How to Give Yourself a French Manicure

Posted on January 1st, 2009 by monsterguide

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The French manicure is a popular nail design that looks clean, classy and right for any occasion, night or day! You can also do this particular style by yourself, and save yourself the time and money from going to a nail salon. Here’s how:

Tools You’ll Need

Bowl of water or whole milk
Nail brushes
Emery board or nail file
Manicure scissors
French manicure kit
Nail clippers
Cuticle clippers
Cuticle pusher
Cotton swabs
Nail cleaners
Nail polish remover
Neutral nail polish with a sheer pink, beige or peach cast
White nail polish
Clear top coat

What to Do

Soak your fingers in warm water or whole milk for about five minutes to soften your nails and cuticles.
Using your nail clippers, emery boards and manicure scissors, shape your nails to a rounded shape. Don’t cut to the quick to leave some room for the nail polish. Smooth the edges with an emery board. Use a nail brush to clear your nails of nail filings.
Using your cuticle pusher, gently push your cuticle to the edge of your nail, where it meets the skin. Don’t push too hard or you will end up scratching and damaging your nails. Use a nail clipper to trim off excess cuticles around your nails. Don’t completely clip off your cuticles as this may cause infection.
As an extra step, you can use nail cleaners and nail polish remover, especially if you still have remnants of an older coat of nail polish.
Unless you have a very steady hand, you will need a guide to enable you to paint that C-shaped white strip on your nails. Affix the guide strip where it will form a solid curve on the topmost of your fingernail. The general rule is, the longer your fingernails, the longer the space allotted for the white strip.
Put toe separators between your toes before applying nail polish.
Once the adhesive strips have been affixed, apply white nail polish on the tips of your fingernails. Start from the edge of the adhesive to the tip of the nail. Brush the tip of the want on the mouth of the nail polish bottle to get rid of excess polish. Keep the hand applying the polish steady and roll the other hand left to right to guide the wand.
Other than using a guiding strip for that perfect white strip, you can also use a cotton swab with nail polish remover that will allow you to refine the white strip on your fingernail. Scotch tape can also be an alternative to nail guide tape strips.
Let the nail polish dry completely. Remember that the white tips are the French manicure’s signature look, so if you’re not pleased with how they look, feel free to add a second coating.
Leftover adhesives can be removed using cotton swabs damp with alcohol.
Take your sheer pink (or peach or beige) nail polish and give the bottle a good shake before using. Before applying nail polish to your nails, brush the wand tip against the inside of bottle to remove excess polish. Cover your entire nail with three brush strokes from left, middle and right. Dip the wand back in for the next nail.
Let the first layer dry. You can opt to put a second coat, following the same instructions. Make sure that if you do, the nail polish color is not too opaque as to cover the white tips entirely.
Apply the clear top coat using the same process.

The French manicure looks great with any outfit, and these days there are tools made to make this manicure easier to do. You can purchase fine white tip manicure pens especially made for French manicure. You can also try using other colors for your French manicure; instead of using white, you can try red, purple or even green, whatever catches your fancy. Practice makes the manicure perfect, but you always have nail polish remover if you want to try again. You’ll have a professional-looking French manicure in no time.