Welcome to Beginner's Nail Art!
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Hi, Karen here, and welcome to Beginner's Nail Art, my place on the Web where I talk about all the things I've learned so far about doing nail art.
I love long nails. Not talons or claws, but just a little longer than what's considered "active" length, just enough to show off some cool colors and designs once in a while.
I just recently started up this new kind of hobby sort of by accident. I'd been getting my nails done professionally for oh, about 15 years, and the last time I needed to get them done I decided I needed to find a cheaper way to do them. So off to Google and YouTube I went in search of some alternatives.
Growing my own nails out myself wasn't an option because my natural nails have only been long twice in my life - during pregnancies, and at 50-plus years old with five grandkids, I wasn't about to go that route again just for long nails!
I'd thought about trying to do my own acrylic or gel nails at home, but the last time I tried that it turned into a major, laughable disaster that I ended up back at the salon. The products are a lot better now than they used to be so for example, if you try do-it-yourself at-home acrylic nails like the Kiss Acrylic Sculpture Kit, you might be surprised at the results and how well they look!
Then I thought, well, what about glue-on artificial nails?? It's pretty much the same thing, right? I mean - when it's time to start with fresh acrylic or gel nails, what do the pros do?
They scrape off the old stuff, glue on an artificial tip and apply the "product," as some of them call it, to your nails. So what you're getting in reality is part glue-on, part applied - artificial nails.
Artificial = Fake. Am I right?
So I watched a whole bunch of videos on YouTube about using glue-on artificial nails and the differences between doing that and going to the salon to get them "professionally" done.
And here's what I found out:
- It's cheaper. A LOT cheaper. One box of nice quality pre-designed artificial nails (mostly a French manicure style today) can cost anywhere from a buck to maybe $10 at the most depending on where you buy them. They'll give you a nice manicure for up to two weeks at less than half the price of a salon.
- It's faster. You trim down, clean and buff up your nails, apply the glue, apply the nails and you're done. And if you buy plain nails, which is where Beginner's Nail Art comes in, you can dress them up any way you want without having to pay a technician $5 for each design you want.
Adding to the cheap and fast concepts - you don't have to spend gas money and time driving to and from the salon. You don't have to sit and wait for a tech to become available. You just get your stuff out, do your nails and you're done. This is really convenient when it's raining and cold outside.
- Speaking of convenience - I can't count all the times I've sat at the salon and watched women come flying in wanting to get their nails filled "quickly," and even if they have an appointment, they may have to wait 15 minutes.
In 15 minutes, I can have one whole hand done in the convenience and comfort of my own home.
- It's actually healthier for your nails! Think about it. If you're using artificial nails, using the glue-on fake nails is faster and healthier because…
Your nails need some air to breathe. Watch how the techs apply the gel or acrylic. There is no breathing room because the stuff gets painted onto your nails and then hardens.
When you apply glue and then the artificial nail, the nail will never completely cover the entire surface of your nail; you will have a slight air pocket or two which gives your nail bed some room to breathe.
Removing your fake nails at home is faster and easier to do too. A salon technician goes about scraping and cutting and gouging at your nails to remove the gel or acrylic, which when removed always takes the top thin layer of your natural nails with it.
You don't have to do that. 15 to 20 minutes of soaking in 100% pure acetone and the fake nails virtually melt and wipe right off your nails, leaving behind the entire natural nail bed in place. No rough and harmful scraping required.
- And guess what? If you choose the right size fake nails for your hands and take a little time, even with beginner's nail art designs your nails will look like you just walked out of the salon! I've gotten tons of compliments on my nails and people were surprised that yes, I did them myself.
Okay, so you don’t want to go this route and you'd prefer still going to a salon for your acrylic or gel or solar or pink and white nails. That's cool! But what if you don't want to spend the money on getting air brushed designs? But at the same time, you don't know a thing about nail art?
That's where Beginner's Nail Art can help you! Because that's what I look for too - nail art for beginners. Simple, easy designs that will make my nails look nice without the expense of a professional technician.
I'm not in this to start a new career, mind you. I just wanted a way to dress up my nails more than just applying a coat of polish.
It all started when I decided to try my hand at a French manicure. Well, O-M-G. I watched one video after another and my French manicures always ended up -- well, we won't go there.
But then I found a couple of videos where the women were using a cosmetic sponge and voila! An awesome French manicure using a sponge!
Then I started watching more and more videos to learn more design techniques including what to use as a dotting tool, how to design my nails before I put them on - what a concept!
Yes, we all know how that is. If you're right-handed, your right hand never turns out right when you're doing nail art with your left hand. And vice versa for the lefties. So how do you remedy that?
Well, if you're using glue-on artificial nails, the easiest way for the beginner's nail art to look really great is to design them first, then glue them on. Then you can use your dominant hand to do all of your nails! Who'd a thunk? I've turned out some cool designs now that I design them ahead of time.
And, you know how it is when you polish your nails... you have to sit with them under a dryer or wave them in the air and blow on them, keep from touching stuff with them until they're completely dry - because - no, none of the nail polish or lacquer products on the market afford "instantaneously" dry and set nails.
Well, I lie. I did find one brand that has that market pretty well covered, unless you apply a clear top coat. Check out Sally Hansen's Color Quick Fast Dry Nail Color Pen. It's amazing. I've used a couple of colors for the background color to my nail art designs and it's really good!
So anyway, I've been having a lot of fun finding out new, cool things to do with my own nails and I'm loving the opportunity to put it all together here for the other nail art beginners out there too - like you!
Do you want to know how to do something new with your nails? Send me a comment or question about what you're looking for and I'll do my best to find you the answer!
And be sure to bookmark this site and stop back often as I add more articles and videos!
Thanks for stopping by!!
