How to Paint Your Nails

Nails look great as long as they’re cleaned, buffed and shaped properly, but for many women, these aren’t enough. To make their hands appear more elegant and stylish, they paint their nails, for a lovely and stylish look. While it sounds easy, this task is challenging for a lot of women. If you want to know how to paint your nails perfectly, here’s what to do.

What You’ll Need

• Colored nail polish of your choice
• Clear nail polish, for the top and base coat
• Cotton balls
• Nail polish remover
• Cuticle stick
• Soap and water
• Towel

Procedure

1. Pick a nail polish color. You should pick a hue that looks great against your skin tone. As for the brand, pick those that aren’t too expensive, but aren’t cheap either. Cheap nail polish brands tend to chip faster than expensive ones.



2. Using the soap and water, wash your hands thoroughly, to remove grime and dirt. Dry your hands, rubbing your fingernails and wiping underneath them, to make sure no dirt remains. You can also just soak your nails in a bowl of warm and soapy water, for three to five minutes.
3. Get the cuticle stick, and very carefully push back the cuticles towards your skin. Be very gentle, but make sure you don’t push too far.
4. Roll the nail polish bottle in between your hands to warm it. Open it, then scrape the excess polish off.
5. Apply the base coat to your nails, which is the clear polish. Having a base coat helps prevent chipping in the future, and also prevents the polish from staining the nails. Wait for it to dry completely.
6. Get the bottle of colored nail polish. Once again, roll it in between your hands, to blend it completely. Don’t shake it. Twist it open, then gently drag its brush against the bottle’s side to get rid of excessive polish.
7. Let the polish touch the nail by placing one side of the brush on the cuticle. With a fluent motion, drag the brush going to the nail’s free edge, in a thin coat. Start with one stripe in the middle, then one on the left and another stripe on the right. If it looks too thin, don’t worry; you can fix it later. Do this for all your nails on one hand, then on the other.
8. Apply a second coat to your nails, to even out the polish. Wait for it to dry.
9. Finish by applying the clear nail polish again, as your top coat.
10. If you accidentally put polish on your skin, or if the paint goes beyond the nails, get a q-tip or a small swab of cotton, put a small amount of nail polish remover on it, and carefully remove those excess paint.

More Nail Painting Tips

• Nail polish can be difficult to remove on some surfaces. To avoid dealing with nasty spills, cover your area with newspaper before you start painting.
• Always paint your nails in a well-ventilated room. The polish fumes can be dangerous to your health.
• Keep your nail polish in the refrigerator, to make it last longer and prevent it from clumping. Make sure it’s out of children’s reach, though.
• Keep the coats thin, so the polish will dry quicker. Also, keep the top coat smooth, since it’s the one everyone will see and the one you’ll feel.
• When choosing a clear polish, opt for a quick-drying type.
• To dry your nails faster, put them under a hairdryer or in front of a fan. Soaking them in ice cold water also works. Don’t wave them around too much, as this can cause smudges and your nails will not look as shiny as it should.
• To prevent yourself from painting on your skin, apply petroleum jelly on the nail’s outside.

A woman’s dainty hands look more glamorous and elegant when the nails have a lovely coat of nail polish. Just remember the instructions above on how to apply polish properly. If you master this, you’ll always have pretty little fingers to flaunt.