer with a white/neutral/black/etc. and the second with the sheerer effect polish.
 
too bizarre said:
I'm not opposed to learning to do gel, but I guess I've always heard that it can be rough on the nails and you have to be careful about not getting it on your skin
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It’s true, gel can be rough on your nails because you do want to buff them down and have a rougher surface for the gel to stick to. That said, whenever I do regular enamel, it causes my nails to peel and they do not grow. With gel, my nails are actually growing long enough to inhibit my typing ability, which isn’t that long, but it’s something I’ve never been able to enjoy naturally. I am very hard on my nails, and I’ve always struggled to maintain a regular polish manicure or even just a small amount of length.

The removal process is annoying, but doing it every two weeks is something my schedule can handle. I cannot do a regular polish manicure every three days (which is what I would need). Gels take me about 2 hours to remove and apply. Regular polish, with removal of old polish, prep, and painting, still takes me an hour. I can do two hours every two weeks, I cannot do one hour every three days.

I second all of @Deep Th0ts tips. I agree that base coat is unnecessary and that Seche Vite is the way to go for a quick-dry, very shiny topcoat that will give your nails a professional look.

I stopped going to nail salons several years ago when I read an article about human trafficking being common in nail salons. The article was mainly focused on Korean salons that weren’t anywhere near me, but I thought I would avoid the risk of exploiting trafficked women, so I stopped using salons. I went to an independent, American-born manicurist one time, and she stopped several times throughout our appointment to go smoke cigarettes, and then she told me how she smoked while pregnant, and it’s really not a big deal. I decided the process was not for me, so I spent about 6 months just constantly painting my nails and practicing with nail art until I got good at it. I would consider going again if I had a wedding to prepare for, but that’s the only situation where I could imagine it might be better to call a professional.

Putting in the work to get good at doing your own nails is worth it, imo.

ETA: my favorite polish brand is Cirque
 
It gets easier with practice. I prefer lacquer to gels, because you have to get gels taken off at a nail salon and the technicians scuff up your nail surface to get the gel to stick. The normal drugstore lacquer you can apply and remove yourself at home easily and change whenever it chips or you just want something new.

I started doing my nails at home after I read in the newspaper that New York nail salons are rife with human rights abuses and basically slave labor :( . But I'm pretty happy with my skills now.

It is rather challenging to paint your own toes, though.
 
Anyone have any recommendations for "jelly" (sheer) nail polishes that are under 10 bucks? Not interested in gel, just regular nail polish.

I have some magnetic topper polishes that are cool, but I don't like how they look as just toppers; I feel like I need to do a coat of sheer color over the magnetic effect to get the look I want.

I know some popular polish brands are releasing some colorful sheer polishes, but they are so damn expensive for what they are, so if people can recommend some cheapies, that would be great! Haha.
 
StarkRavingMad said:
Anyone have any recommendations for "jelly" (sheer) nail polishes that are under 10 bucks? Not interested in gel, just regular nail polish.

I have some magnetic topper polishes that are cool, but I don't like how they look as just toppers; I feel like I need to do a coat of sheer color over the magnetic effect to get the look I want.

I know some popular polish brands are releasing some colorful sheer polishes, but they are so damn expensive for what they are, so if people can recommend some cheapies, that would be great! Haha.
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I haven't tried them but Blank Beauty's are $9
 
No Thank You v 2.0 said:
eta one more thing: when wondering how dry your nails are, gently touch the nail to the tip of your tongue. How much you can taste it will tell you how far along you are. You can’t taste it when it’s dry.
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What the hell? Don't ingest that. If you're doing only one hand at that moment, use a non-painted nail (not the tip, but the nail itself) to lightly tap the polished one. If you feel resistance or leave a mark, it's not dry. Otherwise, either wait it out or lightly touch it with the pad of your fingertip. Keep in mind it could still be surface dry, but not fully dry. If you suspect that is the case, either add a tiny bit more pressure to check for a fingerprint, or wait a little bit longer before adding another polish layer.

You might need to redo it if you're sloppy like me, but I'd rather that than ingest nail polish in any capacity.
 
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