There are so many different ways to get your nails painted or to paint your nails at home, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to get started. But don’t worry; finding a healthy, long-lasting manicure that you can begin trying out with the tools you already own is easier than it might seem. There are many unique styles and designs to pick from, which makes it easy to create a look you love.
Nailboo is here to help you every step of the way. One of the core foundations of our company is the belief that easy, high-quality manicures should be available to everyone.
That’s why we carry professional-grade nail dip kits that you can use from home with ease. They will save you time and money when compared to going to the salon. It’s also why we’re sharing some of our tips and tricks for painting your nails and getting a gorgeous new look whenever you want.
Check out the Nailboo guide to get started on a home mani for your own nails today.
Why Is Proper Nail Care Important?
The best types of manicures go beyond simply picking paint and design. They also include comprehensive nail and cuticle care. That’s because the health and wellness of your nails can have a very large impact on the health and wellness of your overall body.
It can also impact the final manicure product and the level of protection that the powder or polish provides. Here are a few of the benefits of proper nail care.
It Keeps Your Nails Healthy and Prevents Infection
Our hands and nails are exposed to a lot throughout the course of the day. The skin around the nails is often thinner and more sensitive than the skin on other parts of the body, which means it’s particularly susceptible to irritations and infections.
Routinely taking care of your nails with proper trimming, washing, and protective products (even just a simple base coat with clear polish) can go a long way in reducing any signs or symptoms of irritation as well as protecting your nails in the future.
Don’t forget to also clip your nails regularly with nail clippers and buff them to prevent nail peeling. It’s easier to trim the cuticles if you have wet nails or if you use cuticle oil. Don’t forget to clean up everything by taking a brush to dust the excess dead skin and trimmed nails off. Have a bowl of cold water available so you can rinse the nails.
This is also helpful for reducing the pain that is often associated with nail bed and cuticle irritation (which typically occurs on the bottom of your nail or the side of the nail).
When you have a sense of what healthy nails look like, you’ll be better able to recognize if something doesn’t look right, so it can be addressed as soon as possible.
It Protects the Nails
A little bit of nail care goes a long way when it comes to proper nail growth and protection. When you take care of your nails properly, you’ll ensure that they’re growing longer and stronger than they otherwise might. This can help to reduce the impact of breakages or scrapes on your nails and support them for years to come, whether they get regular manicures or not.
The Manicure Will Last Longer
Applying your manicure at home can save you time and money, but the longer a manicure lasts, the better. It means you’ll have less to worry about when it comes to removal, which needs to be performed by a certified technician, depending on what kind of nails you have. You’ll also get to enjoy your new look for days or even weeks longer than you otherwise might, while you consider what kind of style you’ll pick next.
It Looks Better
Not only will proper nail care help your manicure last longer, but it will actually make your manicure look better as well. When you take care of your nails, remove the polish properly, and avoid chipping or picking at the nails, you’ll have a smoother, cleaner surface for your polish or powder and an easier time getting adhesive nails to stick properly to the surface. This means no bumpy polish and a gorgeous, classy manicure every time.
How To Paint Your Nails
There are many different ways to paint your nails or have false nails applied. You can pick between Shellac, gels, acrylics, dip powder, or traditional paint polish. Each one is going to have its own unique needs and approaches. That said, there are a couple of steps you’re bound to take every time you decide you need a new manicure.
Here are some of the tips and tricks that the Nailboo team has learned along the way that can help you with your next manicure.
1. Pick the Right Style
The style of nail you pick is going to vary depending on what you expect and want out of your next manicure. A gel or acrylic nail will last a long time but requires a certified technician for removal. Paint polish won’t last as long, but it comes off easily and can be mixed and matched with ease so you can try out new looks and decals.
Before your next manicure, you always want to sit down and consider your different options before you decide on the best one for your nail health and your style needs. Play around with your options to find a look that’s best for you.
2. Decide on Shape
You can customize and style your nails in many different ways, and one of the most unique details you can change up is the shape of the nail. Before you begin trimming or painting the nail, you’ll want to decide on the best shape for the final look.
If you use your hands a lot or you’re prone to nail breakages, then rounded, oval, or square nails might be a good fit for your lifestyle needs. If you’re looking for a high-quality, professional style, then ballerina nails or stiletto nails can also be a good fit. Consider the final look before you begin to trim down to your preferred size and shape.
3. Care for Your Nails
As we mentioned above, proper nail and cuticle care are essential to keeping your nails safe and well-protected. Your manicure kit is going to vary depending on your personal needs, but it’s always a good idea to have a trimmer, emery board, scissors, and clear nail polish on hand so you can take care of your nails no matter what happens.
You don’t even need to apply nail polish for every manicure. Simply trim the nails to a comfortable length, remove any hangnails or other uneven edges, and apply your favorite oils and products to the base of your nail and cuticles. This will encourage growth and keep your nail beds happy and healthy.
4. Use High-Quality Products
Collecting nail polish in several different colors and styles can be so much fun, but you always want to make sure that you’re using the very best products for the job. While it may be a little more expensive to purchase high-quality manicure products in the beginning, it can save you time and money in the long run and ensure that your nails are always well-cared for.
Here’s a nail hack for you: high-quality products will have fewer lasting effects on the health and wellness of your nails and professional-grade nail polish comes off with the right products, which means no more staining. You’ll also avoid infections when you use the right tools for the job, though you always want to be sure that you wash them properly when you’re finished.
5. Don’t Chip or Pick
Chipping and picking at our nail polish is such a common habit, we often don’t even realize that we’re doing it. It’s very important to pay attention to what our fingers do when we’re not looking, however.
Chipping at our nail polish may be one way to remove it, but it can have lasting effects on the health and wellness of the nail and may make it difficult to get a smooth, even coat the next time around.
When you scrape at the polish, rather than removing it properly, you can actually cause the nail below the paint to scrape or scratch, which weakens it over time and leaves the surface uneven and difficult to paint over.
It can be hard to catch when we’re scratching or picking at our nail polish, but try to pay attention to the small movements of your fingers and avoid it when you can. Your nails will thank you!
6. Remove Your Nail Polish Properly
It’s not just important to avoid chipping and scraping at your nails. You want to make sure that you remove any nail polish, decals, stamps, or nails properly. That’s because taking off nails like acrylics and gels without the proper tools can cause a lot of damage to the nail and the surrounding skin.
When it comes to nails that have an adhesive, you’ll want to return to your salon and have the nails removed by a certified technician to ensure that they come off easily and that there’s no damage to the underlying nail.
With dip nail powders, like the kind you’ll find here at Nailboo, you’ll need acetone, cotton balls, and our nail clips. This will allow the polish to soak in the acetone for fifteen to twenty minutes so that it comes loose on its own and doesn’t cause any damage. Traditional polish uses nail polish remover, but it’s always best to speak to the salon experts before you remove your polish, just to be sure.
7. Allow Your Nails a Chance To Breathe
After you have removed the nail polish, you want to allow your nails a chance to breathe and grow strong before you apply the next manicure. The length of time that you’ll want to wait between nail polish or nail removal and the next application will vary, depending on what kind of nails you currently have on and what you’re looking to get. Waiting a week between nail dip applications will give your nails a chance to stay healthy and strong, and you can explore your different design options to find your next great look.
8. Apply Top and Bottom Coats
There are many different types of manicures and nail styles, and not all of them are going to require top and bottom coats. That said, if your type of manicure does recommend applying a top and bottom coat, it’s always a good idea.
The bottom coat (also known as the first coat) plays several important roles. To start, it protects your nails from the polish and helps to keep your nails strong and healthy. It also works to adhere the polish more effectively to your nails, so it goes on smoothly and stays classy and chic for a long time to come.
With the top coat, you’re sealing in your final product and achieving that smooth and perfect salon-quality shine, but you’re also protecting your nails from damage, like scrapes and cuts.
Even high-quality top and bottom coats are inexpensive, and they can do a world of good when protecting your nails and helping you get that final look you’re sure to love.
9. Keep Your Skin and Hands Healthy
There’s more to the perfect manicure than just the nails. It’s just as essential to keep the skin around the nails and nail bed healthy as it is to protect the nails themselves. Not only can damage to the cuticles and the sensitive skin around the nails be painful and irritating, but that damage can also lead to infections when not properly cared for.
You don’t want to worry about cuts, scrapes, or even dry skin around the nails, which is prone to cracking and damage. It’s a good idea to incorporate the use of hand lotion and maybe even your favorite oils into your daily routine.
Take it a step further and massage and care for your hands during your next manicure to keep them smooth and protected from any problems that might arise. After all, who doesn’t love having soft, happy hands?
10. Eat Well
Taking good care of your nails and the hands around them is incredibly important, but it’s not all done on the outside. In fact, when it comes to proper hair, nail, and skincare, a lot of the work is actually done in the kitchen.
Our nails can give us a lot of important information about our overall health and wellness. If you notice that they’re breaking more than usual or that there’s discoloration or bruising, it’s a good idea to speak to your doctor to determine if there are any vitamins or nutrients missing from your diet, so you can add them in as soon as possible.
Eating healthy, getting enough sleep, and drinking enough water throughout the day can all contribute to the health and beauty of your nails, so cook up some fresh garden greens and drink plenty of water.
11. Consider the Event or Theme
Of course, when it comes to painting your nails, the best part is picking out the color and design—and there are so many different ways to get started! If you’re struggling to pick a good style, it can be helpful to consider the next big event you’re attending for inspiration. You can also draw inspiration from the seasonal palette, ombre designs, upcoming holidays or trends, or your own personal wardrobe.
If you want to take your next manicure up a notch, consider adding a little something special, like an accent nail, stamps, stickers, and decals, 3D nail designs, or even an illustration of your favorite book character. When it comes to gorgeous new nail styles and painting ideas, the only limit is your imagination.
Conclusion
Painting your nails can be a very personal and relaxing experience. With so many different options and styles to pick from, you’re sure to find a method and new nail look that you really love. Even if you just use your favorite tried-and-true nail polish bottle and keep it simple, that’s totally fine.
No matter what kind of style you decide to try out next, there are a few important things you’ll want to consider when painting your nails. To start, it’s always important to care for your nails and the skin around them, even if you aren’t planning to paint. This will help to ensure that they grow strong and healthy.
You always want to remove your nail polish properly, use a top and bottom nail polish coat when possible, and eat healthy so that your nails get the nutrients they need.
Nailboo is here to help you every step of the way. We carry kits that dip nail powder enthusiasts are sure to love, and we’re sharing all we’ve learned about caring for your nails and decorating them with some truly unique designs. When you’re ready for that next manicure, check out our growing library of guides to get started.
Sources:
7 Types of Manicures You Need to Try for 2021 | Cosmopolitan
Shellac Nails Vs. Gel Nails: What’s the Difference and Which is Better? | Women’s Health
11 Foods You Should Eat for Stronger Nails | Insider
6 Things Your Nails Say About Your Health | Cleveland Clinic
Ombre: A Ubiquitous Word for that Faded Look | New York Times
