by Sarah Parrish

Created on: July 16, 2011   Last Updated: July 18, 2011

There isn't much point in paying a fortune for designer nails when there are so many quality products available for personal use.  The key difference between doing your nails at home and having someone else do it for you, besides the cost, is the knowledge the manicurist has.  Learning a little bit about great nail designs makes spending money on a manicure superfluous. 

Before beginning, gather necessary supplies.  You will need: wax paper, nail glue, nail trimmers, nail polish, tweezers, small brushes, small gemstones (you can find this at a local craft supply store), clear nail polish, a lemon or apple cider vinegar, and emery boards. 

Pare your nails to the general shape you want to achieve.  French manicures classically have a flattened top with rounded corners on each nail, but some people find a rounded top more practical.  Unless you don't plan to do very much with your hands and you don't mind doing your nails often, it's a good idea to keep them relatively short.  Next, file your nails down with the emery board to remove any sharp edges left by the nail trimmers.  Some people will file their nails down at a steep angle, but this is hazardous since your nails can get quite sharp.  Rather, file your nails at a shallow angle, relative to flat tips.

Clean your nails (and hands) with either diluted apple cider vinegar or diluted lemon juice.  Lemon juice is a strong acid and has the effect of whitening the tips of fingernails.  Apple cider vinegar has antioxidants that help cuticle health.  Cleaning your nails before applying anything to them is very important and underrated.  If nails are oily or if they contain a residue, nail polish won't stay on as long or apply as evenly.  If there's debris on your nails, nail polish is more likely to chip off.  Rinse off any remaining residue from the vinegar or lemon juice with copious amounts of water and allow your hands to dry before applying nail polish to them.

In the meantime, decide on the design you want.  Use wax paper as a background to position gemstones relative to one another if you want to try out new designs.  Use either a small brush or tweezers to move the tiny gemstones around.  Using nail polish, practice drawing designs on the wax paper.  When you find a design you like, allow the nail polish to dry.  These dried designs are going to be your homemade decals.

Paint your nails the background color you like and wait for them to dry.  They don't need to be completely dry, but they do need to be tacky before you begin applying your designs to them.  Once your nails are tacky, you can gently press gemstones and dried paint designs that will peel off the wax paper.  If these additions don't adhere, use nail glue.  Paint over the final design with a clear coat of nail polish.

Remember that great artists need to work with quality supplies.  Don't use tacky, old nail polish when painting designs or you'll get frustrated quickly.

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